10. Owen #2
A soft, genuinely warm look broke through the tension on Owen's face, his voice softening as he described the memory.
"That dig was where I truly got to know Gill.
When you're out in the field for weeks at a time, working under the hot sun, covered in dirt, and sharing the thrill of every single tiny discovery, all the artificial walls of high society just completely melt away.
Gill was incredible. She was funny, fiercely intelligent, and she didn't care a single bit about my family's wealth or social standing.
She just saw me for who I was. Over those long summer months, working side by side in the trenches, I fell deeply, irrevocably in love with her.
She was my first big, undeniable love, Issy.
The kind of love that redefines your entire world. "
Owen reached across the space, his fingers sliding back into Isabel's hand, his grip firm and reassuring as his eyes locked with hers.
"I need you to know something, Isabel. I need you to understand the kind of man I am.
I would never cheat. I have a code, and I believe in the absolute sanctity of a commitment.
I never held Gill's hand, I never stole a secret kiss in the shadows of the tents, and I never said a word to her about how I felt while I was still wearing Debbi's ring.
I knew I couldn't live a double life, and I knew I couldn't betray the respect I owed to my marriage, even if the love wasn't there. "
He let out a long, ragged breath, his shoulders dropping with the phantom weight of the past. "So, as soon as the dig concluded and I returned to Charleston, I sat Debbi down in our living room.
I was entirely honest with her. I told her that our marriage wasn't working, that I respected her too much to stay in a relationship where my heart wasn't fully present, and I asked her for a clean, amicable divorce.
I thought we could handle it like adults, separating quietly without any unnecessary drama. "
Owen’s eyes darkened, the memory turning bitter and cold.
"But I had really underestimated the sheer, terrifying depth of Debbi's obsessive jealousy.
Up until that point, I'd never seen the true dark side of her possessiveness because I'd always played the role of the dutiful, agreeable husband.
The moment I asked to leave, the moment she realized she was losing control over me, her entire demeanor flipped.
And it didn't take her long to figure out exactly why my heart had shifted.
She realized I'd fallen for Gill, and that was when the true nightmare began. "
Owen leaned back slightly, his fingers tightening around the smooth glass as the memories turned bitter and cold. He looked into Isabel’s eyes, wanting her to understand the absolute gravity of the storm he’d tried to escape.
"Debbi didn’t just throw a tantrum," Owen said, his voice harsh and hollow. "Her jealousy wasn’t a standard emotional reaction, it was a calculated, venomous weapon. The moment she realized she couldn’t control me anymore, and the moment her family realized the Reed name was walking away from their alliance, she decided to tear down everything and everyone associated with my happiness.
And because she knew how much that archaeological dig meant to me, she started right there. "
Isabel watched him, her breathing shallow and soft in the secluded cafe, her hand staying firmly anchored over his.
"The Wineberg family carries an immense amount of corrupt wealth and political force in South Carolina," Owen continued, shaking his head as his jaw set tight.
"They used their connections on the state historical boards and university committees to officially discredit the findings of our dig. They launched a systematic, ruthless smear campaign, claiming that the artifacts we’d spent months meticulously pulling from the earth were entirely fraudulent.
But they didn't stop at the history, Issy. They went directly after Gill’s life. "
He took a sharp breath, the phantom anger of that decade-old betrayal twisting his stomach into knots.
"Debbi manufactured an entire web of lies. She paid off a disgruntled graduate assistant to fabricate evidence, effectively framing Gill for plagiarism and the outright falsification of historical artifacts. In the academic world, especially in a specialized field like archaeology, an accusation like that is an absolute death sentence. Within a matter of weeks, Gill’s professional reputation was shattered.
She was blacklisted from every major institution in the state, her grants were frozen, and her career was ruined before it could even truly begin. "
"That is horrific," Isabel whispered, her eyes shining with a deep, maternal anger for the woman she’d recently met. "To destroy someone's entire future out of spite."
"It gets worse," Owen said, his eyes tracking a slow line across the dark mahogany counter.
"When Gill tried to fight back, Debbi used her family's leverage to go after Gill's father. As the Dean of the College of Charleston, he tried to launch an internal investigation to clear his daughter's name. But the Winebergs pulled their funding from the university’s upcoming expansion project and threatened the board of trustees. The board caved to the financial pressure almost instantly. They stripped her father of his prestigious position, removing him as Dean and forcing him into an early, humiliating retirement. They thoroughly broke that man’s spirit, Issy, all because his daughter had the misfortune of being loved by me. "
Owen's fingers trembled slightly against his glass, and he set it down on the counter to keep from spilling the wine.
"Debbi’s obsession was boundless. After she successfully ruined Gill and her father, she turned her venomous sights toward Dr. Anna Caldwell.
She started whispering to the university donors, trying to besmirch Anna's pristine name and get her tenure revoked for overseeing an allegedly fraudulent dig.
That was the absolute breaking point for me.
I couldn't sit by and watch my brilliant mentor get dragged down into the mud because of my messy life. "
He looked up, meeting Isabel's gaze with absolute, fierce intensity.
"I went straight to my parents' estate. I told them that if they didn't use every ounce of the Reed family wealth and traditional power to freeze Debbi and the Winebergs from touching Anna, I’d take every piece of dirty corporate laundry our family possessed and hand it directly to the federal prosecutors. It was the only time in my life I ever used my family’s influence, and it worked.
The Winebergs backed off from Anna instantly, realizing that dragging her down wasn't worth starting a full-scale war with the Reeds. "
A heavy, suffocating silence settled over the cafe, the silver moonlight outside illuminating the dark water of the bay.
"But the damage to Gill and her father was already done," Owen whispered, his voice thick with a profound, lingering grief.
"The system had failed them entirely. They packed up whatever belongings they could fit into their car, turned their backs on Charleston, and disappeared.
My marriage ended in a bitter, toxic divorce that took months to finalize, and I never saw Gill again.
Not a single word, not a single postcard, until today when she walked right through the door of Darius's beach house. "
Owen took a slow, heavy breath, the phantom weight of the Charleston courtrooms and his family’s suffocating expectations finally lifted as he looked into Isabel’s warm, understanding eyes.
The silver moonlight was fully washing over the still bay now, casting long, shimmering patterns across the freshly polished floorboards of the empty cafe.
"The toxic atmosphere of that city, the complete corruption of all that old money and elite power, it became something I just couldn't stomach for another single day," Owen said in a quiet, reflective tone as he gently squeezed her hand.
"The very second the divorce papers were officially signed and the legal ties were cut, I went back to my apartment and packed up a single suitcase with my clothes and a few of my favorite historical texts.
I walked away from the grand Reed estate, refused to take a single dime of the massive family inheritance, and decided to leave that world behind forever.
I only took a very small, modest sum of money that my grandparents had left me in a private trust years before, a little safety net that my parents couldn't touch or control.
I got into my car, turned the key, and I just drove.
I didn't have a map on the seat, I didn't have a specific destination in mind, and I honestly didn't care where the road ended.
All I knew, down to the very marrow of my bones, was that I had to get out of South Carolina before the poison of that place ended up consuming whatever small piece of my soul I had left. "
Isabel listened intently, her thumb lightly tracing the side of his hand, her presence acting as a warm, steady anchor in the quiet room.