Semua Bab The billionaire's discarded bride: Bab 11 - Bab 20

The moment Adrian asked me what happened, the entire room went silent.For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him.Because in twenty-four years, nobody had ever asked for my version first.Not when Sienna broke Mother's favorite vase and blamed me.Not when Father accused me of losing an important contract.Not even on my wedding day.Everyone always decided I was guilty before I opened my mouth.Yet Adrian was looking at me now.Waiting for MY answer.The realization hit me so unexpectedly that my chest tightened."What happened?"His voice was calm.Controlled.But his eyes never left mine.Around us, the tension became unbearable.I could practically feel Sienna staring at me.Panicking.The way she always did whenever things stopped going according to plan."I didn't push her."My voice sounded strange to my own ears.Quiet but steady."I wasn't even near the staircase."Sienna immediately gasped.As though I'd slapped her."Celia!"Tears filled her eyes instantly.How c

The office remained painfully silent long after Vanessa left.I kept my eyes on the documents scattered across Adrian's desk not daring to look up.And for some reason the whole desk was blurry. All I could think about was the way she had kissed his cheek.The way she had walked into his office without knocking.The way she had looked completely at home beside him.As if she belonged in his world perfectly well. Elegant, confident, absolutely stunning, the kind of beauty that makes one absolutely run mad. Women like Vanessa Hart didn't hesitate.Women like me did. "Celia."His voice broke through my thoughts.I looked up more quickly than I should. "What?""You've been staring at the same page for five minutes.""Oh."Heat crept into my cheeks."I was thinking.""I noticed."There was something strange in his tone.Almost amused.Embarrassingly, that only made me blush harder."I should go."I stood so quickly that my chair scraped loudly against the floor."I haven't finished."

"Celia." I didn't turn around. The evening breeze carried the scent of blooming jasmine through the Lancaster garden, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside my chest. I heard Adrian's footsteps behind me. Unhurried. He wasn't a man who chased people. Yet here he was. Following me into the garden. "I wasn't trying to upset you." His voice came from only a few feet away. I wrapped my arms around myself. "You didn't." A terrible lie. He sighed. "Celia." "I'm fine." "You keep saying that." "Because I am." Silence. I stared at the fountain ahead of me. The water danced b

"You'll be late." Eleanor's voice drifted into my room just as I finished fastening the tiny pearl earring. "I'll be down in a minute." "No," she called back. "You'll be down now." I laughed despite myself. Only Eleanor Lancaster could order people around with so much affection. Taking one last look in the mirror, I almost failed to recognize the woman staring back. The emerald gown hugged my figure gently, flowing to the floor in soft waves, My usually loose hair had been swept into an elegant twist, leaving a few curled strands to frame my face. The makeup artist had insisted on keeping everything simple. "You have kind eyes," she'd said. "Too much makeup would hide them." It wasn't a compliment I'd heard often. I reached for the doorknob just as another

My fingers hovered over his hand. "I'll embarrass you," I whispered. The orchestra had already begun its slow waltz, and couples drifted onto the polished dance floor beneath the glow of crystal chandeliers. Around us, people waited. Watching. Adrian's hand never wavered. "I don't embarrass easily." I looked up at him. "I've never danced before." "Neither have I." A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "You expect me to believe that?" His expression remained perfectly serious. "My grandmother forced me into lessons when I was twelve." "So you have danced." "I survived lessons." "That's different?" "It is." T