Chapter 2
Jenna Parker had always been useful in private and embarrassing in public.
That was Nicholas’s version of her.
Useful when he needed help rewriting emails to investors.
Useful when he needed a toast that sounded warm instead of arrogant.
Useful when he needed someone to fix his phrasing before a board call.
Useful when he needed a “quick favor” at midnight because his own words made him sound exactly like the man he was.
But at family events, Jenna became inconvenient.
She was unmarried.
Quiet.
Independent.
Not flashy enough for Madison Avenue guests, not submissive enough for Parker family tradition, and not impressed by Nicholas’s curated success.
He called her “creative” when he wanted something.
He called her “unstable” when she refused.
At his wedding estate near Stowe, Vermont, Nicholas wanted perfection.
Crystal chandeliers.
White flowers taller than children.
Gold chairs.
Champagne.
Winter mountain views beyond tall windows.
Powerful guests from finance, politics, and technology.
And Emmett Stewart.
Emmett’s presence mattered more than half the vows.
Nicholas had spent months trying to turn a casual introduction into a partnership. If Emmett invested in his new venture, Nicholas would no longer be merely promising.
He would be undeniable.
So Nicholas designed the room like a hierarchy.
Important guests at the head table.
Investors near the center.
Family arranged by usefulness.
And Jenna at the children’s table.
When she saw the place card beside the crayons, she looked at Nicholas only once.
He leaned down and whispered, “Don’t make this about you.”
Jenna looked at the toy truck beside her napkin.
Then back at him.
“I wasn’t going to.”
Nicholas smiled.
“Good. Don’t ruin the image.”
He walked away believing he had solved the problem.
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He did not know the image depended on a man who knew exactly who Jenna was.
Read the full story 👉 Nicholas thought Jenna’s silence meant obedience, but she had already learned that power does not always need the center table.
