Chapter 6 - Daniel Tries to Become Gentle
Daniel softened his face.
Claire almost laughed.
She knew that expression.
The tired tenderness.
The lowered voice.
The careful hands.
The look he used when he wanted her to feel unreasonable for noticing pain.
He stepped down from the altar slowly.
“Claire,” he said again, quieter. “This is not what you think.”
Vanessa’s head snapped toward him.
Not what you think.
The oldest betrayal sentence.
Even the guests seemed embarrassed by it.
Claire’s expression did not change.
Daniel moved another step.
“Let’s talk outside.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
The gentleness cracked immediately.
“Do not do this in front of people.”
Claire looked around the church.
“At your wedding?”
A few guests lowered their eyes.
Daniel’s nostrils flared.
Vanessa whispered, “Make her leave.”
Claire turned toward her.
Vanessa froze.
The borrowed veil cast a shadow over Claire’s eyes, but the hatred in them was clear.
“I was leaving,” Claire said. “You both gave me a reason to stay two more minutes.”
Daniel’s phone vibrated again.
He looked down.
No readable screen.
His breath caught.
Vanessa saw his reaction.
“Who is it?”
He did not answer.
Claire did not ask.
She already knew the exact terror of watching a phone decide your life.
Daniel had made her feel it for months.
Late calls.
Turned screens.
Sudden meetings.
Working late.
Now the vibration belonged to him.
The guests watched his hand shake.
He turned the phone facedown against his palm.
Too late.
Claire smiled faintly.
Not happy.
Not victorious.
Cold.
“I hope you charged it.”
Daniel’s face drained another shade.
Vanessa looked from him to Claire.
“What happens at eight?”
Claire stepped closer to the aisle.
Her black coat shifted around her.
“That depends on what he told you.”
Vanessa’s confidence collapsed further.
Because Daniel had told her many things.
May you like
Too many to trust now.
Read Chapter 7 👉 Because Daniel tried the soft voice he used to control Claire, but the phone in his hand kept proving control had moved elsewhere.
