"She didn't want a fuss. She said she just wanted it done, the paperwork, I mean, and that the real celebration could come later, whenever it suited everyone. I think, if I'm honest, she didn't want to take anything away from you and Julian right now. She knows everything you two have just been through."
Amara let out a breath that was half a laugh, half something closer to disbelief, and turned to look at Julian who was watching her with that particular expression he always wore when the world conspired to remind them both just how quickly a life could change shape.
It had been barely any longer than that Madam Vale, her formidable, guarded, endlessly private mother-in-law, had stunned an entire industry by marrying one of the most famous film stars on the continent.
"With everyone having flash weddings around here," Amara said, shaking her head slowly, a genuine laugh finally breaking loose, "I suppose I shouldn't be shocked anymore."
