Chapter 23
I adjusted the necklace Julian had given me–s silver pendant shaped like a brushstroke, dedicate and small, but somehow powerful against my colarbone. Tonight was supposed to be important Dinner with his family Celebration Lavite
They were finalizing the wedding date. The one that started as a lie. But now it didn’t feel like оперупкие,
Julian had picked a deep wine colored dress for me, and when he saw me walk into the fore, he stopped mid buttoning his cuff and just stared
“You’re going to break me he murmured.
I smiled, “Good”
The car ride was quiet but warm, his fingers wrapped around mine like a vow I felt calm. Finally The kind of calm that comes when you stop running from what you were
And I wanted this. Him
When we arrived at the Thome estate, the dining room was dressed in gold and ivory, candles flickering like soft stars. His mother greated me with a kiss on the cheek, his sisters hugged me and his grandfather…
His grandfather stood at the head of the table, face stone cold.
“Sit” Maxwell Thome said, voice as hard as marble,
The moment I sat down, my pulse shifted
Julian reached for the wine but was stopped short.
“I’d like to ask you both something his grandfather said, eyes sharp. “Is this wedding real?
The entire room stiffened
Julian blinked, “Of course, it is. Why would you even-*
Maxwell cut him off. “I asked because I was informed otherwise. That this entire relationship started as a deal. A favor”
The words landed like a slap.
Julian’s hand slipped from mine. “Who told you that?”
“Doesn’t matter” his grandfather replied curtly. “What matters is the truth. Now
My throat tightened. The room blurred around me. I could feel every eye on us. Julian looked at me, silently asking if we should come clean.
So we did.
He confessed that it started as a lie. A convenient excuse to avoid blind dates. I added how it was mutual–that we were both running from something. That it was temporary.
His grandfather’s voice was sharp. “Then there will be no wedding. We do not parade family legacy on false pretenses”
Julian stood suddenly. “It’s not false anymore?
Silence fell.
3:00 pm DDDD
“I didn’t expect to fall for her,” he said, eyes only on me. “But I did. Somewhere between spiller coffee and gallery walls. I fell. I’m not marrying her for business. I’m marrying her because! can’t imagine my life without her
My breath caught in my chest.
“And I know I screwed up,” he continued, stepping around the table. “But everything I feel now in real. And I’m done pretending”
Then–he knelt. Right there, in front of everyone.
My heart stopped
“Alicia Montero,” he said softly, “you walked into my world like a storm. And now, I never want t live a day without you in it. Will you marry me? Not for the board. Not for the name. But for us?” I should’ve cried. But all I did was smile–because my heart was screaming yes.
So I said it out loud.
Yest
The room exhaled.
Maxwell nodded slowly, like something heavy had lifted from his chest. Then let’s begin again-
with truth this time”
As champagne flutes were raised, someone asked the question that had been brewing quietly. “But who told you, Grandfather!
Maxwell gave a sideways glance. “A man named Denver
The glass in my hand nearly shattered.
Denver. Of course he would try to ruin this. On the night meant for joy, he wanted ashes.
Julian saw the fury building in me and gently took the glass away. “Let it go, he whispered.
I can’t, Thissed. “He’s still trying to own me
Julian didn’t argue. He just pulled me closer, let me rest my head against his shoulder, and for now. I let the celebration swallow the anger
But it didn’t last long
As I stepped outside to get some air, my phone buzzed. An unknown number. I ignored it.
Then it buzzed again.
Unknown Number: Your mother is in the hospital. Cancer. It’s serious.
My breath caugh
I stared at the message, unsure if I should believe it. A cruel trick? A mistake?
But something inside me shifted. Something that still remembered the bedtime stories. The matching dresses. The moments that came before the betrayal.
I called a car
Julian followed me out, concerned. I turned to him, clutching the phone.
“My mother’s in the hospital. They said… cancer
His expression sobered. “Do you want me to come?”
2/3 92.75
3:01 pm D DDD.
I hesitated. “No. I think I need to do this alone.”
He kissed my forehead. “Then go. I’ll be here.”
The hospital smelled of antiseptic and silence.
When I stepped into the private room, I barely recognized her.
Paula Montero lay in bed, pale and small in a way I’d never seen before. The woman who once ruled mansions and ruined lives now looked… fragile. Breakable.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Alicia?”
I nodded, stepping forward slowly.
She tried to sit up, but winced. “You came.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I admitted. “But I did.”
A weak smile. “You always had a soft heart. Even when I didn’t deserve it.”
I sat beside her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to feel obligated,” she whispered. “After everything I did to you, I didn’t deserve a visit. Or a daughter.”
I looked down, swallowing the lump in my throat. “You hurt me, Mother. Over and over.”
“I know,” she said. “And if I had time… more time… I would make it all right.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Alicia. For the shrimps. For Patricia. For letting you believe you were never enough. You always were.”
I closed my eyes, letting her hand rest over mine. It was cold. Trembling.
“I’m not ready to forgive you,” I whispered. “But I’m not leaving.”
She looked at me then–really looked–and smiled through her tears.
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
And for the first time in a long time… we sat in silence.
Not as strangers.
But as a mother and daughter who had been broken–and maybe, just maybe, were beginning to heal.
