Chapter 3: Don’t Touch My Wife!

•CELINE's POV•

I had no idea where the sudden surge of courage came from, but I’d had enough of everyone’s bullshit. My fear of losing my job as Nathaniel’s assistant had completely vanished.

I no longer cared about the generous salary or the comfort it provided. I just wanted to get out of that room, away from the people who looked at me as though I were beneath them.

Veronica turned to Nathaniel, pouting. She was obviously waiting for him to put me in my place.

“It’s okay, my love,” he said calmly, not taking his eyes off me. He took her hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. “Allow me to handle this.”

He glanced at the spilled drink before raising a hand toward the waitress near the entrance.

“Could we have someone clean this up, please?”

The waitress hurried over with a cloth.

“You see? Was that so difficult?” Veronica muttered, settling against Nathaniel’s shoulder.

I ignored her and returned to my notes, though the words on the page had begun to blur together. Heat crawled up my neck, and every passing second felt like another test of my patience. I wanted to slam my notebook shut, walk out, and never look back.

Just one evening, I reminded myself. All I had to do was get through this evening without losing my temper.

But Nathaniel’s mother wasn’t finished.

“Celine Ward!” she snapped. “Apologize to Veronica immediately.”

I looked up. “Why should I, Mrs. Frost?”

“Because you embarrassed her in front of our guests. She made a simple request, and you responded with utter disrespect.”

“With all due respect, I’m not a waitress.”

“You are here to assist my son and this family,” she said sharply. “You should be grateful you’re even allowed to sit at this table at all.”

Nathaniel’s father joined in, fuming. “An apology is the least you can offer. Don’t let a little attention from my son make you forget your position.”

My face burned, but I held his gaze. Nathaniel said nothing.

He didn’t defend me or remind his parents that I was there because he had asked me to come. He simply sat beside his fiancée, allowing them to humiliate me while she watched with quiet satisfaction.

I looked around the table, but not one person spoke up for me.

“Celine?” his mother warned. “Apologize. Now.”

I pushed my chair back.

“No.”

Her eyes widened. “What did you just say?”

“I said no. I did nothing wrong, and I won’t apologize for refusing to be treated like a servant.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Nathaniel’s father demanded.

“Perhaps you should remember who you’re speaking to,” his mother added. “I’ll make you pay for talking back at me. What insolence!”

I turned to Nathaniel one last time. Some foolish part of me still wanted him to intervene, to show even the smallest sign that I mattered to him beyond the work I did.

He finally met my eyes again.

There was no remorse in his expression. No concern. Only irritation, as though I were the one making the evening difficult.

Something inside me finally clicked into place.

I picked up my folder and stood.

“Excuse me.”

“Celine, sit down. Now!” Nathaniel ordered.

For once, I didn’t obey him.

To hell with him and his stuck-up family!  I cursed under my breath as I turned on my heels. May they all choke on their own damn arrogance!

I walked out of the banquet hall, ignoring the stunned faces around the table and the angry voices calling after me. My steps quickened as I reached the doorway. I refused to let them see how deeply their treatment had affected me.

I needed air. Space. Anything that didn’t remind me of the man who had promised to stand beside me forever, then watched as his family treated me like I was nothing.

I barely made it through the doorway before colliding with someone coming from the opposite direction.

My folder slipped from my hand. Papers scattered across the floor, and my purse fell, spilling everything in it.

“Watch where you’re going, Miss,” a deep voice said.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” I muttered, bending to gather my things.

A pair of polished black shoes stopped beside the scattered papers. Before I could reach for the last sheet, a hand picked it up.

I looked up, ready to thank the stranger.

Then I froze.

Adrian Blackwood.

Nathaniel’s estranged half brother. His fiercest business rival. The last man I expected to encounter outside that hall.

He was even more handsome up close than in the photographs I’d seen in business magazines. Tall and broad-shouldered, with neatly swept-back black hair, striking green eyes, and a sharp jawline, he had the kind of face that made it difficult to look away.

I had never been this close to him before.

And I had certainly never expected to find myself staring.

His gaze moved from my face to the papers in his hand before returning to me.

“Celine?” he asked. “What the hell happened to you?”

My mouth fell open, but I couldn’t find the words. His eyes held mine, and I suddenly became far too aware of how disheveled I must look, with my purse overturned at my feet and my carefully maintained composure in pieces.

“I… I’m fine,” I mumbled.

It was a terrible answer. Even I knew it.

Before tonight, I would have avoided Adrian at all costs. Nathaniel despised his half brother and had made it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate me associating with him. For years, I had been careful to stay on the right side of every boundary Nathaniel set.

But after what had happened inside that banquet hall, I couldn’t bring myself to care anymore.

“You look like you’ve been chased by something,” Adrian remarked. “Or are you in such a hurry to get somewhere?”

“I said I’m fine,” I snapped.

“Of course.” His gaze dropped to my purse.

Before I could protest, he bent down and began gathering its contents. He picked up my lipstick, compact, keys, and loose receipts, placing them inside my purse. I stood there, awkwardly watching him do what I should have been doing myself.

When he straightened, he held my purse in his hands. Just before handing it to me, he paused and eyed me suspiciously.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his gaze shifting toward the banquet hall behind me. “Are you with Nathaniel?”

I drew a breath to answer, but a furious voice rang out behind me.

“Get the hell away from her, Adrian, before I break your jaw!”