I wanted to shield him from the shame of thirty people watching his life fall to pieces.

I couldn’t do that.

I had to let him stand there and feel the full weight of the wreckage.

It was the only way he would ever really break free of her manipulation.

The woman in the yellow sundress put her champagne flute down on a passing tray.

She walked quietly toward the gravel drive without a word to Patricia.

Two more couples followed her right away.