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<b>Chapter </b><b>183 </b>
-CELINE <b>POV- </b>
Mia sat silently through it all, her face carefully uninterested, asionally sipping her mimosa but never speaking up to defend me.
“I see,” I said quietly, setting down my fork. “Well, thank you for the… educational experience.”
I started to stand, but Margaret wasn’t finished.
“Oh, don’t leave yet, dear. We haven’t even gotten to dessert. Besides, we’re just trying to help. A little guidance from women who understand this world could be invaluable. Especially with a baby on the way.”
The mention of my pregnancy…Hunter’s child…felt like a step too far.
“I appreciate your concern,” I said, my voice steady despite the rage building in my chest, “but I think I understand this world perfectly well now.”
Margaret smiled wider, sensing weakness. “We’re just looking out for Hunter, really. He’s been through so much already. That awful situation with Sophia nearly destroyed him.”
My heart stopped. They were bringing up Hunter’s ex, the woman who had cheated on him and then…
“Such a tragedy,” Eleanor added with false sympathy. “Hunter was devastated when she took her own life. He med himself for months. We wouldn want him to go through something like that again.”
The meaning was crystal clear. I was beingpared to a woman who had betrayed Hunter and thenmitted suicide.
They were suggesting I might do the same–either betray him or be another tragedy he would have to carry.
“Of course, you’re nothing like Sophia,” Jessica–or–Jennifer said sweetly.
“She was from our world, after all. She understood the pressures. But sometimes people from… different backgrounds… find it harder to cope with the expectations.”
I felt dizzy<i>. </i>The room seemed to wobble around me, these perfectly dressed women bing a circle of predators closing in.
“Are you alright, dear?” Margaret asked with mock concern. “You look a bit pale.”
I gripped the edge of the table, trying to steady myself. The borrowed dress felt too tight, the elegant room too small.
I wanted to run, to escape, but my legs felt weak.
“Perhaps we should call Hunter,” Eleanor suggested, reaching for her phone. “He’s so protective of you. Always worrying about your… stability.”
The word hung in the air like poison. Stability. They were questioning my mental health now, just like they had questioned everything else about me.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, but even I could hear how unconvincing it sounded.
“Of course you are,” Margaret cooed. “But pregnancy can be so emotional. All those hormones. And with all the stress you’ve been undertely…”
They kept talking, their voices blending together into a symphony of unpretentious cruelty.
I caught fragments–questions about my family’s financial problems, spection about my motives<b>, </b>concerns about my ability to handle <b>the </b>pressure.
All the while<b>, </b>that blonde woman’s phone remained strategically positioned, capturing every moment of my humiliation.
Mia continued to sit in silence, asionally nodding along with the others but never speaking.
<b>1/3 </b>
58<b>% </b>
<b>11:40</b><b>′′ </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>18 </b><b>Aug </b>
Her quiet coboration somehow felt worse than outright hatred.
“You know,” Eleanor said thoughtfully, “there are ways to make things easier. For everyone involved.”
I looked up at her, confused by the sudden shift in tone.
“What do you mean?”
Eleanor’s smile was gentle, maternal even. “Sometimes the kindest thing is to step aside. To put the needs of the people we love ahead of our own désires.<b>” </b>
My blood ran cold. “You want me to leave Hunter.”
“I want you to consider what’s best for him. For his career, his reputation, his future.” Eleanor leaned forward slightly. “You love him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then you must see how much this situation is damaging him. The media attention, the business concerns, the stress on his health.” Eleanor’s voice was soft, persuasive.
“A woman who truly loves a man wants to see him thrive, not struggle.”
The words hit me like physical blows.
Everything she was saying echoed my own worst fears–that I was dragging Hunter down, that my presence in his life was hurting him.
“I’ve prepared something for you,” Eleanor continued, reaching into her purse. She pulled out an envelope, thick with what looked like legal documents.
“A generous settlement. Enough to ensure you and your children arefortable for life. All you have to do is sign.”
The envelope sat on the white tablecloth between us like a snake.
“You’re trying to buy me off.”
“I’m trying to offer you a solution. A way for everyone to move forward with dignity.”
Margaret nodded approvingly. “It’s more than generous, really. Most women in your position would be thrilled with such an opportunity.”
“My position?<b>” </b>
“Pregnant and unmarried to a man out of your league,” Jessica–or–Jennifer said bluntly. “This is your chance tond on your feet instead of being discardedter.”
The cruelty was breathtaking in its casualness. They were discussing my life, my rtionship, my children like we were pieces on a chess board. <fn6d9f> Readplete version only at find~novel</fn6d9f>
“Think about it logically,” Margaret continued.
“You’ll never truly fit into this world. There will always be whispers, always be judgment. Your children will grow up hearing those whispers too.”
“Is that what you want<b>?</b><b>” </b>Eleanor asked softly. “For your children to be known as Hunter Reid’s mistake?”
1 couldn’t breathe.
The room was spinning, their voices echoing in my head, the envelope sitting there like a judgment on my worthiness <b>as </b><b>a </b>human being.
Somewhere in the distance, <b>I </b>was dimly aware that phones were still recording, that this moment of myplete breakdown <b>was </b><b>being </b><b>captured </b><b>for </b>posterity.
But I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but sit there and let them destroy me <b>piece </b><b>by </b><b>piece</b><b>. </b>
<b>2/3 </b>
11:40 <b>Mon</b>, 18 <b>Aug </b>
Because deep down, in the part of my heart i tried to ignore, 1 was terrified they might be right.
<b>3/3 </b>