Chapter 5: The Debt Behind the Wedding
David looked from Tiana to Brooke.
“What did you just say?””
Tiana hesitated.
She glanced at the document in David's hand, then at the bride whose palm had struck her only minutes earlier.
“I didn't want to get involved,” Tiana said.
“But when I saw that amount, I recognized it.””
Brooke stepped toward her.
“Don't you dare.””
Tiana flinched at the sharpness of the command, but she didn't leave.
David moved slightly between them.
“Brooke, let her speak.””
Brooke stared at him.
“You're seriously choosing her over me again?””
“I'm choosing to hear what she has to say.””
Tiana took a breath.
“About six months ago, Brooke came into the restaurant where I work part-time. She was meeting someone at a table near the back. I recognized her because David had shown me your engagement photos.””
David frowned.
“You never told me about this.””
“You were busy. And I didn't think it mattered.””
“What happened?””
Tiana clasped her hands together.
“I was bringing coffee to another table when I heard her arguing with a man. I wasn't trying to listen, but they were speaking loudly.””
Brooke folded her arms.
“That's a convenient story.””
Tiana continued.
“The man said she owed him money. He mentioned thirty-eight thousand dollars, and he said he'd waited long enough. Brooke told him she was going to pay him after the wedding.””
David looked down at the loan application.
“Did you hear what the money was for?””
Tiana shook her head.
“No. But I remember one thing she said.””
“What?””
Tiana swallowed.
“She said, ‘David has a good job now. Once we're married, we'll have access to more money.’”
Brooke's face turned red.
“That is not what I said.””
Tiana looked at her.
“I remember the words.””
“You were carrying coffee! You couldn't possibly have heard everything.””
“I heard enough to know the man was angry.””
David studied the document again.
The loan application listed his annual income, his employer, and an address he hadn't lived at for almost two years.
The information was accurate.
That made it worse.
Someone had gathered his personal details and used them to support a financial application without his knowledge.
He placed the paper on the table.
“Who was the man?””
Brooke shook her head.
“Nobody you need to worry about.””
“That's not an answer.””
“He was someone I knew before we met.””
“Someone you owed thirty-eight thousand dollars?””
She looked away.
David's voice hardened.
“How long have you been hiding this?””
Brooke began crying again.
“I didn't want to bring my past into our future.””
“Your past is now attached to my name.””
“I was going to handle it!””
“With a loan in my name?””
She covered her face.
“I made mistakes.””
“What kind of mistakes?””
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she sank into a chair, careful not to crush the elaborate folds of her gown.
“My ex-boyfriend, Ryan, convinced me to invest in a business with him. He said we'd make a fortune. I put in my savings, then borrowed more when the first payments came due.””
David sat opposite her, keeping the documents between them.
“What business?””
“A luxury event-planning company.””
He almost laughed, but the sound never left his throat.
“An event-planning company?””
“Yes.””
“And it failed?””
Brooke nodded.
“Ryan disappeared. The suppliers demanded payment. I was left with the debt.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I knew what you'd think.””
“What would I think?””
“That I was irresponsible. That I couldn't manage money. That you couldn't trust me.””
David stared at her.
“You were right about the last part.””
She recoiled as if he'd struck her.
He immediately regretted the cruelty of the wording, but he couldn't take it back.
Tiana looked down at her shoes.
She hadn't wanted to witness another private confrontation. She'd only wanted the truth about why she'd been slapped in front of a ballroom full of strangers.
Now she was standing inside the wreckage of a marriage that had barely begun.
David turned toward her.
“Tiana, thank you for telling me.””
She nodded.
“I hope you understand I didn't come here to hurt you.””
“I know.””
Brooke rose abruptly.
“Can everyone stop acting like she's some kind of hero?””
Tiana's face tightened.
“I never asked to be involved in your marriage.””
“Then leave!””
David stood.
“Don't speak to her like that.””
Brooke's expression turned vicious.
“You've known me for years, David. You've known her for what? Four months in a spare bedroom and a few conversations over the years? Why are you acting as though she's the only honest person you've ever met?””
“Because she hasn't given me a reason to think otherwise.””
Brooke stared at him.
Then she picked up the loan application and ripped it down the middle.
David's eyes widened.
“What are you doing?””
“Getting rid of this nonsense!””
She tore the pieces again, scattering them across the dressing table.
“You don't need to see any of it. The loan hasn't even been approved.””
David slowly gathered the pieces.
“You don't get to decide what I need to see.””
“I am your wife!””
“And that doesn't give you permission to use my identity.””
Brooke's breathing grew ragged.
For a moment, David thought she might throw something.
Instead, she sank back into the chair.
“I was scared,” she whispered.
David looked at her.
“Scared people ask for help. They don't forge signatures.””
“I didn't think you'd understand.””
“You never gave me the chance.””
The room fell silent.
Denise appeared at the door again.
“I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are guests asking whether the reception is continuing. The caterer also needs to know what to do about the remaining food.””
David glanced at his watch.
The reception had been planned for months. There was a photographer, a band, a room full of guests, and a wedding cake scattered across the floor.
Every practical detail suddenly seemed absurd.
“Tell the guests we'll make an announcement shortly,” he said.
“And please make sure Tiana's supervisor knows she wasn't responsible for the cake.””
Denise nodded.
“I'll take care of it.””
Brooke looked up.
“You're going to announce something?””
“I need to speak to everyone.””
“David, please. Don't do this.””
He picked up the documents.
“Then give me one reason to believe you haven't lied about everything else.””
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
David walked toward the door.
Behind him, Brooke whispered, “If you leave me standing in that ballroom alone, I will never forgive you.””
He stopped.
For a moment, he was back on that Atlanta curb three years earlier, watching rainwater gather around his shoes and wondering whether his life would ever get better.
He remembered the way Tiana had opened her apartment door.
He remembered her saying that everybody deserved a place to sleep while they were figuring things out.
He turned toward Brooke.
“I'm not asking you to forgive me,” he said.
“I'm asking you to tell me the truth.””
Then he left the suite.
Tiana remained behind, uncertain whether to follow.
Brooke looked up at her, tears running down her face.
“You must be very proud of yourself.””
Tiana shook her head.
“No. I'm just tired.””
“Tired of what?””
“Of watching people get hurt because someone else refuses to admit what they've done.””
Brooke's expression hardened.
“You have no idea what I've been through.””
“Maybe not,” Tiana said.
“But I know what it feels like when someone decides you're the easiest person to blame.””
She turned to leave.
Brooke's voice followed her.
“Wait.””
Tiana stopped at the doorway.
Brooke looked down at the torn loan application.
“There was another reason I needed the money.””
Tiana slowly turned around.
“What reason?””
Brooke wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Then she said something that made Tiana's stomach drop.
“Ryan wasn't the only person who lost money in that business.””
Brooke looked directly at her.
“Your name was on one of the accounts.””
Tiana went completely still.
“What?””
Brooke's lips trembled.
“I didn't know it was yours when I first saw it.””
Tiana shook her head.
“I've never invested in your business.””
“I know that now.””
“What account?””
Brooke looked toward the closed door.
“The account that received the money after the business collapsed.””
Tiana felt a chill spread through her body.
She had never met Ryan.
She had never signed a business contract.
And until that moment, she'd never heard that her name had anything to do with Brooke's debt.
Then Brooke reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
At the bottom was a signature.
Tiana recognized it immediately.
May you like
It was hers.
But she'd never written it.
