“Did they exile you to the corner as well?” she whispered with a tired laugh. I told her that I apparently did not fit the desired profile for the main tables and she replied that at least nobody at this table was pretending to be someone else.
I sat there for the next hour handing out juice boxes and drawing a massive dragon for the boy whose name was Parker. From my seat in the shadows, I could see my brother acting like he was the king of the world while my parents beamed with pride at his success.
They had spent years looking down on me and asking if I was still writing things on the internet while they praised Jeffrey for knowing how to climb the social ladder. They never understood that while Jeffrey talked constantly, I was the one who listened and turned those observations into powerful words.
By the time I was twenty-six, I had signed secret contracts with some of the most influential people in the country who were happy to pay for my voice. I earned more money than my family could ever imagine, but I kept my success quiet and they never bothered to ask the right questions.
I was finishing the wings on Parker’s dragon when I felt the entire energy of the ballroom shift toward the front doors. Every conversation stopped as the guests turned to see that Xavier Thorne had finally arrived.
Xavier did not just walk into the room because he was the kind of man who commanded attention without ever having to say a single word. He wore a charcoal suit and looked around the hall with the calm confidence of someone who had nothing left to prove.
Jeffrey practically sprinted across the floor to greet him and told him what an incredible honor it was to have him at the wedding. Xavier shook his hand politely but his eyes were already scanning the room as if he were looking for someone specific.
“We have a seat for you at the head table next to the primary investors,” Jeffrey said while grinning like he had just won a prize. Xavier replied that he would actually prefer a much quieter spot where he could relax.
Jeffrey looked confused and offered to open up a private lounge in the back of the house for him. Xavier was not listening anymore because his gaze had finally landed on the tiny table in the far corner where I was sitting.