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She had a way of entering rooms that made people straighten their backs without knowing why. She hugged Daniel quickly, gave me a brief smile, and then settled herself into the guest room.
Her eyes ran over the dress hanging on the mannequin in the corner of the room.
Clara nodded, her eyes moving slowly over the stitches.
“It’s very homespun, I guess.”
The word lingered longer than it needed to.
Her gaze didn’t just pass over it — she stopped on it.
Then she asked, too casually, “So, it will be here all night?”
“Yes,” I said. And her mouth tightened like she’d learned something useful.
Now I found Clara by the makeshift mimosa bar Aunt Sheryl had insisted on. She was fussing with orange slices like presentation mattered more than decency.
She blinked once, then followed — calm, like she hadn’t done a thing in her life.
“I opened the closet this morning and my dress was ripped.
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