“Is he respectable?” she had asked. “Does he have money?”

I had lied. I told her he was a Senator—which was true—but I implied we were close. It was a desperate attempt to buy dignity in a marketplace where I had no currency.

“Richard loves me,” I said now, my voice gaining a desperate edge. “That’s all that matters.”

“Love?” Patricia scoffed, checking her watch as if I were a boring appointment she needed to end. “Richard is infatuated. He is weak. But he will come to his senses. And when he does, he will thank me for scraping you off his shoe.”

I looked at Richard again. “Say something,” I pleaded.

He looked up, his eyes wet, pleading for me to understand him. “Amelia… maybe… maybe it’s best if we just postpone. Until things calm down.”

The betrayal hit harder than the insult.