Chapter 20: Don't Hold Back

Wendy hadn't even registered Julian's approach until he was already there.

He shook Nathan's grip off her wrist and turned to Wendy, voice gentle. "Pour it. Don't hold back."

Sophie lit up, cheering her on. "Sister-in-law, do it, get her back!"

No reason the Vance family should take this lying down.

Cassidy instinctively ducked behind Nathan. Her outfit tonight was thin enough that a full glass of wine would leave absolutely nothing to the imagination in front of a packed restaurant.

"Brother Nathan..." she murmured, clutching at his sleeve, pleading.

Nathan's eyes dropped to where Julian's hand still rested protectively over Wendy's a plain enough statement. Whatever had existed between him and Wendy was long gone. She belonged to someone else's world now.

Watching Cassidy cling and whine stirred something sour in him.

When did she get this insufferable? Was she always like this and I just didn't notice?

Sophie, oblivious to the tension, kept pushing. "Sister-in-law, c'mon, I'm getting sleepy over here."

Wendy nearly laughed at the absurdity of the whole scene.

Cassidy, increasingly nervous about actually catching that wine, tugged at Nathan, angling them both toward the exit.

"Mr. Hale," Julian said, even and cool, "this is a personal matter. I'd hate for it to spill over into something that affects business."

Julian had always held the upper hand over Nathan professionally and both of them knew exactly what that comment implied. Walking away now meant inviting retaliation on every future deal.

Not that Julian had needed much of an excuse to make Nathan's life difficult before this.

Nathan yanked Cassidy back. When she resisted, he hissed under his breath, "Look what you've done."

She dropped her head, resentment simmering, but she knew better than to push further. If this escalated and hurt Hale Corporation's standing, Grandpa Hale who already thought little of her would only like her less.

She wasn't ready to risk losing Nathan over it. So she stood there, rigid, and endured.

Nathan's gaze settled on Wendy, almost daring her would she actually do it?

Getting humiliated by his own companion in front of a room full of witnesses stung more than he wanted to admit. He wasn't a man who let slights go unanswered. If Wendy actually threw that wine, there would be consequences.

He still had one card left. Lowering his voice, he said, "I'll hand over Eleanor's medical records. Let's just call tonight even."

Wendy blinked, caught off guard. She and Julian had tried everything to pry those records loose and here Nathan was, offering them up just to protect Cassidy's dignity.

"You mean that?" she asked.

He nodded, certain this would be enough to get Cassidy off the hook.

He'd read the situation correctly. To Wendy, Eleanor mattered infinitely more than any petty satisfaction she might get from humiliating Cassidy.

"Fine. Deal." Wendy's tone hardened. "Have someone deliver them. Now."

Julian's grip on her hand tightened briefly a silent question. She answered it with a reassuring glance.

Nathan half-steered, half-dragged Cassidy away. Within minutes, a courier arrived with Eleanor's complete file.

"Why put yourself through that?" Julian asked once they were alone, genuinely puzzled.

Wendy smiled. "Good trade, though. Now he's got nothing left to hold over me."

Sophie had been listening the whole time and finally pieced it together. "Wait is that why you met up with him before? For the medical records?"

Wendy shot her a sharp look, but Sophie just stared back, confused, glancing between her and Julian. *Didn't Brother already know about that? Why's Wendy acting weird about it?*

Slowly, Wendy turned to Julian, eyes wide with something between confusion and dread. "You knew? This whole time?"

He nodded. Reading the panic creeping across her face, he gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. "I know you went to get the records. It's fine. Let's head home."

Sophie stepped in front of Wendy, puffing up protectively. "I'll walk her out."

Julian simply scooped Wendy up into his arms, leaving his sister gaping. "Let's go."

Caught off guard, Wendy grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, bracing instinctively.

"Relax," he said. "I've got you."

She nodded, though the nerves didn't fully settle.

She'd never been carried like this before it felt precarious, like she might slip free any second.

He carried her the whole way to the car, settled her into the back seat with total steadiness, then circled around and climbed in up front.

Sitting there afterward, something warm settled in her chest.

Turned out being carried like that didn't actually risk falling at all not with how steady his hands had stayed the entire way.

Sophie scooted closer in the back seat, uncharacteristically subdued. "I'm sorry. For everything I put you through before."

"I'm not holding it against you," Wendy said. "I know it came from worrying about your brother."

Sophie perked up slightly. "So... does that mean you two don't have to move out?"

If she couldn't talk Julian out of it, maybe Wendy would be easier to convince.

"We're still moving," Wendy said, without hesitation. "But we'll visit plenty. And you're always welcome to come stay with us, if you ever want to."

Sophie's whole face lit up until Julian's voice cut in from the front seat.

"Sophie. You're living on campus."

"I don't technically have to," Sophie stammered. "It's not mandatory or anything."

True enough the university didn't require it. She'd chosen campus housing purely for convenience.

Though if she was honest, the real reason was the empty house. Diane traveled constantly, Julian lived at the office half the time, and coming home to silence every day had worn on her.

Now that there was finally someone around to talk to, the idea of going back to dorm life felt unbearably dull by comparison.

"Campus is more convenient, though," Wendy offered. "And it's a good chance to build friendships."

Sophie ran through a mental list of people at school and, reluctantly, conceded the point.

People always said college was basically society in miniature, and honestly, she agreed. Getting comfortable navigating that now would only help later especially as a Vance, where half her future network probably sat in those same lecture halls.

"Before I head back to campus," Sophie said, perking up again, "I want to help decorate the new place."

She looked at Wendy, hopeful.

Wendy glanced toward Julian it was his home too, ultimately his call on the details.

Catching her look, he waved it off easily. "Do whatever you want with it. Saves me from hiring a designer."

With his blessing secured, Wendy turned back to Sophie. "Deal. Let's go shopping tomorrow."

Sophie practically tackled her in a hug. "I love my sister-in-law the most!"

"My clothes are still ruined from earlier," Wendy said, trying to peel her off.

Sophie didn't care not until a pointed cough from the front seat got her settling back into her own space, sulking.

Stingy. It was one hug.

The next day, Wendy and Sophie set out shopping together. The plan had originally included Julian, but a last-minute business trip left it just the two of them.

Sophie had a weakness for anything sparkly or dramatic, practicality be damned if it caught her eye, she wanted it.

Wendy wrestled an armload of items out of her grip. "You cannot buy half of this."

She pointed at a lamp that, somehow, produced no actual light. "What is this one even for?"

It resembled a miniature galaxy, pretty to look at, functionally useless as illumination.

"It's gorgeous," Sophie said, unbothered. "Huge sentimental value."

Wendy pointed next at an elaborate garden fountain. "And this?"

"This one" Sophie clasped her hands together, already building the pitch. "Look at the detailing around the edge, it's basically"

"Nope, nope, stopping you right there," Wendy cut in. "Sophie, we need functional things. Where would a fountain even go in an apartment?"

Sophie nodded like she understood, though her expression suggested otherwise.

"Just follow my lead. No more impulse buys," Wendy said.

"Fine."

She agreed right up until checkout, when Wendy spotted a glass dome enclosing a single preserved rose in her cart.

Wendy fixed her with a long, silent look.

"There's only one," Sophie offered weakly.

Moments later, a sequin-covered mug materialized in the cart as well.

Wendy's patience finally snapped. "Sophie!”