"You could have told me before the wedding," I said.
Tears gathered in her eyes. "Yes. I could have. I'm sorry."
I let the apology remain where it was. It did not open a door between us, and it did not erase months of deception. Sofia continued speaking, perhaps because she realized I was not going to rescue her from the discomfort of telling the whole story. She explained that Julian had hinted at ending our engagement more than once but always postponed making any decision.
"He said he couldn't hurt you while your mother was so excited about the ceremony," she told me. "Then he said it would be a disaster for his career if he broke things off before the investment committee meeting. I know those were excuses now. I think I knew then. I just wanted to believe there was a version in which he hadn't been lying to both of us."
I took a breath. "How does Ashford House fit into this?"
Her head jerked toward me. "You know about that?"
"I know Westbridge has my drawings, and I know no one at my company approved their use."
Sofia looked physically ill. "Julian said he'd spoken to you. He showed me images from your laptop and told me you'd agreed to act as the design partner once the funding package was approved. We used them in the report because the renderings from the outside consultant weren't ready. He said you could sign the letter of intent during the trip."
"There is no letter of intent I've seen."
"There is a draft. Julian has it. He thought that if the board approved the acquisition on Friday, you would want to be part of it. He said it was romantic, that you'd be building something together."
I laughed without humor. "And bringing you on the honeymoon was part of the romance?"
Sofia lowered her face into her hands. For several seconds neither of us moved. The sound of the ocean seemed suddenly too loud, waves hurrying toward the beach and retreating before I could hold any one of them in place. I thought of a project that had meant so much to me because it offered the chance to revive a neglected building, and I wondered whether Julian had ever been able to see something beautiful without calculating how he could use it.
"I am not asking you to keep this from his company," Sofia said eventually. "I need you to know that I helped put the presentation together. I believed some things that were not true, and I chose not to ask the questions I should have asked. I don't want you taking responsibility for a report you never approved."
"Are you telling me because you regret what happened to me," I asked, "or because you're worried it will fall on you?"
She looked at me for a long moment. "Both," she admitted.