Chapter 4 - I Had Been Blind for Longer Than I Wanted to Admit
Looking back, the warning signs had not been subtle.
Celeste never openly mistreated Maisie in front of me before that day. She was smarter than that. What she did instead was criticize around the edges.
She would look at one of Maisie’s wigs and say, “This one makes her look older.”
Or, “This bow is too dramatic.”
Or, “If she’s in wedding photos, maybe the headpiece should be simpler so she doesn’t draw too much attention.”
At the time, I let myself believe those were normal comments from a bride obsessed with presentation.
Audrey never believed that.
Twice, she told me Celeste seemed irritated whenever Maisie entered a room looking happy and confident. Once she told me, very carefully, that Celeste’s tone changed whenever the child asked about her mother.
I should have listened harder.
Instead, I told myself Audrey was being overprotective.
Then there were the business conversations.
Celeste kept asking questions about control. Not income. Not operations. Not charity work. Control.
What happened if I died suddenly?
Who voted Nora’s founder shares until Maisie became an adult?
Could a spouse override a trustee?
Could an outside manager be removed after marriage?
At the time, I thought she was asking because she wanted to feel secure.
Now I knew better.
She wasn’t building a marriage.
She was mapping out a structure.
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And somewhere along the line, she had decided that Maisie—and Audrey—stood in the way of the future she wanted.
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