CELINE’S POV-


    The cleaning rag shook in my hands as I stood frozen in the marble hallway, my mind a tempest of Hunter’s promises from the night before.


    His voice echoed in my memory….raw, desperate, certain…as he’d spoken of marriage, of forever, of making me his wife despite a world chosen to tear us apart.


    “I’m going to marry you, Celine Brown, and no one…not my mother, not society, not God himself…is going to stop me.”


    I wanted to believe him with every fiber of my being.


    Wanted to trust that the man who’d held me like I was precious, who’d whispered derations of love against my skin, would fight for us.


    But Eleanor’s words slithered through my thoughts like poison: ‘Men like Hunter don’t choose women like you for keeps!


    The sound of Caesar’sughter drifted from the gardens where he yed with Caroline, pure and innocent, oblivious to the storm brewing around us.


    That sweet sound made my chest constrict painfully. How could I destroy his happiness? How could I rip him away from the father he adored, from this life of security and love?


    But staying meant watching Hunter slowly realize his mother was right. Staying meant watching him choose his legacy over his heart.


    I should take the money. Take Caesar. Disappear into the night like the nobody Eleanor believed me to be.


    A sharp cough made me look up, and my blood chilled. Ana stood at the far end of the hallway, her pale eyes glittering with malicious


    satisfaction.


    She wasn’t alone…three other staff members nked her, their expressions ranging from disgust to barely concealed glee.


    The whispers started immediately.


    “Look at her, still pretending she belongs here.”


    “Did you see the marks on her neck this morning? Shameless.”


    “That poor child doesn’t even know his mother’s a…”


    The word they were about to use for Caesar….for my beautiful, innocent son…made rage re in my chest. My hands clenched into fists, the cleaning supplies forgotten as 1 took a step toward them.


    But then Sally’s warm voice cut through the venom. “Don’t you all have work to do?”


    The head maid appeared at my side like a guardian angel, her weathered face stern as she faced down the gossips.


    Behind her stood Marcus, one of the senior chefs, his massive frame and crossed arms making the group scatter like startled birds.


    “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.


    Sally’s expression softened as she ced a gentle hand on my shoulder. “How are you holding up, dear? I know this morning was… difficult.”


    The kindness in her voice nearly broke me. “I’m managing.”


    201


    Marcus stepped forward, his deep voice gentle despite his intimidating appearance. “Don’t listen to the vultures. They’re just bitter because they’ve never had what you have with Mr. Reid. Real love makes people vicious when they’ve never experienced it themselves.”


    Tears pricked my eyes at their unexpected support. In a house full of enemies, these two souls saw past the scandal to the human being underneath.


    “He does love you,” Sally added quietly, “I’ve worked for this family for fifteen years, and I’ve never seen Mr. Reid look at anyone the way he looks at you. Like you hung the stars just for him.”


    The tears threatened to spill over. If only it were that simple. If only love could conquer bloodlines and billion–dor legacies and mothers who wielded money like weapons.


    Hourster, I sat in my modest quarters with Caroline, trying to focus on her animated recounting of Frederic’stest romantic gesture.


    My best friend glowed when she spoke of her boyfriend…how they’d met during a disastrous blind date where both had been stood up, only to find each other and discover something real.


    “He sent me flowers to the office yesterday,” Caroline gushed, her eyes sparkling. “Twenty–four roses with a note that said he couldn’t wait twenty–four hours to see me again.”


    I managed a smile, genuinely happy for her despite the turmoil in my own heart. Caroline deserved love, deserved someone who cherished


    her.


    “He sounds wonderful.”


    “He is.” She paused, her expression shifting to concern. “But we’re not here to talk about me. Celine, are you okay? And don’t say you’re


    fine….I can see right through that lie.”


    1 deflected weakly. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”


    “Don’t.” Caroline’s voice turned sharp. “I heard about Eleanor’s breakfast performance.”


    Heat flooded my cheeks. “Hunter told you?”


    “Hunter didn’t say a word….he doesn’t have to. The staff are buzzing about it like bees around honey. Apparently, his mother made quite a scene before storming out.”


    The blood drained from my face. If the staff were talking, then everyone knew. The whispers, the stares, the cruelments…they all made


    sense now.


    “Do you…” I swallowed hard, hating myself for asking. “Do you think they’re right? About what they’re saying?”


    Caroline’s face transformed into a mask of hurt and fury. “How dare you ask me that? How could you even think I would stoop so low as to believe their poison? I’m your best friend, Celine. I would die before I thought those things about you.”


    The emotion in her voice broke something inside me, and suddenly everything came pouring out.


    “I can’t do this anymore, Caroline. I can’t handle the whispers, the hatred, Eleanor’s threats. Most of all, I can’t stay here and watch Hunter realize his family is right about me.”


    Caroline watched me with growing rm as I stood abruptly, beginning to pace the small room like a caged animal.


    “Everyone wants me gone,” I continued, my voice rising. “His mother, his staff, probably half of New York society. Maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m just fooling myself thinking someone like Hunter could actually choose someone like me.”


    “Stop.” Caroline grabbed my hands, forcing me to look at her. “Since when does Celine Brown give a damn what other people think?”


    <b>20 </b>


    <b>13:09 </b>Tue<b>, </b><b>5 </b><b>Aug </b>


    Iughed bitterly. “Since she fell in love with a man so far out of her league that she needs a telescope to see him.”


