“I dragged you into this.”

“You invited me to celebrate your wedding. Your grandfather and your father are the ones who chose to turn it into a battlefield.”

Liora stepped closer, her military composure cracking now that she didn’t need it for an audience. “I had no idea who you were,” she said, her voice shaking.

“I thought maybe — but the name Rowe isn’t rare, and you never once mentioned your family during the hearings.”

“You were smart not to assume.”

“I nearly dropped my champagne when I spotted you at that back table,” she admitted, with a weak, breathless laugh.