“What do you mean they can’t pay?” Claire asked, setting down her fork. Dominic’s voice came out rushed and unsteady. “The venue is demanding payment before they’ll continue service, and apparently Isabelle’s father backed out of covering the final balance. Julian’s card got declined in front of everyone. It’s a mess, Claire. Vivian’s mother is crying, people are staring, and nobody knows what to do.”

Claire almost laughed at the irony, the family who’d deemed her too outspoken and unworthy of an invitation was now unraveling in front of the very high-society guests they’d curated the guest list to impress. “And you’re calling me because…?” she asked, already knowing the answer before he said it.

“Julian asked if you could maybe help, just until we sort out the details after the wedding. You always keep an emergency fund. I know it’s a lot to ask.” Dominic’s voice trailed off, the desperation in it unmistakable. Claire looked out over the rooftops of Rome, the city glowing gold in the evening light, and felt a calm she hadn’t expected settle over her.

“Dominic, I wasn’t invited to that wedding,” she said evenly. “I’m not going to fund a reception I wasn’t considered elegant enough to attend. That’s not cruelty, that’s just consistency. Isabelle wanted exclusivity. Tonight, she’s getting exactly that, minus the caterer, apparently.” She heard him exhale sharply on the other end, some mixture of frustration and dawning understanding.

“So you’re really not going to help.” It wasn’t quite a question anymore. “No,” Claire said simply. “But I hope you all figure it out.” She ended the call, set her phone face down on the table, and picked her fork back up, savoring the truffle pasta while somewhere across an ocean, a wedding built entirely on appearances finally ran out of the one thing it had never accounted for: substance. When Dominic returned home three days later, quieter and more subdued than she’d ever seen him, he didn’t bring up Rome again. He simply asked, for the first time in years, what she wanted for dinner.