"Clinging to some dusty old favor between our parents and thinking that's enough to climb your way into the Delgado family? Keep dreaming."
The guests, emboldened now that Scott had said it outright, let their whispers swell into open mockery.
"Scott Delgado runs this city. Even if he didn't marry into old money, he'd marry for love. Who does she think she is? If she doesn't own a mirror, she can always check her reflection in a puddle."
"Trash belongs in the gutter. Try to perch on a higher branch and you won't even know what killed you when you fall."
Before I could get a word out, Scott shot me one last scornful look, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a diamond ring. The stone was enormous—the size of a pigeon's egg, catching the light like a small sun.
He dropped to one knee in front of Hester.
The entire hall erupted.
Hester pressed both hands over her mouth, tears brimming, the picture of overwhelmed gratitude.
Scott slid the ring onto her finger. His voice was tender and deliberate, carrying to every corner of the room.
"Hester, I'm sorry I put you through this."
"This wedding was nothing but a farce my father forced on me. You're the one I love. You've always been the one."
"Marry me. I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. No one will ever make you suffer again."
Hester's face glowed with triumph. She cast a slow, deliberate glance in my direction, then admired the ring on her finger, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"Thank you, Scott. You're so good to me."
I stood there, frozen to the bone. My nails bit into my palms until I felt the skin break.
From the time I was old enough to understand anything, I was taught two things: protect your country, and never accept humiliation.
This was a premeditated attack. A calculated degradation.
If the people above me ever found out what happened here, every last one of them—the entire Delgado family included—would face consequences they couldn't begin to imagine.
The moment that ring slid onto Hester's finger, she looked like a woman who'd finally gotten everything she ever wanted. Vindication radiated off her in waves.
Before I could react, her hand whipped across my face. The slap cracked through the room like a gunshot.
"Know your place, Elise. Get lost. This wedding is mine now."
My cheek burned white-hot.
That slap. Every humiliation I'd swallowed today. I filed them all away.