#19: The List Keeps Getting Bigger
One week before the wedding, Cecelia phoned with a voice as smooth as glass and delivered a condition that struck like cold water. She wanted one hundred additional guests invited without negotiation, and she paired the demand with a final line that left no doubt about her leverage.
If Freya refused, the funding would disappear, and the plans would collapse. Freya gripped the counter and kept her tears from spilling, bewildered by the cruelty that was often masked by manners. She tried to answer with grace, then set the phone down and stared at the calendar, hearing time tighten around her.