"Part 2
For a few seconds, nobody breathed.
Ethan stood under the soft wedding lights, small and serious, with the microphone held close to his chest. The room that had been laughing at me moments earlier now looked trapped inside its own cruelty.
Tiffany’s smile disappeared.
My mother’s face turned pale.
Caleb finally stood. “Ethan, buddy, give me the mic.”
Ethan stepped back.
“No,” he said. “You didn’t say anything when they were laughing at my mom.”
The words landed harder than any adult argument could have.
I stood up so fast my chair nearly fell. “Ethan, come here.”
He looked at me then, and I saw tears in his eyes. Not the loud kind. The kind children try to swallow because they think being brave means not crying.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he said into the microphone. “I know you told me not to make trouble.”
My heart broke.
Across the room, guests shifted in their seats. Some looked ashamed. Some looked away. A few had their phones out, but even they lowered them slowly when they realized this was not entertainment anymore.
Ethan turned back to the crowd.
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