All Chapters of My Husband's Stepbrother Is My First Love : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Aurelia's POVVivienne announced the memorial dinner three days after the storm, timed, I was certain, to land exactly when the household still felt raw from what had happened at the venue."Five years since Richard passed," she said at breakfast, not looking up from her tea. "It seemed appropriate to mark it properly this year. A proper dinner. Family, close friends, a few board members who knew him well.""That's a lovely idea," Bianca said, seated beside her, already nodding along like she'd been consulted on the guest list herself.Cassian barely looked up from his phone. "Fine. Whatever you need."I said nothing. I'd learned, over the last few days, that saying very little was the safest way to move through a house where every word seemed to be weighed against me now.*****The dinner was held in the estate's largest dining room, the one usually reserved for board functions, a portrait of Richard Blackthorne hung freshly cleaned above the fireplace for the occasion. Twenty guests

Aurelia's POVThe gala's press kickoff was scheduled for the following Tuesday....a small event for local media and major sponsors, meant to build buzz ahead of the actual night. I hadn't expected Kael to be there. Cassian's restriction had been clear enough, and Priya had been handling the sponsor-facing details for weeks.But sponsorships meant sponsors, and Kael's division was still the largest one on the list. He stood near the back of the room when I arrived, in conversation with a reporter, and neither of us acknowledged the other beyond a brief, careful nod.It should have been simple.... a press check, a few photos, and a short speech from Cassian as the CEO. It might have stayed simple, if Vivienne hadn't decided to attend."Aurelia." She found me near the step-and-repeat banner, her voice pitched for the small cluster of reporters nearby to hear. "I understand you'll be photographed alongside Cassian for the press release. How lovely, after everything.""After everything?" I

Aurelia's POVI didn't go back to bed until nearly four. When I finally did, Cassian was awake, sitting up against the headboard, the lamp on his side already lit."Where were you?" he asked, not accusing this time. Just tired."Couldn't sleep. Got some water." I climbed in beside him, keeping distance neither of us commented on.He was quiet for a long moment, staring at the wall across from the bed. "I've been thinking, since the study. About Kael."My whole body went still. "Cassian.....""I'm not finishing the argument from earlier." He held up a hand, cutting off whatever I'd been about to say. "I've decided something, that's all. I want him off the gala entirely....not just working through Priya. Off it. I'll tell the board his division can still sponsor, but he doesn't need to be involved in the planning anymore.""That seems extreme.""Does it?" He looked at me, something steady and unreadable in his expression now that the anger had burned down into something colder, more del

Cassian's POVThe office was empty by the time Bianca knocked on my door, everyone else long gone for the night, the city outside the windows reduced to scattered lights and distant traffic."You're still here," she said, letting herself in without waiting for an answer. "I saw your light on my way out. Thought you might want company, or coffee, or both.""Both, honestly." I rubbed my eyes, the Hendricks spreadsheet still open on my screen, numbers I'd been staring at for so long they'd stopped meaning anything. "This leak is a mess. I don't know how it got out, and the board wants answers I don't have yet.""You'll figure it out. You always do." She set a coffee down on my desk, then settled into the chair across from me, unhurried, like she had nowhere else to be. "You looked exhausted at dinner the other week. I've been meaning to check on you.""I'm fine.""You keep saying that." She studied me, something soft and patient in her expression. "You don't have to, with me. I'm not goi

Aurelia's POVThe children's hospital fundraiser was technically Vivienne's event, but I had ended up taking care of most of the planning weeks earlier when her assistant secretly asked me for help. It was smaller and more private than the gala. The event was held in the hospital's atrium, where donors and the wives of board members gathered under soft white lights.I hadn't expected to enjoy it. I did, for the first hour, at least..... until Vivienne found me near the auction tables."Aurelia, darling." She said it warmly, for the small cluster of donors nearby, though her eyes carried their usual calculation. "I was just telling everyone how involved you've been with tonight's silent auction. Perhaps you could say a few words, when the bidding opens. Introduce the cause properly.""I didn't prepare anything.""Oh, don't worry about that. Just speak from the heart. It's always more genuine that way." Her smile widened slightly. "Besides, I think it would mean so much to everyone her