"Tessa?" Ares breathed, the name cracking out of him like a secret let loose.
Chloe's fingers clamped around his forearm. "Don't," she hissed. "Ares, stop."
He stepped off the dais. Guests turned. Music died. At the back of the aisle, Tessa stood between two women, pale and steady.
Marcus rose. "What is this?"
Lady Bianca didn't hesitate. "Nannies, now. Security, remove the children from the floor. Take them to the green room."
Four small heads jerked. Kamal and Jamal in tiny tuxedos, Beauty and Pretty in white, were swept away by two nannies. Beauty clutched Pretty's hand. Jamal looked at Ares. Kamal pressed his mouth thin.
Tessa lurched. "Please…don't take them," she cried. Mariam and Ayisha caught her elbows.
"Isn't this your best friend?" Ayisha asked. "Getting married to your baby daddy?"
Tessa shook her head. "She probably did it to help be closer to my children so she can take better care of them."
Ares shook free of Chloe and moved down the steps. "Tessa," he said again, softer. Up close, he saw the nick at her eyebrow, the pale bands around her wrists, the exhausted defiance in her eyes.
"Ares," she whispered.
Chloe reached his side. "We don't even know if that's really her," she said. "Don't make a scene."
Tessa's chin lifted. "I want my children," she said, voice clear. "Chloe…It's me."
A gasp moved the room. Phones rose.
"Julian," Ares said, "clear the ballroom."
Julian acted. "Ladies and gentlemen, brief intermission—drinks on the terrace!" The crowd flowed toward the garden doors.
Soon only Ares, Chloe, Bianca, Marcus, Julian, Tessa, her companions, and security remained.
"We're not doing this here," Ares said, nodding toward an anteroom. "Please."
Tessa's gaze followed the corridor where the children had gone. "If they leave the building," she said, "I'll scream in the street until every camera in this city finds me."
"They're here," he said. "They're safe."
She nodded once. They moved into the glass and oak room. The door clicked shut.
They stood like chess pieces. Ares at center. Chloe behind his shoulder. Bianca in a corner. Marcus near the door. Julian by the threshold. Tessa against the wall, Mariam and Ayisha flanking her.
"Talk," Ares said.
"I was kidnapped," Tessa said. "Seven years. We escaped two weeks ago."
Chloe's laugh was thin. "Convenient."
Tessa lifted her scarred hands. "I have no papers. I have this," she said, "and the fact that I can tell you how your daughter gulps before she laughs when the sound is too big."
Bianca scoffed. "Ares, eject her."
"Mom, stop," he said. "Who took you?"
"Men who take women," Tessa replied. "Names I won't say in this room because I do not know them."
Ayisha's voice was flint. "We worked. We were beaten. We ran."
Mariam nodded. "We slept in ditches."
Ares swallowed. "Seven years," he said. "And you walk into my wedding?"
"I saw Chloe with your mother at the mall," Tessa said. "I had no number. No address. Today was my only door."
"Ares, why are you being soft?" Chloe swallowed. "You prepared for this day…she eloped with another man, abandoned your kids…she only came here because her lover threw her back to the streets or is in jail."
Tessa, Ayisha and Mariam stood looking at Chloe in shock.
Tessa shook her head, tears coming out. "No, no…Chloe what are you saying? Tell them what really happened. Did you hit your head on a rock?"
"Enough!" Marcus said.
"Leave before I call security. If I call security, you're joining your lover in jail."
"Ares, take your bride with you, we will handle this." Julian said.
Ares was hesitant but Chlie pulled him away.
Tessa stood in tears watching them as they walked out. "Chloe…" She muttered. "Please…Chloe, I am not angry you are getting married to him. I just want my children, please help me."
Chloe left with Ares.
"Get rid of her, Julian." Marcus said, walking out with Lady Bianca.
Tessa fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks, her body shaking. "No…this is not happening…my children…"
"I think we need to leave." Ayisha said, pulling Tessa to get up.
Tessa shook her head. "I am not leaving without my children."