CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
The room broke into sound.
Gasps. A chair scraping. Someone saying, “Oh my God.”
Cold frosting burst across Emily’s chest and upper belly. Pink icing smeared over the lace fabric. Emily stumbled backward, one hand flying to protect herself.
For one frozen second, she saw everything too clearly.
Margaret’s shaking hands.
The ruined cake.
The white gift box.
The guests with their mouths open.
One young man holding up a phone, too stunned to lower it.
Emily’s heel slipped on frosting that had fallen to the polished floor.
She lost balance.
Her body turned sideways as she fell, curling instinctively to protect herself. She landed hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs, but not hard enough to injure her.
Still, the humiliation was worse than pain.
She lay on the floor in front of everyone, frosting smeared across her dress, her heart pounding wildly.
Margaret stood over her.
For half a second, she looked satisfied.
Then the front doors opened.
Daniel rushed in.
He saw Emily on the floor.
He saw the cake.
He saw his mother standing above his pregnant wife.
May you like
His face went white.
“Emily!”
