Collin lifted one hand slightly as if directing the room rather than arguing with her. “Mrs. Dalton, you have had the microphone long enough.”
Felicia frowned. “Collin, what are you doing right now.”
“I have been watching,” he answered quietly. “Not just tonight but for months. The comments, the insults, the way you talk about your sister as if she is a cautionary example that makes you feel superior.”
Felicia laughed again but the sound came out thin and brittle. “It is my wedding day and everyone is laughing, so stop being dramatic.”
Collin turned his head and addressed the guests directly. “If you laughed tonight I am not here to shame you,” he said evenly. “People laugh when someone powerful tells them it is safe to laugh.”
Several guests shifted in their chairs.
Then he looked back at Felicia. “But I am not marrying into a family where cruelty is treated like entertainment.”
Felicia stared at him. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am,” Collin replied.
Judith stood abruptly with her purse clutched in her hand. “This is unbelievable,” she snapped. “You are ruining my daughter’s wedding because of some overly sensitive nonsense.”
Collin’s expression remained steady. “No,” he said. “I am responding to a mother holding her child while the two of you mock them in front of an entire room.”
Felicia’s voice rose in anger. “That kid is not even my responsibility.”
“That is exactly the problem,” Collin answered.
My hands trembled and I suddenly felt exposed in a way that reached far deeper than the moment itself because years of quiet insults had built this exact scene piece by piece.
Collin looked directly at me. “Olivia,” he said gently. “I am sorry for what you just heard and for whatever you have been hearing your entire life.”
Felicia’s voice cracked. “Do not apologize to her. She loves playing the victim.”
Collin’s gaze hardened. “Felicia, last month you asked me to add something to the prenuptial agreement.”
Felicia’s expression froze. “Do not start that conversation here.”
“You said your sister could not be trusted,” Collin continued calmly. “You wanted a clause preventing her from ever being involved in family property discussions or future inheritance decisions. You also insisted that if your mother ever required care, you would never be responsible for it.”
Judith’s face turned pale as she stared at her daughter.
Felicia stammered. “That is not what I meant.”