    “Hunter loves you…”


    “I know he does!” The words exploded out of me.


    “That’s what terrifies me! He loves me enough to destroy his rtionship with his family, to risk his inheritance, to turn his back on everything he’s worked for. And I love him too much to let him do it.”


    Caroline was quiet for a long moment, her hands still gripping mine. When she finally spoke, her voice was strange…hesitant and guilt- ridden in a way I’d never heard before.


    “Celine, there’s something I need to tell you. Something about that night four years ago.”


    Ice flooded my veins. “What about it?”


    She released my hands and stood, beginning to pace now herself. “I need you to understand that everything I did, I did because I <i>love </i>you both. Because I could see something between you two that neither of you recognized.”


    “Caroline, what are you talking about?”


    She turned to face me, tears already streaming down her cheeks. “I orchestrated that night. All of it.”


    The words hit me like a physical blow. “What?”


    “I dragged you to that club, remember? You didn’t want to go…you had studying to do, but I begged and pleaded until you gave in. And Hunter… God, I harassed him for weeks to meet us there. He only came because I wouldn’t leave him alone.”


    My legs gave out, and I sank back into my chair. “Caroline…”


    “The drink I gave you…I drugged it.” The confession came out in a rush, like she couldn’t bear to hold it inside anymore.


    “When I said I was going to the bathroom, I lied. I wanted you two to be alone together. I watched you talk, watched youugh, watched you both share that same drink, and I knew… I knew something was happening.”


    “No.” The word came out as a whisper. “No, you wouldn’t…”


    “I had to!” Caroline’s voice cracked. “Do you know what I found out about Hunter back then? Do you know why I was so desperate?”


    I stared at her, unable to process what I was hearing.


    “He has fertility issues, Celine. Low sperm count. The doctors told him his chances of having children naturally were slim to none.” Tears streamed down her face as she continued.


    “If Hunter doesn’t have an heir, the Reid bloodline’dies with him. Everything…thepany, the legacy, the family name….it all ends.”


    The room spun around me. “So you… You decided to fix that by getting him drunk and…”


    “He was drowning, Celine! After his father’s death, after his diagnosis, after years of carrying the weight of his family’s expectations…he was destroying himself. And you… You were this bright, beautiful light who could save him if only you had the chance.”


    “The condom wrapper.” My voice was hollow. “I saw it on the floor the next morning. We used protection.”


    Caroline’s face crumpledpletely. “I put it there. While you were both asleep, I snuck in and ced it on the floor. I wanted you both to think you’d been responsible, even though you were too drugged to remember.”


    <b>13:09 </b>Tue<b>, </b><b>5 </b>Aug 3


    The betrayal was soplete, so devastating, that for a moment I couldn’t breathe.


    Four years.


    Four years of believing that night was an ident, a mistake, a moment of weakness that had changed everything.


    “You destroyed my life.” The words came out t, emotionless.


    “No, I gave you a life…”


    “You RUINED everything!” I shot to my feet, fury recing shock. “I could have gone to art school! I could have followed my dreams! My family might have been terrible, but they would still be my family! I wouldn’t be alone, struggling, fighting for scraps of respect!”


    “But look at you now…”


    “SHUT UP!” I grabbed the edge of the table for support, my entire world tilting off its axis. “How could you do this to me? How could you


    manipte us like we were pieces on a chessboard?”


    “I’m sorry,” Caroline sobbed. “I’m so sorry, but I thought–I hoped…”


    “Get out.” My voice was deadly quiet now.


    “Celine, please….”


    “GET OUT!”


    Caroline stumbled toward the door, her face streaked with tears and guilt. She reached for the handle with shaking hands, turned it, and


    froze.


    Hunter stood in the doorway.


    His usually fresh appearance was disheveled….tie loosened, hair mussed, eyes zing with a fury so cold it made the air crackle with


    electricity.


    In his hands, he carried white boxes that smelled like cake and chocte…treats he had obviously brought for me, for Caesar, tokens of love


    that now seemed to mock the devastation surrounding us.


    When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried the weight of an avnche.


    “What the hell did you say you did?”


    The silence that followed was deafening.


    Caroline’s face went ashen, and I felt thest of my strength abandon me. Everything was crumbling….four years of lies, four years of believing in fate and second chances and love conquering all.


    But as Hunter’s eyes moved from Caroline to me, I saw something that terrified me more than his anger: understanding.


    He was piecing it together, connecting the dots, realizing that everything we had built was founded on illusion.


    “Hunter,” Caroline whispered, “I can exin…”


    “Exin?” His voice was soft, dangerous, “Exin how you drugged the woman I love? Exin how you manipted us both? Exin how you yed God with our lives?”


    The white boxes slipped from his hands, hitting the floor with a hollow thud that seemed to echo in the devastating silence.


    And in that moment, I realized Eleanor’s ultimatum was nothingpared to this.


    The foundation of our love story…the night that had given us Caesar, that had brought us back together, that had made everything possible….was built on lies.


    How do you recover from that? How do you rebuild when the very ground beneath you has turned to quicksand?


    Hunter’s eyes found mine across the wreckage of our trust, and I saw my own heartbreak reflected there.


    We were all about to fall, and I wasn’t sure any of us would survive thending.


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