Part 8

“She was already inside it.”

“She got excited.”

“She was wearing my dress.”

“She liked it.”

“And you left with her.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“You’re focusing on the wrong things.”

I looked at him for a long moment.

“That’s what you always say.”

He frowned.

“Because you always get distracted by things that don’t matter.”

I felt something inside me settle.

The limousine mattered.

The dress mattered.

The way he had treated me mattered.

But they were not the biggest problem anymore.

“You’re right,” I said.

He looked relieved.

“Good.”

“The car doesn’t matter nearly as much as the documents.”

His expression changed again.

I closed the laptop.

“Did you ever intend to tell me?”

He didn’t answer.

“Did you intend to tell me that the company I helped finance had been restructured in Vanessa’s favor?”

“She has been instrumental in keeping the business running.”

“Then why couldn’t she use her own money?”

“That’s not how business works.”

“Why did you need mine?”

He looked away.

I remembered the early days of the company.

Ethan had sat beside me at this very desk and shown me the first business plan.

He had described his ambitions, his risks, and the future he wanted us to build.

He had said my grandfather’s investment would give the company the stability it needed.

I had believed I was helping the man I loved.

Now I wondered whether he had ever considered my contribution anything other than a convenient resource.

“I was going to make everything right,” he said.

“When?”

“After the wedding.”

“How?”

He didn’t answer.

I took a breath.

“Was Vanessa supposed to own everything while you continued controlling the company?”

His jaw tightened.

“You’re making assumptions.”

“Then show me the documents that prove otherwise.”

He looked at the screen.

Then he looked at me.

His silence was an answer.

A few seconds later, his phone rang.

Vanessa.

He glanced at the screen and declined the call.

Then he looked at me.

“She’s waiting at the hotel.”

I nodded.

“Then you should go.”

“We’re not finished.”

“I think we are.”

He stepped toward the doorway.

“You need to think carefully about what happens next.”

I looked at him.

“I have been thinking carefully for three years.”

His expression hardened.

“If you cancel this wedding, people will ask questions.”

“They should.”

“You’re going to humiliate me.”

I almost laughed.

“You gave my bridal limousine to another woman, Ethan.”

“That’s different.”

“Of course it is.”

He stared at me.

Then he walked toward the front door.

Before leaving, he turned around.

“Don’t destroy everything because of one misunderstanding.”

I looked at him.

“One misunderstanding?”

“Clare, please.”

I held his gaze.

“You didn’t misunderstand me when I said no to Vanessa wearing my dress.”

He didn’t answer.

“You didn’t misunderstand me when I asked you not to leave with her.”

Still nothing.

“And you certainly didn’t misunderstand me when you transferred our assets.”

He opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

I continued.

“I am not the person who destroyed this relationship.”

For the first time, he looked genuinely angry.

He left without another word.

The door slammed.

I stood in the quiet apartment until I could no longer hear his footsteps.

Then I returned to the desk.

My hands were shaking again.

But this time, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I opened my contacts and found the number of Miriam Shaw, the attorney who had helped settle my grandfather’s estate.

I hadn’t spoken to her in months.

When she answered, I didn’t waste time explaining the wedding.

“Miriam, I need your help.”

Her voice became immediately serious.

“What happened?”

“I think my fiancé has transferred assets connected to my investment into a holding company controlled by his business partner.”