For several seconds, nobody moved.

On the security monitor, Simone stood beside my mother’s reserved seat, holding the gold ring between two perfectly manicured fingers.

Then she glanced toward the ballroom entrance.

She checked the room.

And she slipped the ring into her purse.

I felt something cold settle in my chest.

“Rewind that,” I said.

The security attendant, Marcus, tapped the controls.

The footage moved backward.

There was Simone again, reaching toward my mother’s hand while Loretta bent to pick up the little wrapped gift she’d dropped earlier. Simone’s fingers closed around the ring with practiced precision.

She didn’t hesitate.

She didn’t look surprised.

She simply stole it.

Then came the fall.

Simone’s foot slid into my mother’s path. Loretta stumbled. The gift flew from her hands. And while everyone watched the older woman hit the marble floor, Simone kept her purse close against her hip.

She had taken the ring before she made my mother fall.

My stomach twisted.

“Play it again,” I whispered.

Marcus glanced at me.

“Sir, I can save a copy of the recording.””

“Do that.””

Behind me, Simone’s heels clicked against the marble.

“Andre, you’re embarrassing yourself.””

I turned slowly.

She stood with her chin lifted, her white beaded gown glittering in the sunlight. Her makeup was flawless. Her expression was almost bored.

“Embarrassing myself?”” I repeated.

“Yes. You’re letting a technical misunderstanding ruin our wedding.””

I pointed at the monitor.

“That’s your hand. That’s your purse. That’s my mother’s ring.””

Simone looked at the screen for less than a second.

Then she looked at the guests.

“Does anyone else think it’s strange that a security camera can make something innocent look suspicious?””

Danielle stepped forward.

“I think it’s strange that you stole an old woman’s jewelry and then tripped her.””

“Watch your mouth,” Simone snapped.

“Make me.””

“Danielle,” Simone’s mother, Patricia, called from near the windows.

“Enough. You are not going to stand here and attack my daughter.””

Patricia wore a champagne-colored dress and a diamond necklace that caught the light whenever she moved. She had spent the morning telling guests that Simone’s wedding would be the most elegant event the family had ever hosted.

Now she marched toward us, her expensive handbag swinging against her side.

“What exactly is happening?”” Patricia demanded.

I pointed to the monitor.

“Your daughter took my mother’s ring.””

Patricia looked at the screen.

For the first time all morning, she had nothing to say.

Then she recovered.

“Oh, please. Simone has more jewelry than she knows what to do with. Why would she want that little thing?””

My mother flinched.

The words struck her harder than the fall.

I stepped toward Patricia.

“Because it wasn’t hers.””

Simone gave a sharp, humorless laugh.

“Fine. I picked it up.””

“You put it in your purse.””

“I was going to return it.””

“When?””

“When the ceremony was over.””

“After you made my mother fall?””

Simone’s face flushed.

“I did not make her fall!””

Marcus pressed another button.

The footage showed Simone’s foot extending into the walking path.

A guest near the entrance gasped.

Someone muttered, “Oh, my God.””

Patricia stared at the screen, then at her daughter.

“Simone,” she said quietly.

“Tell me there’s an explanation.””

Simone turned on her.

“Mom, not now.””

That was when I understood something else.

She wasn’t frightened because the footage had exposed a misunderstanding.

She was frightened because the footage had exposed a choice.

I reached for my mother’s trembling hand.

“Mom, we’re leaving.””

She shook her head immediately.

“No, baby. Don’t throw away your future because of me.””

I stared at her.

“My future?””

She glanced at Simone’s gown, at the flowers, at the guests who had traveled across the country to watch me marry a woman I thought I knew.

“You’ve spent so much money. You’ve worked so hard. Maybe she made a mistake.””

Simone seized the opening.

“Exactly. Loretta understands. She’s a reasonable woman.””

My mother looked down.

I saw her fingers curl inward.

She was protecting Simone.

Even now.

Something inside me broke.

“Mom, look at me.””

She lifted her eyes.

“You didn’t ruin anything. Nobody gets to humiliate you and call it an accident.””

Simone’s expression changed.

The softness vanished.

“You’re choosing her over me?””

I almost laughed.

“I’m choosing the truth.””

She stepped closer, lowering her voice so only the people around us could hear.

“You have no idea what you’re doing, Andre.””

“Then explain it.””

She glanced at Marcus.

“Turn that screen off.””

Marcus didn’t move.

Simone’s voice rose.

“I said turn it off!””

I walked to the monitor.

On a small table beside it sat a framed photograph of my father and mother on their twenty-fifth anniversary. My mother had brought it for the wedding memory display.

I could see my father’s hand resting over hers.