Chapter 11
Derek asked to see Genevieve.
Claire advised against it.
Genevieve agreed only if attorneys were present.
He arrived without Lucille.
That was new.
For most of his life, Derek and his mother had operated as a unit.
Today he looked tired.
“I didn’t marry you for the guarantee.”
Genevieve held his gaze.
“I know.”
He seemed surprised.
“That should matter.”
“It does.”
Hope appeared briefly in his face.
Genevieve continued.
“It means you had something real and chose to corrupt it later.”
The hope disappeared.
Derek looked down.
“My company was collapsing.”
“Then you should have told me.”
“I thought you’d walk away.”
“Maybe.”
His head lifted.
Genevieve did not soften it.
“I might have.”
“That’s why.”
“No.”
Her voice remained calm.
“That is why you were afraid. It is not why you were entitled to lie.”
Derek closed his eyes.
He admitted that Lucille had pushed harder than he realized.
He also admitted that by the final month before the wedding, he knew nearly everything.
The lender promises.
The pressure on Adelaide.
The effort to portray her as obstructive.
He convinced himself he could keep Genevieve separate from it.
Get the guarantee.
Refinance Callahan.
Repay or release Bellomo collateral.
Then tell her later, when no harm remained.
Genevieve almost laughed.
Every sophisticated betrayal apparently depended on the same fantasy.
I’ll fix it before anyone finds out.
Then she asked the question that mattered emotionally.
“Why did you kick the chair?”
Derek’s eyes filled.
“I was angry.”
“At my mother?”
“At everything.”
“Try again.”
He swallowed.
“At her.”
“Why?”
“Because she had said no again that morning.”
Genevieve’s expression hardened.
“So you knew before the reception.”
“Yes.”
“And when you saw her sit beside me…”
“I lost control.”
Genevieve stood.
“That sentence is the end of this meeting.”
Derek looked desperate.
“Genevieve.”
She stopped at the door.
He said, “I’m sorry.”
She looked back.
“I believe you.”
That hurt him more than disbelief.
May you like
“Being sorry does not make you safe for me.”
Then she left.
