That hit harder than the divorce papers.

Ethan cared about many things—but few more than status. He loved expensive watches, tailored suits, polished statements, and the image of being the smartest man in the room. He could survive being disliked. I’m not sure he knew how to survive being exposed.

Then the ballroom doors opened again.

Danielle walked in.

A wave of whispers spread through the room. She wore dark jeans, a camel coat, and no makeup. Her eyes were swollen, like she had been crying for hours. For the first time all night, I saw Ethan completely lose control.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped.

Danielle stopped a few feet from our table. “Telling the truth.”

I hadn’t invited her. Later, Rachel admitted she had texted Danielle after the slideshow began and told her that if she had any conscience left, she should come and face what she’d done. At the time, I wasn’t sure whether I felt grateful or furious. In the end, I felt both.

Danielle looked at me first.

“Olivia,” she said, her voice shaking, “I know sorry means nothing now. But I was lied to too.”

I folded my arms. “That doesn’t make you innocent.”

“No,” she said quickly. “It doesn’t.”

Then she turned toward the room, as if she needed witnesses for her confession. “He told me they were basically separated. He said they were only staying civil for the kids and the anniversary. He told me Olivia knew the marriage was over.”

I kept my expression still, but inside, something hardened further. Not because I was surprised—but because hearing the exact lie out loud made it uglier.

Danielle reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. “I found these in his condo this afternoon.”

Condo.

Several people reacted to that word. Ethan briefly closed his eyes, as if even hearing it hurt.

Danielle handed the folder to Nora, who opened it and quickly reviewed the contents—printed emails, lease drafts, utility forms, messages. Then she paused on one page longer than the rest.

“Interesting,” she said.

Ethan stepped toward her. “Give me that.”

Glenn moved in front of him. “Don’t.”

Nora looked up. “There’s a draft lease for a Denver condo listing both Ethan Parker and Danielle Brooks as intended occupants after marital dissolution.”

The room went silent again.

Danielle’s voice trembled. “There’s more. He was also messaging another woman there. I found that out last week.”

If the ground had opened beneath Ethan, he wouldn’t have looked more stunned.

Danielle let out a bitter laugh. “So no, Olivia. I wasn’t just cruel. I was also stupid.”

It was probably the first honest thing she had said in months.

Ethan looked around the room, but there was nowhere left to stand that didn’t make him seem smaller. His mother cried into a napkin. His sister refused to look at him. His father sat rigid, staring at the centerpiece like it had become the only safe thing in the room.

Then Ethan did what he always did when cornered.

He blamed me.