35. Lily
Lily
I don’t look at Declan, too entranced at the horror filling Silvia’s eyes. A petty part of me hopes all she can see is his matching tie, and that it makes her sick to her stomach.
“What the hell are you playing at, Silvia?” he demands.
“Declan, I’m not?—”
“I told you to stay the fuck away from me and my wife.” His anger is turbulent, filling the room, and the crowd as a whole takes a hasty step back as if to get out of the explosion range. “Instead, you’ve been slithering your way through the ranks, filling everyone’s ears with poison and lies.”
I press my hand to the back of Declan’s, trying to impart some calm on him.
Silvia wanted to make a scene here, and she succeeded, but I don’t want to play into her machinations.
His fingers dig into my side, letting me know he feels me, but his attention is on the crowd, his expression tight and furious.
“As my wife has already said, we don’t owe any of you an explanation, but you sure owe Lily one, for ever believing the vile untruths that this bitch has been spreading.”
“Declan,” Lottie scolds beside us, shooting him an amused look. “Let’s keep it civil, shall we? ”
He smiles grimly, not making any such promise, as he levels his dark stare back on Silvia, who stumbles back a step at the intensity of it.
“I wasn’t even aware you were here, Declan,” she grits out, glaring in Maddison’s direction, clearly blaming her friend for that fact, but Maddison doesn’t see it, her eyes focused on us.
“You’re right,” she admits quietly. “I never imagined that anyone would lie about something like this. It was why I was so horrified when Silvia…" She shoots daggers at her friend. “Lily, Declan... I’m sorry for allowing myself to be dragged into this. I just—” She hugs her arms around herself. “There’s no excuse.” She lifts her head, staring down her nose at Silvia.
“Consider us done.” She turns and strides away, disappearing into the throng of people.
Silvia watches her go and then turns to look for Verity, her eyes widening when she finds that she’s gone as well, Lucas having dragged her off, leaving Silvia standing there on her own. She swallows, turning to face us again, and I lift my eyebrows.
“So, Silvia,” Declan drawls, his eyes still gleaming with anger, “was my absence the only reason you decided you were safe to ambush Lily tonight?”
“I didn’t ambush anyone,” she protests defensively, eyes flashing dangerously.
“I just wanted everyone to know the truth of what she did to you.” Her expression clears once more, as if all the emotion has just been wiped away.
“You deserve so much better than this, better than her. We belong together, the bridge between our two families. Can’t you see it? We’d create a whole new dynasty.”
From somewhere behind us, Abigail whispers, “That’s something Donald and Darius would say.”
“After everything came out about her mother, it was so clear that she was never worthy of marrying you or taking the Masters name.” Silvia continues, shaking her head, like Declan had disappointed her.
“You were supposed to end the relationship as soon as you got the company, but you didn’t!
You ruined everything!” Her voice rises until she seems to remember where she is and what she just revealed.
She pauses, lashes fluttering, but then continues on doggedly, voice noticeably lower, “You made the right move, getting an annulment. It hurts now, but once you accept you and her are truly over…” her eyes land on Declan with af fection and my spine goes taut, my own temper finally catching.
She steps forward, a hand reaching out to him and he jerks back, pulling me with him.
She falters, her hand falling limply to her side, but it doesn’t stop her for long.
“Once you finally put her where she belongs, in the past , we can get back on track to what we were always meant to be.”
“Holy shit, she’s gone right off her rocker,” Darcy says behind us, her voice ringing out loudly even as Abigail tries to shush her.
Movement at my side has me turning to find that Lottie has shifted over to make room for my dad, his expression hard and focused on Silvia.
Holding his arm is Julie, a champagne flute still clutched in her free hand and eyes wide, like she’s watching one of her shows play out right in front of her.
She bends around my father to hiss at me, “Are these things always like this?”
Next to her, Lottie snorts, eyes creased with amusement before she informs Julie, “Almost never, which is such a shame. These evenings can be enough to put someone to sleep.”
I can’t stop my amused smile, reminding her, “Still your event, Lottie.”
“Exactly,” she says primly. “So, I can say what I want.”
