Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Black Dress
Claire did not wear black to mourn the marriage.
She wore it because Richard hated when she looked powerful.
The ballroom at the Langford Hotel had been decorated like a magazine spread. Cream walls. White tablecloths. Crystal chandeliers. Champagne glasses. A dessert table stacked with tiny cakes no hungry child could possibly resist.
Lily walked beside Claire in her white dress, holding her mother’s hand with nervous fingers.
“Do I have to say hi to Daddy?” she whispered.
Claire looked down and smiled gently. “Only if you want to.”
Lily thought about that.
Then she asked, “Will he be mad if I don’t?”
Claire’s heart folded in half.
Before she could answer, Richard appeared near the entrance in a gray suit, his smile already on.
“Claire,” he said.
Not hello.
Not thank you for coming.
Just her name, like a correction.
Then he crouched in front of Lily.
“There’s my girl,” he said, opening his arms.
Lily hesitated.
The hesitation was small.
But Richard noticed.
His smile stayed perfect, but his eyes changed.
Claire saw it.
So did Patricia Vale, who stood behind him in a pale silk gown, watching with the cool interest of someone inspecting a crack in expensive glass.
“Go on, sweetheart,” Patricia said. “Don’t embarrass your father.”
Lily stepped forward and allowed Richard to kiss her cheek.
Claire’s jaw tightened.
Richard rose and looked her over.
“You came dressed for attention.”
“You invited me.”
“I invited Lily.”
“Then you should have written her name only.”
His smile thinned.
Around them, guests began to notice the tension and pretend not to.
Richard leaned closer. “Tonight is important. I need her to behave.”
“She is six.”
“She is a Vale.”
“No,” Claire said softly. “She is a child.”
Richard stared at her for one hard second.
Then the foundation chair called him away.
Claire watched him leave, then looked down at Lily.
“Stay close to me tonight, okay?”
Lily nodded.
But children are children.
Music started. Guests crowded in. Someone asked Claire a question about the custody case in a voice too sweet to be innocent.
For less than thirty seconds, Claire looked away.
That was all it took.
When she turned back, Lily was at the dessert table.
May you like
Richard was beside her.
And a white plate was already in his hand.
