Vivienne erupts, shattering the silence. She shakes off her mother’s hand and launches herself at Grace. “Youfucking bitch!” Her fingers are talons, ready to rip Grace’s face off.
I shield Grace from the attack with my body, putting a hand out to keep Vivienne at arm’s length.
“Nelson, control your child!” Andreas says sharply.
Nelson shakes his head before getting up and coming to drag her away. Vivienne continues to flail and scream expletives. Karie puts a hand over her daughter’s mouth, but it isn’t enough to muffle her.
Mick hisses something in Vivienne’s ear and she finally quiets down, although her breathing is still rough.
Andreas lets out a long sigh. “Well. Now that order has been restored and everyone is here, it’s time to toast to our families’ union.”
“I’m not marrying her.” I tilt my chin at Vivienne. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t, not after that display. I’ve seen three-year-olds who behaved better.
Dumbass,Mick mouths as me, then smirks.
“No need. Grace is also my granddaughter,” Andreas says.
The words sink in, but suddenly the gears in my brain seem stuck. I follow his gaze, note it’s on Grace—my fake fiancée, the one I chose specifically to help me avoid marrying a fucking Webber like my family wants. “What?”
“And you gave her a ride. A classic meet-cute sprinkled with a dash of destiny.” Grandmother brims with satisfaction.
Mom puffs on her cigar with a victorious smile. “Straight out of one of those romcom movies. I wonder if your father will appreciate the irony.” She shrugs. “It appears that you won’t need John Highsmith after all.”
Oh…fuck!
The pieces start to fall into place. That rainy evening… Grandmother knew I wouldn’t stay, especially not when she offered me two options—join the firm or marry a Webber. She knew the route I’d take to get home. It would have been easy to place Grace on one of the streets I’d be on, and tell her to stop me. I should’ve realized it was weird there weren’t any cars around. How would she have gotten there without one?
The sob story about her mother was a stroke of genius to stir my sympathy and make it harder for me to say no to her plea for a ride.
Then the convenient excuse of her phone not working and how I had to get in touch with her to get the money she promised to pay me because she only had a single dollar bill.
The one-night stand we had was probably The Fogeys’ renewed attempt when it was taking too long for me to call her. Wouldn’t put anything past them. They could’ve hired somebody to follow me. Grace could then position herself where I’d see her, then get me to sleep with her.
I don’t know why she didn’t stay. She might’ve wanted to appear shy and reluctant. But when I called, she couldn’t disguise how happy she was. And she has made sure she never looked like the type who gets a three-hundred-thousand-dollar annual allowance. Wore cheap clothes. Pretended to be worried about not having money to buy dresses for my family’s dinners and social functions.
She even told me I should ask a female friend to be my fake fiancée. But she must’ve known I don’t keep a lot of women around as friends.
And I never suspected anything.Sheer rage and humiliation slam into me. What a fool I’ve been!
Pasting on a smile, I give them the clichéd slow clap. “Bra-vo. Very well done.”
Grace turns to me. “Huxley…” Anxiety threads her voice.
Getting scared?Too late, sweetheart. You’ve already stuck your hand into a hornet’s nest.
Mick’s silent laughter grows audible. The sound is like nails on a chalkboard.
I force myself to unclench my hands and concentrate on keeping my breathing even. Everyone in the room seems to be pleased to have gotten what they wanted. But if they thought this would be the end, they thought wrong.
This is just one battle. I will win this war, no matter the cost.
Chapter Fifteen
Grace
I’m used to awkward and unpleasant meals. It’s something you become immune to when you’re around people like Nelson and his family. But the one at Huxley’s place takestenseto a whole different level.
His family is acting gleeful and triumphant, which is both creepy and weird, while the brunette called Emma—apparently Huxley’s half-brother’s mom—is serene and seems genuinely happy for me and Huxley and our upcoming nuptials. If she suspects something’s weird about our situation, she’s doing a great job of hiding it.
