She had just reached to switch off the lamp when laughter drifted through the wall from the adjoining room.
At first she ignored it. Her bridesmaids were in the next suite — Vanessa, her maid of honor, and several women she had known since college. A little late-night laughter the evening before a wedding was entirely expected.
Then she heard Vanessa’s voice, clear and unmistakable.
“Spill wine on her dress. Lose the rings. Whatever it takes.”
A pause. Then: “She doesn’t deserve him.”
Olivia sat up very slowly on the edge of the bed.
Another voice — Kendra, one of her college bridesmaids — laughed uncomfortably.
“You’re terrible,” Kendra said.
Vanessa’s reply came without any hesitation at all.
“I have been working on him for months.”
The Moment the Room Seemed to Shift
