Chapter 14: Why Humiliate Her Like This?

Nora went rigid at the sound of her own name.

Footsteps closed in behind her. Panic sent her stumbling sideways, though in the disorientation she had no idea which direction was actually safe.

A second later, something yanked her back with enough force to knock the breath out of her.

A car screamed past, close enough to catch the hem of her dress. Her mind went white with shock, cold sweat breaking out across her pale skin. Even seconds later, her whole body was still trembling.

"Nora, are you out of your mind? You could've been killed just now."

The voice belonged to Julian Shaw, her first love. Her former fiancé.

She pulled free of his grip the instant she registered who it was.

Three years, and this was the first time he'd spoken to her directly. He'd been present at Ashford dinners before, plenty of times, but always at a careful distance never a word exchanged between them.

Facing him now, she couldn't honestly say she felt nothing. But she wasn't about to treat him like a stranger either. Distance felt like the only safe option.

She stepped back half a pace, polite but cool. "Thank you, Julian."

She turned to find somewhere safer to wait for her ride.

But Julian didn't move. He stood beside her, one hand in his pocket, and though she couldn't see his expression, something in his silence made her uneasy.

Then he scoffed.

"Nora. I always figured you were doing fine for yourself. Turns out that's not exactly true, is it."

"You know your husband left you standing on the side of the road to go see Vivian? On your own birthday?"

"Did you ever once ask yourself why Grant Pierce, of all people, married a blind woman?"

Every word landed like ice water down her spine.

Even Julian saw through it. Everyone saw through it. Was I really the only one who never noticed?

No wonder the Ashfords felt so comfortable tormenting me right in front of Grant. Julian probably told them himself, back when the engagement broke, probably called me the biggest fool alive for agreeing to marry him at all.

Everyone could see it except me. I was just that naive.

Julian mocked her without mercy, though even he couldn't quite deny there was something striking about her now a kind of fractured, hard-won beauty that three years had only sharpened. It stirred something in him he wasn't proud of.

If she were a flower, I'd want to pick her.

Before he could say anything else, Nora cut in first. "Instead of wasting your breath making fun of me, Julian, maybe worry about yourself. Shouldn't you be spending your wife's birthday with your actual wife, instead of loitering around here with another man's wife ?"

His face went ashen at that, his tone shifting instantly. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Nora. Don't be ungrateful."

Hair loose around her shoulders, wind catching the strands at her temple, she echoed his own tone right back at him. "If I'm wearing a crown of thorns, Julian, it seems like you might be wearing one too."

Julian's composure cracked entirely, fury flaring in his eyes. "Three years, and you're still just as vicious as ever. No wonder nobody wants you around, not even your own husband. You deserve every bit of this."

Ridiculous. To think I actually felt something looking at her a second ago.

I should've just left her alone. None of this was my business to begin with.

Stung that a woman he'd always looked down on had managed to get under his skin, Julian's gaze landed on the white cane in her hand.

A cruel smile spread across his face. Without warning, he yanked the cane out of her grip and tossed it carelessly into the hedge beside them.

Nora's hands closed on empty air, panic flooding through her.

In unfamiliar territory especially minutes after nearly being hit by a car that cane was the only thing standing between her and total helplessness.

"Give it back, Julian. Please."

He sneered, some petty satisfaction restored. "If you want it so badly, go find it yourself. You blind little wretch how dare you talk to me like that. Where do you get the nerve?"

Something in Nora finally broke loose completely. Every ounce of restraint she'd been holding onto for years gave way at once, grief and fury tangling together, her throat tight and burning.

Why does everyone treat me like this? What did I ever actually do to deserve it?

She lunged forward, fisting her hands in his collar, voice cracking wide open.

"Because I'm the nanny's daughter, does that make it fair to bully me? Because my birth mother made a mistake, does that make my whole existence a mistake too? Because I don't fight back, does that give you all permission to walk all over me? I'm a person, Julian. A real person. I feel things. I hurt. I'm not asking you to be kind to me, I'm asking you to just leave me alone. Is that really so much to ask?"

Julian stood frozen, completely thrown by the outburst. It took him a moment to find his voice. "Okay okay, let go, I'll get it, just let go of me."

That was enough to pull her back from the edge.

True to his word, he retrieved the cane from the hedge and held it out, brow furrowed. "You really are something else, you know that?"

Then he turned and got back into his car.

He didn't drive off right away, though. He sat there and watched her recover the cane, watched her flag down a cab, watched until she was safely inside it.

He couldn't explain, even to himself, why he'd stayed to watch at all.

It wasn't until he saw her walk into the restaurant that he really registered what he'd been doing.

His jaw tightened, one fist pressing against the steering wheel. His eyes drifted, unbidden, toward the direction she'd disappeared in.

Grant left her alone on her own birthday, and she didn't cry, didn't make a scene. Just went on with her night.

He thought back, uninvited, to a night early in their own relationship, a movie he'd forgotten about entirely after getting drunk with friends, leaving Nora waiting outside a theater for hours. She'd never said a word about it the next day. Not one complaint.

Vivian's never been capable of that kind of grace. Not once.

His expression darkened. What is wrong with me tonight?

Sitting here missing how good she used to be to me. I must be losing it.

He forced his gaze away and pulled out into traffic.

---

Further down the road, a black car had been idling in the shadows, watching the whole exchange. It pulled out behind Julian's car and followed for a stretch before stopping.

Inside, a man sat utterly unreadable, eyes fixed on the direction Nora had gone.

"Second Master," the driver said carefully, "Ms. Ashford has canceled her legal identity and booked a flight out of Meridian City for tonight."

Weston's expression gave nothing away, though something sharp and calculating flickered behind his eyes.

So tonight really is goodbye, then.

If that's the case, I find myself looking forward to whatever comes next.

---

Nora made her way upstairs, and a waiter guided her to the private room before stepping away.

She paused outside the door, letting the last of her earlier turmoil settle.

Vivian. Still hoping to become Master Voss's final student, are we?*

Shame you won't be getting your wish tonight. Not even with Grant clearing every path in front of you.

She pulled out her phone and dialed.

---

Inside the restaurant, the table was set with an extravagant spread, staff moving quietly between courses.

Vivian sat glowing with certainty. Master Voss had made his interest more than clear; this apprenticeship was as good as hers already.

Her smile didn't waver until Master Voss's phone rang and he stepped away to answer it.

When he returned, he rose from his seat without ceremony. "Ms. Ashford, it seems my favorite student won't let me eat in peace tonight. I'm afraid our little game ends here.”