Sometimes people asked whether I regretted not making a bigger scene that night at the hotel.

They imagined I should have played the messages over the sound system, exposed every transfer before the guests, or waited for someone powerful to take my side.

I understood the temptation.

For a little while, I had wanted all those things too.

But the most important part of that night hadn’t been Derek’s embarrassment or a dramatic announcement about our divorce.

It had been the sight of Grace walking toward him because she was frightened that her mother would be humiliated, and the moment I understood that protecting her meant bringing her back beside me.