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Chapter Fifty-Three: What She Did
publish date:
2026-05-16 07:13:38
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Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 147: The last stance
PENELOPE The wedding came as a surprise, as it was never meant to be an event.We booked no venue months in advance. We debated no guest list for weeks. We ordered no flowers from somewhere that required notice.It happened on a Saturday, because that was the Saturday Adrian came back from Geneva, "It will happen today, if you want," he said.I said yes before he finished the sentence.Mrs. Park cried when I called her. She has watched as all this resolve and had watched it happen from too close to pretend she wasn't invested.She arrived within forty minutes, carrying Nora's best dress and wearing her own good coat. She has already done a lot, and nobody was going to tell her otherwise.I asked Jonathan to come, and he did. He didn't act surprised, he has finally learnt to let things slide.He wore the same dark coat he'd had on the night Seraphina collapsed at the hospital. He walked into the registry office and sat in the front row beside Mrs. Park.Seraphina sat beside him.They
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 146: Before the End
PENELOPE Jonathan swam at the coast for the second time, where he had spent months standing at the water's edge, trying so hard to overcome his fear of water. I was there when he was showing me. Then he walked in, still in his usual tuxedo, and the water reached up to his knees. He stopped, and I could see how heavily he was panting. Then he took off his outfit, leaving nothing on but his shorts. I could see how shaky his legs were, and it made me wonder whether it was from the cold water or from fear. He went further this time; his waist went deep, and his legs were completely buried by the water. He stopped again and turned, and at this point, he was indecisive about whether he should submerge himself or not. Then he pushed forward, went under, came up, and started swimming. He swam for about twenty metres, then swam back, and walked out to stand on the pebbles. He was soaked through, and his clothes were clinging to his skin."I wish I could go back to when all thi
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 145: It Almost Broke It
PENELOPE Six weeks after the gallery closed, Adrian's mother came to London to stay and not the casual visiting she does.She had sold the Hertfordshire property, the workshop, the garden that would have been extraordinary in summer.She arrived at my door on a Saturday morning with two suitcases and the look of a woman who had made a decision and was standing inside it now, daring anyone to question her.I had known she was coming. Adrian had told me. What I hadn't known was that she was bringing something with her...The table.It came in a van and two men carried it up the stairs. They set it down in my kitchen."He said you wanted it here." She lamented."I did. I wanted a table." i responded.She nodded. "It is made from good wood. It'll last.""So will I."She almost smiled but held it back which was unusual for her appearance.Adrian came up behind the men and stood in the doorway. He looked at his mother, then at the table. "It fits properly.""It does. Look at how beautiful t
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 144: She didn't expect that
PENELOPE Three weeks later, the Hartwell situation resolved faster than Tessa had predicted because Jonathan walked into Hartwell Capital's offices on a Tuesday morning without an appointment and bought their entire position in my company outright as a hostile acquisition of their stake.He then transferred the shares to Nora, in trust, for when she was old enough to decide what to do with them.Tessa called while I was in the Clerkenwell office, staring at the documentation."He can do this?" I asked excitedly."He already did it," she said. "The shares aren't his to give you. They are Nora's. He is her father, he can put assets in trust for her without your approval."I set the document down and looked at the wall, at the print of Velour I had hung there...one of the smaller projections from the gallery show, framed simply."He protected your company's ownership structure," Tessa said. "No external party can make a claim through those shares until Nora decides.""Which is never. Sh
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 143: The Declaration
PENELOPE Tessa called later on. "It's weak," she said. "The clause is standard, but their application of it is a stretch. Seraphina's introduction was informal, never documented as a formal referral, and Hartwell has no direct contractual relationship with your company. We'll fight for this. But it takes three months minimum." "I don't have three months," I said. "Why not?" "Because I'm ending this today." I stayed. "Ending what?" "All of it." I hung up, got dressed, left Nora at Mrs Park's care and drove to Seraphina's building. She answered the door in pyjamas and looked at my face before stepping back to let me in. Her flat was half-packed with boxes everywhere, the walls already stripped. She was moving out even though she has already sold the house. " About Hartwell Capital," I started. She looked at me, and something moved through her face that wasn't quite guilt. It was more like watching a buried thing surface exactly where she had buried it. Then she said. "I introd
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret 142: The Woman With the Camera
PENELOPE I went downstairs. The woman was still there when I came out. She saw me coming and didn't run, which told me she was professional and was willing to confront me. "Who hired you?" I asked"Ms. Westfield. I can explain...""Who hired you?" I asked again.She lowered the camera down. "I'm not able to...""You've been standing outside my building," I said, "photographing my window. My daughter is upstairs. Tell me who hired you, or I'll call the police right now and you can explain the camera to them."She looked at me, deciding if she would reveal too much or not. "Hartwell Capital."I stared at her. "The investment firm?""Yes." she responded."They withdrew their claim against my company months ago." I muttered "They withdrew the legal claim," she said. "They retained a separate interest in the situation.""What interest?"She reached into her bag, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to me. I opened it. Inside was a printed document. I read the first paragraph, then the
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret Chapter Eighteen: The Woman in the Room.
Penelope's POV ***AT AN EVENT "Stop trembling with the bracelet." Adrian stood beside me, holding two glasses of water. He gave me that look he saved for moments when I was trying to appear calmer than I felt."I'm not trembling," I replied."You’ve adjusted it four times in the last minute." He
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret Chapter Fifteen: Again
Penelope's POV The city was still dark when I zipped my last bag.Five fourteen in the morning. The radiator and tap were no longer making any noise unlike before. I stood in the middle of the apartment and looked around at the small, bare space I had called mine for a few weeks.The marks on the
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret Chapter Seven: The quietness feels so...wrong
Jonatha's POV "Is she really gone?" I uttered under my breath, staring deeply into the thin air.Mrs. Hale glanced at me from across the kitchen counter. She held a dish towel in her hand. "She left last night," she said. "With one suitcase and her travel bag."I glanced at the kitchen doorway, th
Love, Lies, and a Billionaire's Regret Chapter Five: Everything I wasn't keeping
Penelope's POV***"You don't have to do this tonight." Mrs. Hale stood in the doorway of my bedroom, her hands clasped together. Her eyes showed how worried she was."I know," I said."At least wait until morning, Penelope. It's nearly ten o'clock.""I'm fine, Mrs. Hale."She lingered in the doorw
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