Ryan swallowed hard.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His voice broke.
“Because I missed three years with you.”
The little girl considered that answer.
Then she offered him the stuffed rabbit.
“You can hold Bunny if it helps.”
A few guests wiped tears from their eyes.
Even the wedding planner was crying.
Ryan took the rabbit.
His shoulders shook.
And for a moment, it looked as though the entire world had stopped.
Then Rebecca ruined everything.
“This is manipulation!”
Her voice sliced through the ballroom.
“Mariana planned this.”
The warmth disappeared instantly.
Rebecca pointed at me.
“She came here to embarrass us.”
“No,” I said.
“I came because I received an invitation.”
Vanessa frowned.
“What invitation?”
I reached into my handbag.
Then I handed her a cream colored envelope.
She opened it.
Read it.
Then her face turned white.
The invitation was addressed personally to me.
Not by accident.
Not by mistake.
By Ryan himself.
Months earlier.