Chapter 7
Nicholas glanced toward the head table.
His investors were watching.
His bride was watching.
His father-in-law was watching.
Emmett Stewart was standing beside Jenna instead of him.
That was the real wound.
Not that Jenna had been insulted.
That the insult had backfired in front of power.
“Jenna,” Nicholas said carefully, “this is clearly a misunderstanding.”
She looked at him.
“No, it isn’t.”
He lowered his voice.
“Don’t do this here.”
Her expression remained calm.
“You did this here.”
The sentence landed cleanly.
Nicholas’s jaw tightened.
He was not used to Jenna answering without apology.
Emmett stood beside her, silent but present. That presence changed everything. Nicholas could not dismiss her as dramatic without insulting the man beside her.
The little boy Parker looked up at Jenna.
“Are you in trouble?”
Jenna’s face softened.
“No.”
“Is he?”
She almost smiled.
Nicholas flushed.
The young girl held the toy dinosaur in both hands and stared at him suspiciously.
Guests nearby looked away to hide their reactions.
Jenna stood slowly.
Her pale-blue dress shimmered in the chandelier light. She did not brush crumbs from the table or pretend she had not been seated among children’s meals and coloring sheets.
She let the scene remain visible.
Then she faced her brother.
“You told me not to ruin the image.”
Nicholas could not answer.
Because every detail around them accused him.
The chicken nuggets.
The crayons.
The child-sized chair.
The billionaire standing at Jenna’s side.
May you like
The guests realizing the image had already ruined itself.
Read the full story 👉 Jenna did not need to defend herself; the table Nicholas chose for her became the evidence of his humiliation.
