Chapter 9
I lowered my head, guilt gnawing at me. Fleming pulled me into his arms again. “Let’s not dwell on it. This isn’t your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Grant and his manipulations.”
I managed a small, awkward laugh.8
Neither of us noticed Grant, hiding in the shadows of the hallway.
His face was ashen, haunted by the sight of me nestled in Fleming’s embrace. The way Fleming and I shared an easy smile sent a surge of jealousy through him, one so sharp it was almost maddening.
Grant would never admit it, but he cared for me–maybe even loved me. He relished my affection yet recoiled at the idea of being seen as dependent, so he always kept me at arm’s length, crushing my pride time and again.”
He watched me now, bitterness in his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to step forward.
It wasn’t until Fleming took my hand and we started upstairs that Grant finally moved.
warddy’s
His phone rang. Decker’s voice came through, tight with anxiety. “Where the hell are you? Cassidy’s gone again–she answered a call from Ileana and disappeared. I know Ileana forced her to leave!“}
Grant frowned, bewildered. “She answered a call from Ileana?“}
He’d been standing here the whole time;
hadn’t touched my phone once.
Decker sounded exasperated. “Who else could it be? Cassidy said herself it was Ileana who called. Get over here and help me look for her. If we wait any longer, Cassidy’s bound to get hurt again.”
Grant’s voice was cold and distant. “Just call the police.”
For the first time, he didn’t rush off to find Cassidy. Instead, old memories began to replay in his mind–memories that now seemed tinged with doubt.
A terrible suspicion started to take shape. In silence, he dialed the police and then headed for the security room, digging through hours of surveillance footage.”
He rewound every moment Cassidy had ever accused me of bullying her–and watched, stunned, as the truth unraveled on the screen.
She had jumped into the pool herself.
She smashed the cake with her own hands.
She took scissors to her own clothes.D
She tumbled down the stairs by choice.
Lie after lie, unraveling before his eyes.}}
Grant turned away from the monitors, silent. He didn’t have the courage to face
ymore.
The next time I saw Grant was the day Fleming and I got married.
On the way to the church, I glimpsed a trio of figures on the sidewalk through the car window.
Grant and the others looked far from their former glory, but still carried that icy air about them. Cassidy clung to Grant’s pant leg, pleading with him, but he didn’t so much as flinch. When she turned to Carver for help, he ignored her completely. Even Decker, usually her most devoted supporter, shoved her aside with obvious disgust.
Tears streaked down Cassidy’s face, but her old tricks won her no sympathy this time.
At first, I didn’t recognize any of them. Only when Grant’s vacant gaze locked with mine did I realize who they were. I looked away, indifferent, and didn’t give them a second glance.
After the engagement, my father offered them a generous sum. They refused, insisting they would repay him for the years the Sinclair family had supported them.
I just laughed.
They had spent millions of the Sinclair family’s money over the years. Now that they’d left, what could they possibly use to pay it back?? That night, as the fireworks worth a fortune lit up the sky, Fleming took my hand and led me down the aisle, surrounded by cheers and warm wishes. An anonymous letter was slipped into my hand. I recognized the familiar handwriting instantly.
Without a word, I dropped it to the floor and let it be trampled underfoot.
Fleming watched me with a gentle smile, and, as the ceremony drew to a close, he laid a document before me.
“I hereby transfer all my assets to my wife, without regret or reservation.“@
The entire hall erupted in shock–even I stared at him in disbelief.
Fleming’s smile never faltered. “Don’t you want to marry me?”
I nodded, hand pressed over my mouth, too stunned for words.
He guided my hand as I signed. “I swear, I will never keep anything from the woman I want to spend my life with.”
Everyone knew Fleming meant every word.§
After the wedding, Fleming made good on his promises in every way. We had two children in three years–a boy and a girl. Not wanting me to endure the pain of childbirth again, Fleming chose to have a vasectomy himself.
My father told me that Grant and the others had failed in business and fled abroad, deep in debt. Cassidy was sent back to the countryside and married off to a local farmer for money, and her life since had been far from happy.”
2 2 8 2 2
None of it moved me. My heart remained unmoved and calm.
It wasn’t until I saw Fleming walking toward me, holding our children by the hand, that I finally smiled.
These were the people who would be my happiness, now and always.
(The End)
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