The Discarded Heiress: Married To My Ex Fiancé’s Brother のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 81 - チャプター 90

EliasThe courthouse hallway smelled like old carpet and stale coffee.I spent the twenty minutes before Liam’s hearing standing very still beside Lenora, watching my mother approach from the far end of the corridor with the same measured, unhurried composure she brought to everything, funerals, birthdays, and family catastrophes alike.“Elias.” She studied me for a moment, something careful behind her eyes. “You look like the one serving the sentence.”“Old habit.”I managed a smile.I couldn’t pretend to like my mother. She still had a hand in why my family had turned out the way it did, and no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t simply let that go. Knowing the truth about her had complicated everything I thought I understood about my childhood. I had spent years believing I knew which parent was responsible for what, which one had caused the damage and which one had simply stood by and watched. Now, I wasn’t entirely sure either of them could be separated so neatly from the mess

LenoraMy mother called about Christmas the way she called about everything these days—carefully, as if she were handling something that might still blow up in her face if she wasn’t gentle enough with it.“We’d love to have you both,” she said. “The whole family, actually. We’re doing the big dinner this year, the one we used to have before—well, before everything. I thought it might be nice. A fresh start.”“That actually sounds lovely, Mum,” I said. And I mostly meant it, except for the small, persistent unease I couldn’t quite explain.I still had my doubts.I wanted to believe we could all sit around the same table, share a meal, laugh about old memories, and enjoy Christmas without everything that had happened hanging over us.But wanting that and knowing how to make it happen were two very different things.Three days later, I found myself standing in my closet, trying to decide what a daughter who’d survived an arson attack, a forged signature scandal, and her husband’s entire

EliasArthur Keene showed up at my office the second I walked in. He was a tall, huge fella, but he had a kind face. He stretched out his hand and introduced himself.“Good morning, Mr Vance. I’m Authur Keen from Hampton Holdings.”“I don’t think my assistant told me I’d be meeting someone so early.”He hesitated.“Actually, I—I pulled some strings.”I arched a brow."We're not asking you to decide anything today," he said, settling into the chair across from my desk. "The board simply felt, given recent circumstances, that someone should formally raise the question before the new year. Your father's incapacitated. Your brother's incarcerated. The company your family built is currently being run, functionally, by committee, and committees are not known for vision.""I built Vantage specifically so I'd never have to set foot in Hampton’s,” I said dryly."I'm aware. I was on the board when you left, Elias. I watched exactly how badly this family treated you on your way out." Something

LenoraSomething instantly dropped in my stomach.My gaze fell to my feet, my face heating with embarrassment.“Of-of course not, Mum.”It hadn’t even been five minutes, and I already felt awful. Reese looked a little devastated beside me, and for a solid second, no one moved.But knowing Reese, she quickly found a way to maneuver the situation.“Of course not, Mrs. Hartwell. I’m way more awesome.” She grinned before launching into an introduction so charming and unhinged that I watched my mother’s careful composure crack into actual laughter within thirty seconds.“I see,” she said, looking delighted. “Well, then, that’s a relief.”I tried to manage a smile, but my stomach twisted painfully. Then I felt Elias’s warm hand settle on the small of my back.He said nothing, but the look in his eyes as he greeted my mother was enough to tell me he was furious. If he could have called her out for saying something so insensitive to her own daughter, I knew he would have.That comforted me a

LenoraThe weekend with my parents went way better than I’d ever expected. Dad and Mum were actually talking to me, and they were delightful. They loved Elias and Reese, too. The actual Christmas dinner didn’t blow up into flames like I’d thought it would, and all I could say was that this was some kind of Christmas miracle.My family and I still needed time to fully get everything back on track, but I was grateful to even get another shot at being with them. And it was all thanks to Elias.We’d been home for less than an hour before I pulled Reese into the kitchen and shut the door behind us.“Okay,” I said. “We need to do something for Elias. Something real and big. He’s been really down lately, and I just want to do something special for him. He’s always been there for me, Reese. He’s done so much for me, and I want to do the same for him.”“Agreed.” Reese dropped onto a stool, already fully invested. “Okay. What does a man like Elias Vance actually want? Because I’m assuming a lux