Chapter 5: Teresa Carried Sleeping Leo Away From the Wedding Crowd and Its Unspoken Bargain
Teresa shifted Leo higher against her shoulder, careful not to wake him. His cheek rested against the navy fabric of her dress, and one small hand remained closed near his chin. The hallway had begun to change around us. Music from downstairs pressed through the walls in measured bursts, followed by the soft movement of people gathering where I was expected to appear. Every sound seemed to point toward the ballroom.
I looked at the child first, then at the door behind us.
Victoria was still somewhere beyond it. I could not see her, and I would not give myself the excuse of needing to. The words I had heard were enough. Boarding school will handle the baby. The ring in my hand had stopped feeling like a promise between two adults. It felt like evidence of what I had almost agreed to place in Leo’s life.
Teresa watched my face. She did not ask me to explain. Her grip tightened around the sleeping infant instead.
I motioned toward the quieter corridor leading away from the preparation rooms. She understood and started walking. I followed close behind, keeping my pace slow enough that Leo’s breathing did not change. The estate remained full of wedding activity, but the farther we went, the less direct the pressure became. We passed closed doors, stacked chairs, and arrangements of flowers waiting to be carried downstairs. The celebration had been built to make movement easy for everyone except the person who suddenly needed to disappear.
At the edge of the corridor, Teresa paused beside a small sitting room. It was still inside the estate and away from the ballroom’s main path. She entered with Leo and settled into a chair near the wall, positioning herself so that anyone opening the door would see her before the child. I remained outside for a moment, listening.
From downstairs came a swell of orchestral sound. Then footsteps crossed the hall behind me and stopped. Someone was looking for the groom.
I stepped into the sitting room and closed the door almost completely, leaving a narrow opening. Teresa glanced toward it, then down at Leo. He slept through everything, his breathing quiet and even.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
David’s name appeared on the screen. I answered without speaking and held the phone to my ear. The call carried no useful comfort at first—only the faint connection and the sound of him working through the urgency. He had received my warning. He was treating the marriage license as something that had to be stopped before anyone could file it, not as a matter that could wait until the ceremony was over.
I looked at the ring while I listened. The metal caught the thin light from the window. I had carried it through the entire morning believing the hardest moment would be placing it on Victoria’s hand. Now the harder act was refusing to let the day continue simply because other people were waiting.
A knock sounded in the corridor.
Teresa rose carefully, keeping Leo against her. The chair made a faint scrape against the floor. Her eyes moved from me to the door, and the sleeping baby remained the only quiet thing in the room.
Another knock came, more deliberate this time.
I ended the call only after David had made clear that delay was still necessary. The legal answer was not complete, but the warning was enough: I could not go downstairs and let the ceremony gather momentum while the decision remained unprotected.
May you like
Outside, a voice called for me. The words were muffled by the door, but the expectation was unmistakable.
I closed my fingers around the ring and stepped between Teresa and the entrance. The latch began to move.
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