The Wife He Buried Alive novel · Chapter 12 of 32

Chapter 12: The Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner was held in the glass ballroom at the top of the Garrick Hotel.

A hundred and twenty people sat at tables under white lights.

I waited behind the service door in a black dress, with my mother's pearls at my throat.

Through the gap I could see the head table.

Juliet sat at the center in ivory, with her father at her right.

Harriet sat at Winston's left and patted his sleeve while the waiters poured the wine.

Winston stood and tapped his glass with a fork.

The room went quiet, and Juliet smiled up at him with her whole face.

"Thank you all for coming," Winston said. "I have something to say, and I'm going to say it once."

His eyes found the service door. He nodded very slightly.

"I won't be marrying Juliet Carrow tomorrow."

Nobody moved. Somebody's glass clinked down on a plate.

"I can't," he said. "I'm still married."

I pushed the door open and walked into the light.

A hundred and twenty heads turned.

A woman near the front gasped aloud, and a chair scraped.

"This is my wife, Linnea," Winston said. "She's alive."

"She is the only wife I have ever had, and I've been a fool in front of every one of you for four years."

Juliet was on her feet, and her napkin slid to the floor.

"Winston, sit down. You're upset, we'll talk."

"We won't."

"You cannot do this to me in front of everyone! I took your calls. I held you up for four years. I did everything you..."

She stopped.

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