I Was Seated Alone at My Son’s Wedding — Then a Stranger Said ‘Act Like You’re With Me’

“What exactly did you have?”

Viven’s question came out sharper than she’d probably intended.

Theo and I exchanged a look that carried 50 years of what if and might have been.

“Everything,” he said simply.

“He We had everything.”

The waiter appeared to take our orders, giving everyone a moment to process this information.

When he left, Brandon leaned forward with the intensity that made him successful in the courtroom.

“Theodore, I need to ask directly.”

“What are your intentions regarding my mother?”

If the question surprised Theo, he didn’t show it.

“My intentions are to spend whatever time we have left making up for the years we lost.”

“Beyond that, it depends on what Ellanar wants.”

All eyes turned to me.

For the first time in decades, I was the center of attention, not because I was needed for something, but because my choices mattered to other people.

What I want, I said slowly, is to stop being treated like a burden or an obligation.

I want to be valued for who I am, not dismissed because I don’t fit someone else’s idea of what’s appropriate.

The pointed look I gave Brandon made him shift uncomfortably in his chair.

“Mom, if this is about yesterday—”

“Yesterday was just the culmination of months of being made to feel invisible,” I interrupted.

“But we’re not here to rehash the past.”

“We’re here because suddenly my personal relationships are interesting to you both.”

Viven had the grace to blush, but she recovered quickly.

“Eleanor, I hope you understand that we were just surprised yesterday.”

“We hadn’t realized you were seeing anyone.”

“I wasn’t,” I said bluntly.

“Theo appeared like an answer to prayers I didn’t even know I was praying.”

“And the building purchase,” Brandon asked, cutting straight to the heart of their concern.

Theo’s smile was predatory.

“What about it?”

“Viven’s father is concerned about the lease termination.”

“His company has been in that location for 15 years.”

“Business is business,” Theo replied smoothly.

“Though I suppose I could be convinced to consider alternative arrangements if the circumstances were right.”

The negotiations were beginning in earnest now.

I realized my relationship with Theo had become a commodity to be traded, a potential solution to their financial concerns.