Cole waited near the corridor when they came out.
Most of the guests had left. The restaurant staff were clearing untouched glasses.
He looked at Elise first.
“Can we please talk like adults?”
Morgan moved beside her sister.
“Then stop starting every conversation with an insult.”
Cole ignored her.
“Elise, I was leaving that relationship. There was some overlap in the paperwork, but emotionally it was done.”
Vivian felt her jaw tighten.
“Paperwork?”
Cole glanced toward her.
“You know what I mean.”
“No. I remember you asking whether we should invite your uncle to the wedding.”
“That was complicated.”
Elise took a breath.
“You had an opportunity to tell me the truth when we met. You had another when you ended your engagement. And another when you bought a ring box and planned tonight.”
“It’s the same box,” Vivian said quietly.
Cole stared at her.
She wished she had not noticed that detail.
But she had.
The hinge made a tiny clicking sound when opened fully. He had joked about replacing it before their wedding.
Elise looked down at the box still in his hand.
“You didn’t even change that.”
Cole’s face reddened.
“What do you want me to say? It’s an expensive ring.”
“I wanted you to tell me whose it was.”
“It was mine to give.”
Vivian did not argue about ownership in the corridor.
She knew how quickly he turned complicated questions into declarations that sounded final.
“You owe me a clear account of the money I contributed,” she said. “We can handle that in writing.”
Cole smiled thinly.
“So this is about money.”
“No,” Elise said. “You don’t get to change what she asked.”
Vivian turned toward Rachel.
“I’m leaving.”
Cole called after her.
“You came here to ruin my life.”
She stopped only long enough to answer.
“I came here for dinner.”
Then she walked out.
