Chapter One: The Spectacle Graham did not lower his voice.
“If you’re here to cause a scene, Eleanor,” he said, straightening his coat as though dignity could be tailored back into him, “this is neither the time nor the place.”
I almost smiled.
Because that was the moment I understood something with perfect clarity: he thought this was the worst of it.
He thought being seen—publicly, awkwardly, uncomfortably—was the humiliation.
He had no idea what was coming.
“I’m not here for you,” I said calmly.
Celeste’s fingers tightened possessively around his arm. “Then you should leave,” she added, her tone light but sharp beneath the surface. “Some of us have a future to plan.”
Future.
Such a fragile word.
Marcus returned with my ring, placing it gently on the velvet tray between us. The diamond caught the light—cold, precise, familiar.
“Would you like to try it on, Mrs. Bennett?”
I slipped it onto my finger.
Perfect fit.
How strange, I thought, that something could feel so right and so meaningless at the same time.
Behind me, I heard Celeste laugh softly as Graham reopened the black velvet box.
A diamond necklace this time.
Large. Impressive. Loud.
Exactly the kind of statement a man makes when he wants the world to believe in something that isn’t real.
“She deserves the best,” Graham repeated.
I turned toward them fully now.
“And what exactly does she deserve, Graham?” I asked.
He exhaled sharply. “Don’t do this.”
“No, please,” Celeste interrupted, smiling. “Let her. I think we all deserve honesty.”
Honesty.
There it was again.
A word people only like when it benefits them.
I tilted my head slightly. “Then let’s be honest. You’re pregnant. Congratulations. That must be… reassuring.”
Her smile flickered—just for a second.
Graham stepped forward. “That’s enough.”
“Is it?” I asked softly.
May you like
Because I wasn’t angry anymore.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
