Every Eye in the Room
Chapter 04 - Every Eye in the Room
The aisle had never seemed so long.
Lily felt every stare land on her dress. Some were sharp with judgment. Some were soft with pity, which somehow hurt worse. She heard a woman whisper, "Poor thing," and another answer, "Or maybe she did it herself. People love attention."
Frank's arm flexed beneath her hand. "Want me to carry you out of here?" he murmured.
The question almost broke her. Lily had spent her childhood watching Frank fix broken engines, broken fences, broken promises that other people left behind. He had never been rich, but he had been steady. When her mother died, he stayed. When relatives said Lily was not really his responsibility, he packed her lunch for school every morning and signed every permission slip.
Now he was offering to rescue her again.
"Not yet," Lily whispered.
At the front, Ethan stood rigid beside his brother Daniel. The moment he saw the stains, color drained from his face. Daniel leaned toward him, probably telling him to stay calm, but Ethan had never been good at staying calm when Lily was hurt.
Vivian sat in the front row after slipping in through a side aisle, elegant as a knife. Her friends surrounded her in silk and diamonds. None of them looked surprised enough.
The minister adjusted his glasses. The string quartet faltered for half a measure, then found the music again. Even the flowers seemed too white, too innocent.
Lily kept walking.
Every step felt like a decision. She would not run. She would not let a stain define her. She would not let a cruel little card become the loudest voice in her life.
But her heart pounded so hard that by the time Ethan stepped down from the altar, she could barely hear the gasps.
He met her halfway. He did not look embarrassed. He did not look angry at her. He looked like someone had tried to set fire to his future.
"Lily," he said, and the way he said her name made tears burn behind her eyes.
She tried to hand him the card, but her fingers would not open. He covered her hand with both of his, warming her cold skin.
"Breathe," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," she said, though she had no idea why.
Ethan's eyes flashed. "Do not apologize for being attacked."
The room went silent enough to hear Vivian's pearls click when she shifted in her chair.
Lily finally opened her hand. Ethan read the words. His jaw tightened.
May you like
Then he turned, holding the card high enough for the first row to see.
"This wedding stops right now," he said, "until I know who tried to humiliate my bride."
