Nathan sat on the edge of his bed, his hands clasped between his knees, and let himself feel the weight of what tomorrow would bring. He would walk into that wedding alone. He would smile at people who whispered behind his back. He would watch Rachel become someone else's wife and pretend that it didn't matter. And through it all, Lily would be watching, absorbing everything, forming her own conclusions about what kind of man her father was.
He had no backup plan, no secret hope that Victoria would change her mind. She had said no pity, and that was the end of it. Tomorrow, he would face his past with nothing but a new suit and whatever dignity he could scrape together. It would have to be enough. Saturday arrived with the kind of perfect weather that felt almost mocking.
Clear skies, golden afternoon light, the sort of day that belonged on postcards and wedding announcements. Nathan spent the morning keeping Lily busy with breakfast and cartoons, trying not to think about what the evening would bring. She had picked out her dress weeks ago, a pale blue one with tiny flowers embroidered along the hem. And she kept asking him if she looked pretty enough for the wedding. He told her she looked beautiful.
He told her she was the prettiest girl in the whole city. And when she smiled at him with that gap-toothed grin, he almost believed that tonight might not be as terrible as he feared. They left the apartment at 5:15, giving themselves plenty of time to reach the Grandview Hotel. Nathan had called a car service for the occasion, an expense he couldn't really afford, but one that felt necessary. He refused to arrive at his ex-wife's extravagant wedding in his 12-year-old sedan with the dent in the passenger door.
Lily sat beside him in the backseat, her small hand clutching his, and she chatted about flower girls and cake flavors and whether Brandon's house had a swimming pool. Nathan answered her questions as best he could, keeping his voice light and steady, even as the hotel's glass towers came into view and his stomach tightened into a knot. The Grandview Hotel was everything Rachel had always wanted and everything Nathan had never been able to give her. Crystal chandeliers hung from vaulted ceilings. Marble floors gleamed under soft lighting.
Enormous floral arrangements, white roses, lilies stood like silent sentinels at every corner. Their fragrance thick and overwhelming. Nathan stepped into the lobby with Lily's hand in his and immediately felt the weight of a hundred invisible eyes. He was wearing his new dark gray suit, the one he had laid out so carefully the night before, but surrounded by men in tailored designer jackets and women dripping with diamonds, he might as well have been wearing a costume from a second-hand store. The reception area was already crowded with guests mingling and laughing, champagne flutes catching the light as they were raised in casual toasts.
Nathan recognized no one. These were Brandon's people, business partners, investors, the kind of wealthy acquaintances who attended weddings not out of affection but out of obligation and networking opportunity. He guided Lily toward the check-in table where a young woman in a black dress handed him a seating card and directed him to table 14. The table numbers went up to 20. He was, quite literally, seated at the margins.
They found their table near the back of the ballroom tucked behind a pillar that partially blocked the view of the main stage. Nathan pulled out a chair for Lily and helped her settle in. Adjusting the napkin on her lap and pouring her a glass of water from the crystal pitcher on the table. The other seats were still empty. He didn't know who would be joining them and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.