Chapter 1 - The Last Piece of CakeThe bride grabbed a fistful of white wedding cake and smashed it into the seven-year-old boy’s hair.
“GET AWAY FROM MY WEDDING!”
Her scream sliced through the elegant ballroom.
Thick white frosting slid down the little boy’s forehead, covering his eyebrows and dripping onto the black bow tie of his navy-blue suit.
He didn't move.
He didn't cry.
He just stood there, trembling, while two hundred wedding guests watched in stunned silence.
Audrey Vale, twenty-seven, stood over him in a glittering strapless wedding gown. Her blonde hair was arranged in an elegant bridal bun, and diamonds flashed at her ears.
She looked like a princess.
But her face was twisted with rage.
“I told you not to touch anything!” she hissed.
The little boy shook his head.
“I didn't, Audrey. I promise.”
“Don't lie to me!”
A deep voice exploded behind her.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
Nathan Reed, thirty-five, pushed through the frozen guests.
His black tuxedo jacket swung open as he hurried toward his son.
“Eli?”
The boy finally lifted his eyes.
“Daddy.”
That single word stopped Nathan cold.
Eli's face was covered in frosting. His small hands hung helplessly beside his body.
Nathan dropped to one knee.
“Are you hurt?”
Eli shook his head, although his lower lip trembled.
“I was trying to find you.”
Nathan carefully wiped frosting away from his son's eyes.
Then he stood.
And turned toward his bride.
“How dare you treat him like that!”
Audrey crossed her arms.
“He ruined everything!”
Nathan stared at her.
“He's seven years old.”
“He knows exactly what he's doing!”
“That's my son.”
“And apparently,” Audrey snapped, “he's more important than the woman you're marrying!”
The guests exchanged horrified looks.
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“He's a child, Audrey.”
“He's a spoiled little brat who's been trying to destroy this wedding since the engagement!”
Eli flinched.
Nathan noticed.
He had seen that reaction before.
Whenever Audrey raised her voice, Eli seemed to become smaller.
Nathan had told himself the wedding was making everyone anxious.
Now he wondered what he had refused to see.
“Audrey,” he said quietly, “step away from him.”
Her mouth fell open.
“You're ordering me around? At my wedding?”
“Our wedding,” Nathan corrected.
She laughed bitterly.
“Not anymore!”
Audrey spun toward the enormous five-tiered cake.
Before anyone could react, she shoved both hands against the delicate white layers.
The towering cake collapsed.
Sugar flowers shattered against the wooden floor.
Frosting splattered across the linen tablecloth.
A woman screamed.
Audrey whirled back around.
“YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!”
Something inside Nathan snapped.
He reached toward the fallen cake, scooped up a handful of frosting, and pressed it against Audrey's face.
She staggered backward.
Cream smeared across her nose, mouth, and cheeks.
The room went completely silent.
Nathan withdrew his hand.
Even before Audrey started screaming, he knew what he'd done was wrong.
But he didn't take his eyes off her.
“You brought this on yourself.”
Audrey wiped frosting from her eyelashes.
“You humiliated me!”
Nathan glanced at Eli.
His son stood beside the ruined cake, frightened and humiliated in front of strangers.
“You humiliated a little boy,” Nathan answered.
Then he looked down at his wedding ring.
It was gold, polished that morning, and newly placed on his finger less than an hour earlier.
Nathan slowly removed it.
He stepped toward the broken cake and pressed the ring into the thick white frosting.
Audrey stared.
“What are you doing?”
Nathan's voice was barely above a whisper.
“The wedding is over.”
A collective gasp swept through the ballroom.
Audrey's mother, Celeste Vale, hurried forward in a champagne-colored gown.
“Nathan, don't be ridiculous. We can discuss this privately.”
Nathan ignored her.
He took Eli's hand.
“Come on, buddy. We're going home.”
But Eli didn't move.
His little fingers tightened around Nathan's hand.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
Eli looked toward Celeste.
Then toward Audrey.
His face drained of color.
“Are they still going to make me leave?”
Nathan felt a chill.
“Leave where?”
Eli swallowed hard.
“The house.”
Nathan stared at his son.
“What are you talking about?”
Before Eli could answer, Celeste stepped closer.
“Children say all sorts of things when they're upset.”
But Eli suddenly began shaking.
He pointed toward a small blue sticker stuck to the cuff of his suit.
May you like
And whispered five words that made Nathan's blood run cold.
“That's how they marked me.”
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