Daniel stood up. He saw guests looking away, uncomfortable. He saw Emma attempting to close the box with trembling hands. He remembered her apologies, the missing photograph, the birthday rituals postponed for more convenient days. Every small incident that had felt too minor to challenge now lined up into something unmistakable. "Don't tell her to hide it," he said. His voice was quiet, but Celeste turned toward him as though he had shouted. "It's her mother's necklace. She can wear it anywhere she wants."
Celeste kept her public smile for another second. "Daniel, not in front of the children." She looked at the photographer, then at the guests near the table. "This is an emotional subject, obviously. Why don't you and I step inside?" Daniel shook his head. "You spoke to Emma in front of everyone. She deserves to hear the answer in front of everyone." He turned back to his daughter. "Emma, listen carefully. Nothing you remember about Mom can make me love you less. Nothing you keep of hers can make me leave. I am sorry if I ever made you think otherwise."
Emma's mouth crumpled. "She said if I didn't stop asking about Aunt Lauren, you'd have to choose." She looked horrified at what she had admitted. "I didn't want you to choose, Dad. I thought maybe if I was really good, everyone could stay." Daniel's chest tightened with a grief different from the one he had known when Hannah died. He had made a promise to keep his child safe, and she had been trying to protect him from a danger he had failed to see. He opened his arms. Emma stepped into them so quickly that the jewelry box nearly fell. He caught it against his shoulder as she buried her face in his shirt.
"You never have to earn your place with me," he told her. "Not today. Not ever." She held on harder. Around them, voices faded. Celeste's mother approached with an anxious expression, but Celeste lifted one hand to stop her. She was watching Daniel now with a calculation he had never noticed before. He could almost hear her deciding which version of the argument would leave her looking most innocent.