“He used to put these on gifts when he apologized.”
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Evan laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he was cornered.
“You came to my wedding dressed like that because of a ribbon?”
“I wore red because you spent three years teaching me that red meant you had hurt me and wanted me to forget.”
I felt sick.
Suddenly the dress did not seem dramatic.
It seemed deliberate.
A warning I had not understood.
I looked at Evan.
He reached for me.
I moved away.
“Brianna, listen to me.”
“Did you break into her apartment?”
“No.”
“Did you ever hurt her?”
“No.”
Vanessa said, “Ask him about the stairs.”
Evan’s expression changed.
It happened so quickly that I almost missed it.
But I saw it.
“What stairs?” I asked.
“Brianna—”
“What stairs?”
Vanessa’s voice trembled.
“The reason our engagement ended.”
Evan turned toward her.
