Chapter 27
MERRY
The applause was thunderous, but Merry barely heard it.
Her pulse was still racing, her skin buzzing from the adrenaline of performing and the even more surreal feeling of singing a duet — a Christmas duet, no less — with Christian.
The moment felt so impossibly perfect that she wanted to bottle it, store it somewhere safe so she could revisit it forever.
He looked devastatingly handsome, his eyes crinkled with laughter, his jawline dusted with stubble, and his smile was still doing dangerous things to her equilibrium.
He hugged her close and she breathed in the scent of him.
How had this happened? How had she, Merry Sinclair, the girl who was always late, always chaotic, and never sparkly, ended up here?
In a twinkling ballroom, draped in silk, arms around a man who looked at her like she was made of magic.
She tilted her head up to ask him how she’d got so lucky when she saw his expression shift.
Merry followed his gaze, still breathless and slightly dazed, and spotted the source: a man walking steadily through the crowd, silver-haired and upright, but a lot less commanding than the last time she’d seen him. Mr Lewis Carroll.
Merry stepped gently out of Christian’s arms, grabbed his hand and the pair of them slipped off the stage as Lewis approached the microphone.
The crowd noticed, too, the murmur of conversation slowly draining away as the room quieted.
Lewis reached the mic, the bright stage lights catching the hollows beneath his eyes.
“Thank you,” he said, and though his voice was gravelly with age, it rang clear. “Thank you all for being here.”
Merry and Christian slipped into the crowd, her heart still fluttering as she tucked herself behind a pair of perfume girls who were whispering to each other about the possibility of a younger Carroll being in the room.
“If I could just have a few moments of your time,” Lewis continued, his hand resting gently on the mic stand, “I’d like to say a few words.”
The room was silent now. Even the clinks of the bottles and glasses at the bar had stopped. Snow continued to fall outside the vast windows behind him, the lights of Fifth Avenue glowing through the blur.
“As many of you know, Carroll’s has had . . . a difficult season. And the truth is, a great deal of that is on me.”
Merry felt a ripple move through the room.
Lewis adjusted his cuff and looked out at the crowd. “I haven’t been well. And I’ve made decisions that didn’t always make sense to anyone but me. I owe you all an apology — for the stress and uncertainty and the cuts.”
Merry felt her throat catch. She glanced at Christian by her side. He was standing tall, but he was also visibly tense.
Lewis continued. “But tonight isn’t about me. Tonight is about something better. It’s about the future of Carroll’s and the hope that I have for it to blossom in younger hands. I am stepping down as Chairman of Carroll’s Department Store. Effective immediately.”
Gasps rang out across the ballroom.
“And I’m thrilled to tell you that my son will be taking over. He’s here tonight to meet you all. Now, if only I was wearing my glasses, I’d be able to see him.”
The room erupted in fresh applause and people started glancing around the space to see if they could catch a glimpse of the young man.
Merry felt excitement bubble in her at the idea that her job was safe and things might start getting a bit easier on the shop floor.
She nudged Christian to give him a thumbs up, but he looked like he wanted to set fire to the building.
“Christian?” She leaned into him with her shoulder. “What’s up?”
Lewis raised his hand again, commanding the room. “Please, everyone, give a warm welcome to the new leader of Carroll’s — my son, Christian Carroll!”
Merry’s stomach dropped. No. No, it had to be a coincidence. But then Christian faltered beside her, his jaw tensed, his hands fisted at his side. Then, without a word, he stepped forward and climbed the stairs to the stage.
Merry watched him go, her breath trapped in her chest.
She hadn’t imagined it. It was him. Christian Carroll. The Christian Carroll, son and heir of the Carroll empire.
She thought back to all the moments they’d shared together, each one now prickling with betrayal.
That first conversation at the café, when he’d acted like he’d randomly bumped into her.
The date he’d planned so carefully, with its perfect timing and thoughtful details.
The stories he’d told her. The way he’d touched her, held her, kissed her like she was the only thing on his Christmas list.
And the sex. God, the sex. She’d given herself to him completely, heart wide open, soul bare. She’d let him in and trusted him. She’d believed every word he said. All while he was living a lie. He’d known , and he’d let her keep believing.
Why hadn’t she seen it sooner? The ease with which he moved through the store. The way he talked about leadership and legacy. The tiny, careful things he’d avoided saying. Of course he had been hiding something.
She’d been so naive. So wrapped up in her own fantasy that she hadn’t questioned the magic.
She’d wanted her Christmas wish to come true so badly that she hadn’t stopped to think about the cost. And now here she was, standing in a glitter-drenched ballroom, surrounded by strangers, feeling like the biggest fool in New York.
She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it wouldn’t budge, while around her, her friends were squealing with excitement. On stage, Christian took the microphone from his father.
“Thank you,” he said, commanding attention. “I know this might come as a surprise to some of you, but for the past few weeks, I’ve been working undercover on the shop floor. Getting to know the store from the inside out. Learning from all of you because I’ve been away for such a long time.”
A murmur spread through the room and Merry stopped breathing.
“It was important to me,” Christian continued, “to see Carroll’s through fresh eyes. To understand the challenges you face, the systems that are broken, the pressures you’re under. I didn’t want to come in as just another Carroll. I wanted to earn the right to lead.”
More laughter and applause, but Merry’s ears were ringing.
So that was it. She hadn’t just been left out of the truth.
She’d been part of his strategy. He’d embedded himself in the store like a secret shopper, gathering intel.
She remembered the way he had quizzed her about staffing numbers — he’d even asked her if she knew what was making Carroll’s feel weird lately.
Oh my God, I’m such an idiot.
Tears stung her eyes.
“There you are!” Someone grabbed her arm — a wide-eyed Trudy. “You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you were so grossed out by the idea of dating a janitor.”
“What the hell, Merry?” another voice chimed in. Ben this time, his eyebrows raised. “Were you, like, in on it? Were you spying on me?”
“I can’t believe you kept that a secret,” said Alice, stepping in close, hurt etched on her face. “Come on, Merry, spill. Did you know who he was this whole time?”
“Merry,” Trudy said, serious now, “did you lie to us all?”
The walls were closing in. Their voices blended with the crowd’s cheers and the lingering echo of Christian’s voice in her head. The pressure built in her chest.
She turned, pushing back through the crush of bodies, needing air before her lungs exploded. She needed to get away from the noise, the questions, the disbelief in her friends’ eyes and, more than anything, she needed to get away from Christian.
She’d been used. And now she knew exactly what her Christmas wish had cost her.