She Melted My Dead Father's War Medal Into a Bracelet

I'd been too loud. People were already turning to look.

Vincent steered me to the far end of the hallway, lowered his voice, and pleaded.

"Elena, it's my brother's engagement today. Everyone here is somebody. Don't make a scene. Whatever it is, can't we just talk about it at home?"

"I'm not making a scene! Your mother stole my father's keepsake!"

"I know." He gripped my shoulders. "But think about it. If you blow this up now, where does that leave our family? If my brother's engagement falls apart, we're finished."

"Once the party's over, I'll make Mom apologize to you, all right? We'll get the bracelet back, take it to the jeweler, have it melted down and reset the way it was—"

"How is that the same thing?" I shook his hands off me. "That medal was an honor my father paid for with his life. Melt it down and it's gone forever!"

His face shifted into something close to irritation.

"Then what do you want? Call the police and have my mother arrested? She's your mother-in-law. She's the grandmother of the baby in your belly. You really want to make this big?"

I froze.

"Elena, I know this hurts. But you have to think about the bigger picture. You're heavily pregnant, married far from home, with no family behind you. If this turns into a fight, you're the one who loses."

His voice was calm. There was no warmth in it at all.

"Enough. Go rest. I'll handle things here."

He turned and walked away.

I stood in the hallway, tears running down my face and refusing to stop.

It wasn't grief.

It was the realization that Vincent had probably known about this from the very start.

I didn't leave. I splashed water on my face, went back into the banquet hall, sat in a corner, and watched a roomful of people clink glasses and toast each other.

Anne was in a dark red dress, beaming, going table to table to toast the guests.

When she reached Geraldine's table she stopped on purpose, took Geraldine's hand, and praised the bracelet on her wrist.

"My second son is a lucky man, marrying a fine girl like Geraldine."

Geraldine's mother laughed too, said her in-law was too generous, giving such a costly gift.

I watched from the side, sick to my stomach.

After the party, I rode home with Vincent.

I didn't speak the whole way. Neither did he.

Inside, Anne was on the couch cracking sunflower seeds. When she saw me, something uneasy flickered across her face, but it passed quickly.

"You're back? Elena, today was hard on you, so let Mom apologize. That business with the gold medal, Mom really shouldn't have done it."

"But Mom had no choice. You saw it yourself, Geraldine's family is well-off, and our family can't let theirs show us up. That gold medal of yours was just sitting there anyway. Better to put it to use—"

"It was my father's keepsake." I cut her off.

Her face dropped.

"I know it was your father's. But how many years has your father been dead? Your mother's gone too. You're an orphan girl. What good does keeping a thing like that do? Can you eat it? Can you spend it?"

My nails dug into my palms.

"Let me tell you something, Elena." Her voice climbed. "Don't think being pregnant lets you put on airs. Your parents are both gone, you don't even have a brother or sister, you're an outsider with a big belly. Where exactly do you think you can go?"

She looked me up and down and let out a cold laugh.

"If you know what's good for you, this is over and done with, and I'll still treat you as my daughter-in-law. If you don't, if you have to make trouble, then you can think about the consequences yourself."

"Mom, that's enough." Vincent finally spoke.

"Fine, I'll stop." Anne settled back into the couch and crossed her legs. "I've laid it all out for you anyway. You can chew on it yourself."

I went back to the bedroom and shut the door.

I picked up my phone and opened the home security camera app.