"You." He shakes his head. Still smiling. "You're actually very funny, Bruno."
"I'm hilarious."
"You are." He takes a step closer. "It's like you have curses waiting to come out of your mouth. Loaded and ready. For no reason at all, actually."
I stare at him.
He stares back.
"You could have just waited," he continues. "Sat there for another ten minutes. Let everyone say their goodbyes. Then we all leave together, and nobody thinks twice about it."
"And instead?"
"Instead, you look like an asshole." Valentino shrugs. "In front of her. In front of both families. In front of God, if you believe in that sort of thing."
The corridor feels smaller suddenly. The walls pressing in.
I think about her face. The way she stood there at the altar, veil still covering her features, waiting for a kiss that never came. The way her shoulders stiffened when I wheeled backward instead of forward.
I humiliated her.
I know I did.
"I don't give a damn."
The lie tastes bitter on my tongue.
Valentino's expression shifts. Just slightly. The amusement fades, replaced by something sharper. Something that sees too much.
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
He doesn't believe me. I can see it in the way he tilts his head. The way his eyes narrow.
But he doesn't push.
That's the thing about Valentino. He knows when to stop. When to let silence do the work instead of words.
I turn the chair back around. Start wheeling toward the exit again.
"The car's waiting," I say over my shoulder. "Let's go."
His footsteps follow. Steady. Patient.
Like he's got all the time in the world.
Like he knows something I don't.
