Throughout the evening, Lisa ensured I remained an outsider.
She seated me with barely-related cousins who asked me nothing. She tossed snide comments my way with the skill of a seasoned archer.
“Diana teaches children,” she said at one point. “Isn’t that just the sweetest thing?”
As though my profession was finger painting.
But it was her toast that cut the deepest.
She clinked her glass and smiled like she’d already won. “To my dear brother-in-law, Ben. Always the generous soul. Especially with his latest… project.” Her eyes found mine.
“His lovely wife, Diana. A sweet little teacher from such a simple life. It’s heartwarming, really—what charity can blossom into, isn’t it?”
Laughter broke out around her table. I felt the floor tilt beneath me.
And then, for the finale, she hurled her wine glass with a flourish.
The red liquid splashed across my lap, dripping down my dress like blood.
Gasps. One woman whispered, “That was deliberate.”
Lisa smirked. “Oops. I suppose messes don’t bother you—you’re used to them, aren’t you? With kids and all.”
I stood up, my knees trembling but my spine straight. “You’re right,” I said quietly. “I don’t belong here. I belong among people who know what kindness means.”
Someone leaned over and whispered that Ben had left the venue earlier—for business. My heart ached. He wasn’t even here to see what I was enduring.
I turned to leave.
“She’s running away,” Lisa mocked. “How predictable.”
Then—
The doors slammed open.
