After the chest was carried away, Dad stayed where he was. His arms hung empty at his sides, his fingertips rubbing absently against the seam of his trousers as if he were still holding something.

The wedding coordinator came by again. "The bride needs to touch up her makeup."

I didn't move. I turned and went after the chest instead, and Dad followed a few steps behind. He looked like he wanted to call out to me, but held himself back and just quickened his pace to keep up.

The back of the hotel was much darker than the banquet hall. The far end of the corridor was piled with discarded cardboard boxes, spare flower stands, and a few bags of damp table linens. The air smelled like alcohol, kitchen grease, and disinfectant.

The chest hadn't been left at the edge of it all so much as dumped there. A bag of wet linens sat on the lid, water dripping down the plastic and bleeding a dark stain into the wood.

Dad practically jogged over. He crouched down, moved the linens aside, and started wiping the lid with his sleeve, bit by bit.

"It's fine, it's fine," he kept saying. "Old chest. It can take a beating."

But the clasp was already bent sideways, and one corner had been chipped open. He reached out to touch the crack, caught his finger on a splinter, and a bead of blood rose almost instantly. He stared at it for a moment, then tucked his hand behind his back.

"Dad, your hand," I said.

He smiled. "It's fine."

He went back to wiping the chest, and his sleeve was soaked through before long.

I turned to the staff member standing nearby. "Who told you to put it here?"

The staff member glanced at me, then at Elliott, and stammered. "The Chambers family said the front hall was already set up and that something like this wasn't suitable to leave out."

"Something like this?"

Nobody answered.

Elliott walked over, visibly irritated. "Sadie, the ceremony is about to start."

I pointed at the chest. "This is the hope chest my dad put together for me."

He looked at Dad, then at the chest. "I know."

"You knew, and you still let them dump it back here?"

"Nobody dumped it." His voice was tight with impatience. "It was just set aside for the moment."

Dad got to his feet immediately and stepped in front of the chest. "Sadie, don't do this. It's not damaged, really."

He was afraid I'd keep going, so he turned to Elliott before I could. "Elliott, I didn't mean anything by it. The chest is old and it's not much to look at. The back is where it belongs."

He spoke so fast he nearly bit his tongue.

Elliott's expression softened slightly, but there wasn't a trace of guilt behind it. "If it bothers you, I can replace it with a new one."

The smile froze on Dad's face. He looked down at the chest and slowly pressed his palm against the clasp.

"You don't need to replace it," he said. "It's not worth anything."

Those words landed harder than the sound of the chest hitting the doorframe.

I reached out and took his wrist. His hand was cold, and still shaking.

Claire had appeared at some point. She stood next to Elliott in a pale-colored dress, her eyes faintly rimmed with red.

"Sadie, I'm sorry. Is this because my family was given seats at the main table? Are you upset about that?" Her voice was gentle yet pitched just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"If that's the case, I can move to the back. Today is yours and Elliott's wedding. I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

Elliott turned to me immediately. "Sadie, Claire didn't mean anything by it."

I didn't say a word. Dad was the one who panicked first. "No, no, nobody's getting the wrong idea. Ms. Carver, please, sit wherever you like."

Then he turned back to me and whispered, "Sadie, don't make things awkward for her."

He'd been assigned a seat by the kitchen doors and didn't bat an eye. Owen lost his place in the wedding party, and he told me not to worry about it. The chest got tossed in with the storage, and he said it wasn't worth anything.

But the thought of the Carver family feeling awkward scared him, because he was afraid of what it would mean for me in the Chambers household later.

The wedding coordinator came hurrying back with the program sheet. "Mr. Chambers, have one last look at the ceremony script."

Elliott took it. I was standing close enough to catch a line on the page, the section for thanking the parents. The names were listed clearly. The Chambers parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carver, and longtime family friend Claire Carver.

I read further down. There was no mention of Patrick Reed, my father. He was still crouched on the ground, wiping the corner of the chest, completely unaware that he'd been erased again.

I reached over and took the program sheet from Elliott's hands.

His expression went cold. "Sadie."

I pointed to the blank space and asked him, "Where's my dad's name?"

Elliott reached for the program sheet, but I didn't let go. The paper pulled taut between us with a faint crackle.

He lowered his voice. "Stop this."

"Why isn't my dad on here?"

Elliott glanced around. The staff, the makeup artist, and the coordinator were all pretending to be busy.

"This was finalized a long time ago."

"Finalized with my dad removed?"

His brow tightened. "Your dad isn't comfortable with these things. Singling him out would only make him more self-conscious."

I looked at Claire. "And her parents are comfortable with it?"

Claire's eyes went red again. "Sadie, if it bothers you, I don't have to go up. Elliott just felt that my parents have done so much for him over the years, and he's always been grateful for that..."

She trailed off and bit her lip.

Elliott immediately stepped in front of her. "Enough."

He looked at me, his voice turning cold. "We have a room full of guests out there. Do you really need to turn everything into a scene?"

Before I could answer, Dad stood up. He wiped the blood from his hand with his sleeve and tucked it behind his back.

"Sadie, stop asking." His voice was very quiet.

"If they're not going to mention me, that's fine. I don't care about that kind of thing."

He looked at me and managed a smile. "I just want you to be happy. That's enough for me."

I looked at that smile, and the words died in my throat. His sleeve was damp, there was blood on his hand, and the spot on his lapel where the red flower should have been pinned was bare, with nothing left but a tiny hole where the pin had gone through.

He was the bride's father, but he looked like the last person who was supposed to be at this wedding.

Elliott's mother, Catherine Aldridge, walked over. She glanced at the program sheet in my hand, then looked at me. The smile on her face had already cooled.

