Arthur smiled.

“The truth is, I have been testing her to discover whether she truly loves me.”

My fingers tightened around the bouquet.

What?

My mother looked down.

My father stopped smiling.

Arthur continued.

“Before committing the rest of my life to someone, I needed to know whether she would remain beside me if everything else disappeared.”

He lifted my hand.

For a moment, I thought he was preparing to reveal that the account freezes and the borrowed wedding suit had been part of an elaborate joke.