Chapter 11 - WHY VICTORIA WAS AT THE GALA
Ethan already knew Victoria arranged the first meeting.
The deeper part came from her calendar.
A saved note.
One she had not deleted because she apparently never expected Ethan to see it.
Hospital Foundation — Ethan Cole / 7:40 speech / Lily not attending.
Below it:
Do not mention Sarah. See if he is kind first.
Ethan stared at the sentence.
Victoria sat across from him with her attorney.
“You investigated me.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Public records. Interviews with two people who knew you professionally.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid you were using Lily for money.”
Ethan laughed in disbelief.
“My daughter?”
“No. Sarah's estate.”
“What estate?”
Victoria looked ashamed.
“Claire's papers suggested Sarah might have had a claim against a family education trust.”
“There it is.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I never cared whether she claimed it.”
“But you wondered whether I did.”
“Yes.”
“You met me pretending it was chance so you could assess whether I was safe enough for you to reveal my own wife's family.”
“Yes.”
Ethan stood.
“That is not protection.”
“I know.”
“No. You know now because it failed.”
Victoria looked at him.
“That may be true.”
He stopped.
She continued.
“I went because I wanted to see Lily from across the room.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Lily wasn't there.”
“I know. The donor staff told me children weren't attending.”
“Then why stay?”
Victoria's answer took too long.
“Because I saw you.”
He laughed without humor.
“Don't turn this romantic.”
“I'm not.”
Victoria looked down.
“I liked you. That made the lie worse.”
She had planned one conversation.
Then another.
On their third date she almost told him.
On their fifth she found out Raymond had already contacted Sarah before death.
That frightened her.
“If Dad knew Sarah while she was alive, I didn't know what else was buried.”
“So you kept dating me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I wanted access to the truth.”
Ethan stared.
“And to me?”
“Yes.”
“Which came first?”
Victoria's eyes filled.
“The truth.”
There.
That was the major reveal.
Not that she was secretly related to Sarah.
That was already known.
Victoria had entered Ethan's life because of the secret.
Love came later.
Whatever love meant now.
Ethan sat again.
“You were never going to tell me before the wedding.”
“I wanted to.”
“That is not what I said.”
“No.”
Victoria nodded.
“I wasn't.”
That ended something.
Not because Ethan had decided what forgiveness meant.
Because marriage required an answer now.
He removed his wedding ring from the chain he had put it on after canceling the ceremony.
Placed it on the table.
“The wedding is over.”
Victoria stared.
“Ethan.”
“The engagement too.”
She started crying.
He did not leave immediately.
She deserved enough dignity to hear him finish.
“This isn't punishment for being Sarah's aunt.”
“I know.”
“It isn't because you wanted Lily to know Claire existed.”
“I know.”
“You hit my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You engineered our first meeting.”
“Yes.”
“You planned to let me marry you before telling me why.”
“Yes.”
Ethan stood.
“I can understand why you became afraid.”
He picked up nothing.
“I cannot build a marriage on the choices you made while afraid.”
May you like
He left.
Victoria did not follow.
