She arrived wearing an ordinary coat instead of the carefully assembled elegance I associated with her.

She put her bag on the chair and said, “I will not be your villain.

If that’s what your family expects, you can disappoint them without my help.”

“I don’t expect that,” I replied.

“I came to apologize.

You should have heard it from me properly, not in front of everyone.”

She studied me for a long moment.

“Did you ever plan to marry me because you wanted to wake up next to me when the parties stopped?” I had been rehearsing a gracious response, something about friendship and mutual respect.