I walked into the BBQ party soaked and covered in mud, and my fiancée’s father sneered at me, “You really look like trash.” I clenched my fists, ready to turn around and leave… when the mansion doors slowly opened.

Ryan’s mother, Linda, attempted to smooth things over. “Margaret, perhaps this should be discussed privately.”

Margaret didn’t even glance at her. “This family has hidden too much privately already. That is why it has become shallow publicly.”

A nervous laugh escaped someone near the grill. Nobody joined them.

Charles squared his shoulders stiffly. “You’re embarrassing this family.”

Margaret answered immediately. “No, Charles. You managed that yourself.”

Ryan stepped beside me and took my hand. For the first time since I met him, he faced his father directly.

“You owe Emily an apology.”

Charles stared at him. “You’re choosing her over your family?”

Ryan’s voice remained calm and steady. “I’m choosing decency.”

The tension became so thick I could hear the fire crackling inside the grill pit.