Chapter 42
We walked back into the ballroom, and I frowned when instead of heading back to our table, Liam guided me to a quiet spot at the back of the ballroom. I was about to ask him what was happening but before I could, the small group of people in front of us parted to reveal three people.
Three very important people.
“How?” I gasped, hands flying to my mouth and tears stinging my eyes. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice told me to move, to run to them, but I was frozen in place. It was only when my dad’s wheelchair wheeled to a stop in front of me that I finally moved.
Or rather, my mom and I moved at the same time, lunging for each other. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders while hers went around my waist. There was no stopping the tears.
Our bodies shook as weeks and weeks of emotion came streaming down our faces. I didn’t even care about my makeup. I’d happily look like a raccoon if it meant I could have this moment all over again.
After a while our sobbing finally tapered down to sniffles and my mom and I broke apart.
She immediately cupped my cheeks and held my gaze. “My sweet, sweet girl, I’m so sorry. You were never a disappointment. I’m afraid that title belongs to me.”
“No.” I shook my head.
My mom’s watery smile had me crying all over again. “What I should have told you from the beginning was how proud I am to be your mom. How proud I am of the strong, independent woman you grew up to be. In a few moments of weakness, I allowed my fears to take over. I’m so sorry I hurt you, Evie.”
“Mom,” I cried. And because I was too emotional to say anything else, I hugged her again. Only this time, another pair of arms wrapped around us both.
“I’m feeling the tiniest bit left out,” my sister sniffled.
My mom and I freed one arm to pull my sister into our hug. Over my mom’s shoulder, I noticed Liam standing with my dad, both of them staring at us with the same expression on their faces.
I stayed in that wonderful embrace for a bit longer, then broke away to kneel before my dad. We both laughed when the skirt of my dress puffed up like a big yellow cloud in front of us.
It took some maneuvering, but once I got the material under control, I could finally lean forward and hug him. More tears fell when I realized how close we’d come to losing him.
“Don’t scare us like that again, okay?” I whispered into his neck.
As before, with my mom and sister, I held on to my dad for a few long, precious moments. When I finally got to my feet, my mom stood next to Liam, and they talked like they knew each other.
Just then, my sister slipped her arm through mine and rested her head on my shoulder. “I seriously hope the universe loves me enough to send me a man who’ll fly out to see my parents and declare his undying love for me.”
“What?” My brows knitted together. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know?” Cece straightened and stared at me with her big, beautiful eyes. “Your husband went to see Mom and Dad a few weeks ago.” She told me how Liam and my mom had spent most of the day getting to know each other.
Mouth hanging open, I stared at my sister. Then my gaze snapped to Liam. “That’s where you were when you wouldn’t tell me?”
Eyes never leaving mine, he closed the distance between us. Taking my hands in his, he laced our fingers. “You were hurting so bad, all I wanted to do was take your pain and carry it myself. I couldn’t do that. But I could try to make things right.”
“So you went to see my mom, even though you knew she was furious?”
His smile was slow and sweet. “I’d walk through fire for you, Snow.”
He lowered his face to mine, but before our lips could lock, my sister all but yelled, “No. Nope. No smooching. It’s incredibly rude to eat in front of hungry people.”
“Cece!” our mom chided.
She just shrugged. “It’s true.”
Laughter broke out, and I swear, this time, it really felt as if my heart would burst from all the happiness.
But I should’ve known something else, something dark and ugly, lurked in the shadows, just waiting to slice through this beautiful moment.
A slow clap sounded from behind us. The more we looked around to find where it came from, the less we saw, but the louder the clap grew. It wasn’t until a masked man stepped out from the shadows that we found the source of the clapping.
I knew it was Liam’s grandfather before he even pulled the golden-winged mask from his face.
“Well, now, isn’t this precious?” His gaze traveled from person to person, the glint in his eyes growing more evil. “You’re all just one big happy family. All so forgiving of each other’s flaws.”
The way he’d said it made my blood run cold.
His attention shifted to Liam. “I warned you, boy.”
On cue, the ballroom lights turned off, and a giant screen lowered onto the stage. A timer ticked down. Three…two…one, and then my entire world crumbled.
The screen lit up with images of Liam and another woman with her face in his crotch. Then another, just with a different woman. The images kept flashing until it wasn’t just Liam and a faceless woman on screen, but me and him.
Images of us in the office with me bent over his desk and my dress hiked up over my back. Intimate moments of the times he’d kissed me until I could hardly breathe. It was all there for anyone with eyes to see.
I wanted to throw up.
I was vaguely aware of Tristan and Rafe yelling that they’d get it shut down. There were gasps and whispers, but I didn’t care about any of it.
My parents were here, and they saw everything.
The realization had barely sunk in when the screen suddenly went black and the lights flickered back to life. As suspected, every set of eyes was on us. I’d never felt so violated in my entire life.
I turned to Liam’s grandfather to tell him what a despicable human he was, but my mom beat me to it. Walking up to him, she lifted her hand and slapped him across the face. The ear-splitting sound of my mom’s palm connecting with his cheek filled me with an unhealthy amount of satisfaction.
“Shame on you,” she hissed.
Her glare stayed on him for a couple of seconds before she faced me. Ice slipped down my spine as I waited for the disappointment, the disgust. Only, it never came.
Instead, she reached for me and asked, “Are you all right?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “Those pictures…it was from before Liam and I got together. He had his reasons, and I don’t want—” I stopped talking when a smile lifted my mom’s lips. “What?”
“You’re defending him, not yourself?”
My cheeks heated. “I’m not happy you saw it, but I was a willing participant. Liam never forced me to do anything, and we thought we were alone.”
“He was right,” my mom mused. “You always put others before yourself.”
I couldn’t ask what she meant because she pulled me into a hug again.
“I’m proud of you, Evie.”
All hell broke loose. Cops filed into the ballroom and headed straight for us. My heart thudded dangerously behind my ribs until I realized they had their hands on Liam’s grandfather.
“I knew you’d try something tonight,” Liam gritted out. “That’s why I had the NYPD waiting nearby. And with that lovely speech you gave me the other night, I’m certain we won’t see you for a long time.” He took a step closer to the older man. “Goodbye, Grandfather.”
And just like that, even though he did not go silently, Mr. Maxwell Sr. was dragged away.
Liam immediately turned to my parents. “I’m so terribly sor—”
My father held up a hand, silencing him. “There isn’t a single person on this earth who doesn’t have some skeleton buried in their closet. No one is perfect, son. We weren’t created to be. And I assure you I speak for my wife and myself when I tell you we only care about how you love our Evie.”
“Wow,” my sister piped up. “All this excitement, and it isn’t even nine p.m. yet. I should’ve come back to the city months ago.”
I didn’t know if it was shock or what, but a laugh bubbled up my throat and spilled over my lips. Everyone else laughed, too, and when Rafe and Tristan joined us a few moments later, I laughed even harder at their confused expressions.
“Well,” I managed, my laughter finally tapering down. “At least we know people will talk about this year’s event for a very long time.”
Once again, Tristan hurried away, and when he came back, he had a tray of champagne flutes. Handing out a glass to everyone except my parents—my dad couldn’t drink because of the medication and my mom didn’t want him to feel left out—he held his in the air.
“Here’s to an unforgettable night with unforgettable people.”
We drank to that. And then we enjoyed the rest of our evening. I caught up with my mom and sister. Danced with my husband, and, of course, blushed furiously when the images for the new line were revealed.
And by the time the night was over and everyone said their goodbyes, I realized I’d do it all over again. Even the terrible things, because they were the ones that led me to eternal happiness.