Chapter 3

Almost instantly, I understood what Cecelia had planned.

Years ago, the Lowther family had moved all their business operations overseas. Recently, amid the turmoil, they had decided to reestablish their standing back home.

But the Lowther family's influence in the country had long since faded. People bowed to those with power and trampled anyone who had none. No one here gave Harold a second thought.

Cecelia had arranged tonight's public apology at the banquet for a reason. Her intentions were obvious. She wanted Harold to make a name for himself at my expense.

Once I realized that, my hand clenched into a fist before I could stop myself. Then I forced myself to relax.

Never mind. None of it mattered anymore.

I walked past the crowd and headed straight toward Cecelia, who sat on the sofa at the center of the room.

Harold sat beside her, so close that it seemed deliberate, as though he wanted to make absolutely sure I noticed their intimacy.

When he saw me approach, Harold broke into a bright smile. "Wes."

He looked almost embarrassed as he continued, "Wes, you know, what you did wasn't that bad. You really don't need to apologize to me. I just hope you'll stop misunderstanding my relationship with Cece.

"Of course, if we can clear the air today, it'd be even better if we could become friends."

He knew perfectly well how hollow those words sounded to me. Yet he said them anyway, clearly intent on provoking me into lashing out and upsetting Cecelia all over again.

I merely smiled. "There's no need for that, Mr. Lowther. I'm here today, and since I said I'd apologize, I intend to keep my word.

"As for whether we can be friends, I'm sure you know the answer to that better than I do."

Cecelia gave Harold's arm a gentle tug. "You don't need to feel bad. You deserve his apology."

Harold looked touched by her words, as though he had finally made up his mind. "All right, Wes. Once you've apologized, we can consider everything between us settled."

I had no interest in watching him put on another performance.

I glanced at the crowd that had gathered to watch, took a deep breath, and addressed Harold formally. "Mr. Lowther, I was wrong before. I failed to recognize the true nature of your relationship with Cecelia sooner, and I caused unnecessary trouble for far too long. I'm sorry."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then the whispers began.

"God, Wesley actually apologized."

"His wife just ground his pride into the floor tonight."

Even Cecelia hadn't expected me to give in so easily. She rose to her feet almost instinctively.

Before she could speak, her close friend, Grace Dormer, seized the opportunity to stir up the crowd. "Just a formal acknowledgement? Come on, Wesley. That doesn't seem very sincere."

Back when Cecelia and I were still happy together, Grace would never have dared to cause trouble like this.

Now that Harold had returned, anyone could see that he mattered more to Cecelia than I did. Naturally, Grace no longer felt the need to show me any respect either.

I dug my nails into my palm and asked, "Then what would you consider sincere?"

Grace opened her mouth to answer, but Harold rose to his feet before she could speak. "That's enough. It's fine. I'm nobody, with no money or power to speak of. The fact that Wes is willing to apologize to me like this already means a great deal.

"As long as Wes doesn't deliberately push me down the stairs again, I don't care about anything else."

Cecelia stared at him in disbelief. "Wesley pushed you down the stairs? Is that what you refused to tell me about? Is that what he did to you?"

Harold looked as though he had accidentally revealed something he shouldn't have and refused to say another word.

Cecelia turned on me, her face furious. "Wesley, tell me the truth. Did that happen or not?"

I said nothing.

The incident Harold had just described, in which I had supposedly pushed him down the stairs, had occurred the day after Cecelia threw him a welcome-home party.