CHAPTER 7: Why Victor Stayed Away

Ava turned toward her father.

“You knew?”

Victor’s anger softened when he looked at her.

“Not enough.”

“Then why did you stay away?”

The question had lived inside Ava for eleven months.

Victor could have called.

He could have sent Rachel sooner.

He could have attended the rehearsal, answered her messages, or prevented the wedding before Julian reached the altar.

Victor looked toward the empty front pew.

“Because you asked me to.”

Ava flinched.

But he did not stop protecting her.

Then Ava’s voicemail arrived from the bridal room.

Dad, you were right. I do not know how to get out.

“I should have called sooner,” he said. “I confused respecting your distance with abandoning you.”

Ava’s tears returned.

Victor stepped closer but did not touch her.

“May I stand beside you now?”

Ava nodded.

This time, he asked.

That made all the difference.

Victor stepped into the space beside her, not in front of her. He did not take the agreement from her hands or tell the priest what to do. He let Ava remain the person at the center of the decision.

For years, Victor’s protection had felt like another form of command. In that moment, he finally understood that standing beside someone was not the same as steering them.

Ava understood it too.