I was almost ready to leave the act behind
I didn’t expect kindness. I wasn’t looking for praise.
But what I saw in those few hours was heartbreaking. People who wore compassion on their sleeves when cameras were on, but snapped their fingers like royalty when they thought no one of importance was around.
I had always believed charity was about heart. But tonight, it felt like performance.
Then, just as I stacked the last clean plate, I heard a familiar voice echo through the hall:
“Excuse me… has anyone seen my wife?”
I froze.
Nathan.
His tone was casual, but there was an edge to it. A deliberate volume.
I peeked around the kitchen entrance just in time to see him stepping into the ballroom in a crisp tuxedo, holding a glass of champagne. He looked… magnetic. Confident. Powerful. And slightly annoyed.
“She was supposed to meet me by the dessert table twenty minutes ago,” he said louder, as conversations began to quiet.
Sasha, the planner, rushed to him, flustered. “I—I haven’t seen her, Mr. Cross.”
Eleanor stepped in, adjusting her pearls. “Oh, perhaps she got caught up? You know how wives can be.”
Nathan smiled tightly. “I suppose. Though it’s strange—because I thought she might be downstairs… helping with the dishes.”
There was silence.
You could hear the chandeliers humming.
