Chapter 32: Smoke and Mirrors

 

The morning of the wedding dawned cloudless over Cape Town, the Atlantic glittering like shattered glass beneath the cliffs. Thando stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the One&Only bridal suite, her reflection shimmering in the beaded bodice of her custom Mmuso Maxwell gown. The weight of the crystals pressed against her ribs with each nervous breath. Lerato adjusted the final pin in Thando's updo, her fingers lingering a moment too long on her best friend's shoulder.

Lerato: “ Stop being anxious.” 

she murmured, though her voice lacked its usual sharpness. 

Lerato: “ You'll ruin the silhouette.” 

Outside, the string quartet began playing their cue. The ceremony unfolded like a scene from a luxury magazine spread. A carpet of Ecuadorian rose petals led to a chuppah woven with proteas and twisted chrome, their metallic strands catching the sunlight. Arjun stood waiting in a bespoke Tom Ford tuxedo, his smile perfectly calibrated as Thando walked toward him on her father's arm. 

Arjun: “You look like a dream.” 

he whispered when she reached him, his hands closing over hers with practiced tenderness. 

Behind him, rows of unfamiliar faces smiled on command. An elderly woman in emerald Chanel tapped her diamond watch. A cluster of men in ill-fitting Brioni suits stood with military stiffness. None of them resembled Arjun in the slightest. During photographs, Thando leaned close to her new husband. 

Thando: “ Which one is your mother?” 

she asked, nodding toward the woman in Chanel. Arjun's arm tightened around her waist.

Arjun: “ She’s shy, doesn't speak much English.”

he said smoothly. Buhle watched from the sidelines, her lawyer's eye cataloging the inconsistencies. None of Arjun's so-called relatives hugged him. Their group photos were completed with clinical efficiency in exactly seven minutes. When the best man gave his toast, he spoke in generic platitudes about love, never once mentioning a shared childhood or personal anecdote.

Buhle: “That's not a family, that's a casting call.”

Buhle muttered to Lerato. By the third course of the reception, all forty-two of Arjun's guests had vanished. Their plates of untouched lobster risotto grew cold. Their champagne flutes remained full. 

Arjun: “ Business emergency in Dubai, they were devastated to miss your first dance.”

Arjun explained, refilling Thando's wine with a steady hand. Zee, who had been live-streaming discreetly from the sweetheart table, panned her phone across the empty chairs.

Zee: “Y'all seeing this?”

she whispered to her 50,000 viewers.

Zee: “Poof. Like goddamn Cinderella's carriage at midnight.” 

The comments exploded.