Dad clears his throat, and we fall quiet as he pins Silvia with his most disapproving stare. “Do you really think this is the time and place, young lady? This is a charity event for children, not some society circus.”
Silvia ignores him, her eyes sliding right over him to land on Julie, her lip curling. “Imagine bringing a housekeeper to a gala like this. It’s obvious the Foster family has no class. It does make a sick kind of sense, Lily, considering who your moth?—”
Before she can finish, Julie is stepping forward, arm flashing out, champagne flying and hitting Silvia straight in the face.
We all stand there in shock, watching as the pale liquid drips down Silvia’s horrified face, sliding down and soaking the fabric of her couture gown.
I glance at Julie as she steps back against my father, her expression just as shocked as everyone else’s.
“Oh,” she mumbles. “I didn’t mean to do that, but—” She straightens her shoulders, settling her expression firmly. “But you deserved it, running your mouth about matters you don’t understand. And about people who aren’t here to defend themselves.”
“Jules,” Dad murmurs, smoothing a hand over her shoulder, but she shakes her head.
“No. I only knew her briefly, but Gloria…she was damaged and abused for years, and she didn’t deserve the hand that life dealt her.
She was a lovely lady, God rest her soul, and she doesn’t deserve to have her name run through the mud by the likes of…
of…” Unable to finish, she just points her glass in Silvia’s direction, her arm shaking.
The crowd parts as Darius Huntington shoves forward, towing his wife, Elena, behind him. He comes to stand at Silvia’s side, his portly cheeks quivering with anger.
“What the hell is the meaning of this?” he thunders loudly, gesturing at his daughter.
He pins a dark glare on Lottie when she steps forward with a serene smile.
“What kind of event are you running, Charlotte? This”—he flaps a hand at his drenched daughter—“is some kind of assault and I will not stand for it.”
Lottie’s eyebrows lift high on her head. “Interesting perspective, Darius, considering your daughter started these shenanigans.”
He opens his mouth to yell some more, but Declan talks over him, “Assault,” he echoes thoughtfully.
“That’s interesting. What would you call it when someone spreads lies and gossip that is harmful to a person’s character, especially knowing that what they’re saying is a lie?
” He sounds calm, but there’s an underlying edge to his tone that has me shooting him a wary look.
Across from us Elena looks confused, but there’s a flash of understanding in Darius’ eyes that tells me he knows more about his daughter’s antics than he’d like to admit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Declan,” he says, voice shaking with barely contained fury.
“Now, don’t you think all this bad business with your father should mean that you need to keep your nose clean.
” He slides a disgusted look my way. “You did well getting yourself untangled from the marriage, even if you didn’t come away with the company, but that doesn’t mean you need to sink back down into the muck.
” A condescending smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Remember your place, Declan. ”
Declan goes still beside me. “Remember my place,” he says so softly, eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.
“Do you mean my place as the heir to a corrupt legacy? The son of an embezzler? A fraudster?” A bark of laughter.
“Well, I guess that one rings true.” He eyes Darius.
“But maybe you mean my place as the son of a murderer.” There are several dramatic gasps from the people circling us, and I roll my eyes, because come on .
Everyone knows what Donald was arrested for, that’s not news.
Declan’s on a roll, still laser-focused on Darius. “And what about your place? Silvia was right about one thing. Our families have always been close. Shit, we even took holidays abroad together, didn’t we?”
“What’re you getting at, boy?”
If he wants to ruffle Declan’s feathers, he’ll have to try harder, because Declan’s expression doesn’t slip an inch at the patronizing tone. “How long have you and Donald been friends, Darius?”
“I don’t see why that matters.”
“I just find it so interesting that you can be that close to someone, and never know what they were doing behind closed doors.” He lets that settle for a moment, before adding, “You often did business together, after all.”
If I hadn’t been watching so closely, I might’ve missed it, but Darius’ cheeks lose a smidge of color, even as his eyes widen almost imperceptibly.
“Now, your father was good at hiding his wrongdoings,” he says, his tone defensive, “and it has nothing to do with me.”