Several guests clapped quietly, affirming his words. Vanessa, now desperate, snapped: “I’m your fiancée, not her! I belong at your side!”

Andres’s gaze pierced her. “Not if your heart has no compassion. I will never share my life with someone who measures people by wealth or appearances.”

The ring on Vanessa’s finger lost all its meaning. With a broken sob, she turned and fled, leaving silence and truth behind.