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Alarge vanity and a floor-length mirror stood next to them, along with a couple of ivory adjustable salon chairs.Theywere sharing a bottle of champagne inside the heated tent.Meanwhile, the catering staff set up the chairs for the ceremony in a choreographed routine.Theservers were dressed in black tuxes, so it was easy to blend in while peeking through the curtains and listening in on their conversation.
“Butit’s only been five months sinceJay?—”
“Isee where this is going, andI’mgoing to stop you right there,”Jordancut her off. “Iunderstand this seems fast, but based on everything you told me,Zanehas been waiting years to be with you.”
Years?
Jordantutted. “Youhave both suffered long enough.Don’tmake him wait again just because other people might judge you for remarrying quickly.”
“Idon’t care what other people think of me.”
“Thenwhat is this about?”
“I’mworried aboutPoppy.”
Metoo.Forthe hundredth time,Ifound myself wondering howPoppymust be processing this transition.Shelost everything within the span of a few months.Itsucked that her mother was remarrying and moving on despite all the tragedy.Itwas one thing for death to take you from your loved ones; it was another for your alive loved ones to abandon you.Thiswedding was worse than the funerals because it was an intentional choice to abandonPoppy.Howcould her mother not see that?
“Didshe object to the wedding?”Jordanasked soothingly.
“No,” the soon-to-be bride replied unsurely. “Notreally.”
Iwas surprised by the answer.Noteenager would be okay with their mother remarrying so quickly.Therehad to be more to the story.
Jordanshrugged. “Thenyou have nothing to worry about.”
Piyashook her head. “Idon’t know.”
“Poppyis a straight shooter.Trustme, she would have made it known if she had a problem with this.”
Piyawas reluctant. “Poppyhas become so closed off.Ihave no idea what she’s thinking.Shenever shares her feelings.”
Iunderstood her frustration surrounding this topic.Poppywas impossible to read.Inoticed how the mother-daughter duo interacted atJayAmbani’sfuneral.Poppywas much too reserved with her emotions.
“Tobe fair,Poppyhas never been big on sharing her feelings to begin with.”
“True.ButIcan’t shake this feeling that she can’t standAxel, and he isn’t making things any easier.Heplanned this big wedding without telling me.IknowPoppyis going to hate it, andIdon’t want to make my daughter sad.Thiswas a bad idea,Jordan?—”
“Shh, take a deep breath,”Jordancooed, putting her arms around her frantic best friend. “Youneed to stop worrying so much aboutPoppy.You’rean empty nester, babe.It’snot likePoppylives with you and will have to deal withZane, so it’s okay if they aren’t best friends.You’vedone a great job raisingPoppy, but she is off to college, living her own life.It’stime you do the same.”
Piyasighed defeatedly. “That’sa valid point.”
No, it wasn’t.Poppymight be off to college, but she had no one else other than her mother.IfPiyaremarried, she’d move on to happy-go-lucky land, leavingPoppybehind to suffer alone.
Jordanset her champagne glass on the vanity and dropped her voice. “Lookat it this way.Ifyou guys are married,Poppywon’t have a choice but to develop a relationship withZane.Ifshe is in the market for a father figure down the road, who better than her biological father?”
Biologicalwhat?
Thehold around my beer glass tightened.TrimalchiowasPoppy’sbiological father.Didthat meanPiyaAmbanihad an affair for the entirety of her marriage?DespiteDad’sassertions,Ihad been certainPiyaAmbaniloved her husband, and the cheating accusations were nothing but frivolous rumors.
Werethe speculations correct?
Therewas a pause. “Ido want them to bond, butPoppyis paranoid people will find out aboutAxel.Idon’t know if she’ll ever let herself get close to him.Youshould’ve seen her afterJoeMaxwell’saccusation in the board room.”
Apunch landed in my gut.Fromthe sounds of it,Poppyknew of her origins and hated it.Shelived in fear of being discovered, andDadouted her darkest secret.
Myhands shook with fury over whatDadhad done.Ihad been waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering what might pushPoppyover the edge.Ididn’t know it had already been done, andIplayed a part in it.Iset my glass down and dragged myself away from the conversation.Ididn’t want to hear more.IwishedIhadn’t heard it because nowIfelt worse than ever forPoppy.
Iwalked toward the ceremony area and waited as guests filed in.Isat in the back to watchPoppyfrom a distance.Shewouldn’t be able to spot me with hundreds of guests in attendance.Itwas for the best, asIwas the last person she wanted to see.