"Sadie, the ceremony is about to start." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried far enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"When you become part of a family, the most important thing you can learn is when to let things go. Your father already said he doesn't mind. Do you really want to make everyone else uncomfortable too?"

Dad nodded immediately. "I don't mind. I really don't."

He reached for my sleeve again. "Sadie, just leave it. Please don't rock the boat."

Owen stood off to the side with his fists clenched tight. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but Dad glanced at him, and Owen's shoulders slowly sank.

That was when Theo passed by and deliberately bumped Owen's shoulder.

Owen stumbled half a step. Theo looked down to adjust the boutonniere on his chest and let out a laugh. "Don't block the way. I've got to get on stage."

He was wearing the boutonniere that had been Owen's.

Owen kept his head down. His throat bobbed once, but he didn't make a sound.

I looked at the blood on the back of Dad's hand, at Owen's bare lapel, and at the program sheet that still didn't have my father's name on it. I didn't ask again. I just folded the paper, slowly, crease by crease.

Elliott must have thought I'd finally given in, because his expression relaxed. He stepped closer and dropped his voice.

"That's more like it," he said. "If there's anything to discuss, it can wait until after the wedding."

The coordinator came jogging over with the final version of the script and handed it to the emcee. I looked up and caught the bolded line across the top of the first page.

"Special thanks to Ms. Claire Carver and Mr. and Mrs. Carver."

Dad's name still wasn't there.

The lights in the hall dimmed. The emcee's voice carried in from the ballroom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the ceremony is about to begin. First, let's take a moment to recognize some very important family members who are here with us today..."

Dad straightened up instinctively. He rolled his damp cuffs inward and smoothed the wrinkles in his suit, like he was afraid he didn't look presentable enough.

But a second later, the cameraman walked past him and murmured, "Sir, could you step aside? You're in the shot of the main table."

Dad froze. He slowly backed away, one step at a time, and didn't stop until he reached the service entrance by the kitchen doors.

The ceremony officially began, and the lights settled on the stage. Elliott stood at the center in a perfectly pressed suit, his voice steady and composed.

He thanked his parents first. They sat in the middle of the main table, smiling and nodding as the applause filled the room.

Then he turned to the Carver family. "I also want to give special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Carver. They've looked after me like family all these years."

The cameras cut to the main table immediately. Claire's parents were seated in the most prominent spot, their smiles warm and polished. Claire lowered her head slightly, her eyes glistening.

Someone in the audience called out, "Are they the bride's family or the groom's?"

Elliott didn't correct it. He even smiled a little.

Over by the kitchen doors, Dad heard the comment and his fingers tightened on his knees. A server pushed a cart past behind him, and he hurried to scoot his chair forward so he wouldn't be in the way.

The legs scraped against the floor with a sharp screech, and a few people turned to look. Dad dropped his head instantly, like he'd done something wrong.

The emcee kept going with a smile. "It sounds like Mr. Chambers and the Carver family go way back."

He paused for effect. "There's also a very important longtime friend who's been by Mr. Chambers' side for many years."

The spotlight swept to Claire, and Elliott looked at her, his voice softening. "Thank you, Claire. Thank you for always being there."

The applause rose again.

I stood in the staging area, my fingers slowly curling tighter. The makeup artist adjusted my veil and reminded me quietly, "The camera's going to push in on you. Try to smile."

I didn't smile. I looked past the crowd toward Dad instead.

He was clapping too, barely. He managed two light taps before he realized nobody was looking at him, and his hands drifted back down to his knees. The red flower meant for the bride's father was crumpled in his palm.

Owen stood behind the last row of the family section, his eyes rimmed red. He was supposed to be on stage right now as a groomsman, but that spot now belonged to Theo, who stood there wearing Owen's boutonniere and smiling into the cameras.

The emcee turned to the next page of the script. "And now, let's welcome the bride to the stage. Today, Ms. Sadie Reed will step into a new chapter of her life, surrounded by all of her most important family and friends."

Important family and friends? The irony wasn't lost on me.

My father was sitting by the kitchen doors. My brother had been pushed to the back of the crowd. The hope chest Dad brought for me was sitting in the storage area next to a pile of junk, its clasp already broken.

And the people Elliott called family were seated at the main table, bathed in light, wrapped in applause, even thanked by name.

I walked down the aisle, one step at a time. Elliott held his hand out to me, his eyes equal parts warning and certainty, as if to say, "Don't make a scene. You've come this far. You're not going to back out now."

I reached him and didn't take his hand.

Elliott dropped his voice. "Sadie, just play along. Whatever it is, we can talk after the ceremony."

I didn't answer. I turned and looked out at the audience instead.

Dad was trying to sit up straight, like he wanted to look a little less out of place. But the kitchen doors were right behind him, and servers kept passing back and forth.

At one point, a bit of broth splashed onto his pant leg, and he reached down instinctively to wipe it, then stopped halfway, afraid someone might notice.

Elliott followed my gaze, and his brow creased slightly. He leaned in. "Your dad's sitting right there. He's fine."

That was the final cut.

I looked at him, and it was suddenly, perfectly clear. Elliott wasn't unaware that Dad had been humiliated. He simply didn't think it mattered.

The emcee held the microphone out to me with a smile. "The bride is welcome to say a few words."

Catherine was watching me from below. Claire was watching me with tears in her eyes. And Dad was watching me too, with no resentment in his expression at all, only panic.

He was afraid I'd do something rash and that it would cost me later. That once again, he'd end up being the reason his daughter's life got harder.

I raised my hand, and everyone assumed I was reaching for the microphone. But first, I pulled off my veil. The white tulle slipped from my hair and gathered in my fist, and the entire room went silent.

Elliott's face changed. "Sadie."

I took the microphone. My voice was quiet, but it carried across every corner of the ballroom.

"Everyone, I'm sorry. The wedding's off."