Chapter 28
As soon as those words left my lips, every gaze in the banquet hall landed squarely on me; pity, disbelief and gloating twisted in their eyes, drowning me like a rising tide.
I simply gave a bitter shake of my head.
Back then, I thought I was just doing my part for the family. I hadn’t signed any contract. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Griffin would try to replace me with Arabella.
Arabella, the so–called first love. When the Cavendish Family fell on hard times, she vanished without so much as a goodbye. Cold. Ruthless. For years, she never reached out and never looked back. And now that I had turned Cavendish Corporation around, she reappeared like clockwork, just in time to reap what I had sown.
The only person I could blame was Griffin. For being blind. For turning heartless toward me, all for the sake of a woman who once left hìm in the dirt.”
The thought fanned the flames inside me and my voice turned sharp, slicing through the air.
“Griffin, you have no right to fire me.“{
“I’ll give you one last chance. If she gets rid of that baby and you devote yourself entirely to me, we can still be a family. But that offer won’t stand twice.“S
Griffin’s eyes widened in disbelief before his finger jabbed toward me, his voice dripping with fury.§
“Who do you think you are, giving me orders? Arabella is carrying the heir to the Cavendish Family. She’s the woman I’ll love, heart and soul, from this moment on. As for you, kneel and beg all you want, but all you’ll get is a cold dismissal!”
The crowd around us couldn’t contain their laughter, shaking their heads at what they must’ve seen as my delusion.
But it didn’t matter, ! knew they were wrong.”
I had never spoken a word I couldn’t back up and I meant every one of them. I gave Griffin this ultimatum because I had the strength to see it through..
If I hadn’t promised my in–laws to endure him, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.§
I met his glare, unflinching. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ll fire me and divorce me just to defend your mistress?“}
“You bitch, mind your tongue!” Arabella spat, her anger evident. “You’re the one who isn’t loved! Are you really that clueless not to see that?”
Griffin didn’t hesitate; he pulled her into his arms with all the tenderness he could muster.
“That’s right, Celestine. I don’t want you anymore. Without your ties to me, you’re not even qualified to sit in the CEO’s chair at Cavendish Corporation. Arabella and the child we’ll have, that’s my real family now.”
I let out a slow sigh, my voice calm and unshaken. “What a shame, Griffin. You just threw away your last chance.“§
His expression darkened, layer by layer until it was nothing but frost. His eyes burned with disgust as he stared me down.§
“Stop this ridiculous act. Do you think you’re still some all–powerful CEO? Without me, you’re nothing. Who the hell wants your pathetic chance?”
Arabella stepped in, finger jabbing at my forehead like she owned the world. “What are you, a dog? Barking nonsense every chance you get! Use what’s left of your brain and hand over the project. From now on, everything in Cavendish Corporation will be mine!“}
I didn’t flinch. I slapped her hand away without hesitation.§
“And who told you just any stray cat or dog could manage this project?”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Celestine!“}
Griffin shoved me hard, rough and thoughtless before turning to Arabella and holding her hand as gently as if it were made of glass.N “Does it hurt?”
Arabella gritted her teeth, her voice sharp as a blade. “Griffin, since she’s asking for it, don’t hold back anymore.”
Griffin nodded with cold resolve, his gaze filled with scorn as it fell on me.
“If you refuse to cooperate with the handover, so be it. If someone like you could land this project, then Arabella, an overseas returnee with elite credentials, can do it ten times better. Besides, my father will back her.”
A soft laugh slipped from my lips, laced with irony. “And what makes you so certain your father will accept her?“N
He sneered, full of smug superiority and rested his hand tenderly on Arabella’s belly.
“She’s the mother of my child, the future heir to the Cavendish name. That alone means you’ve already lost entirely.“S
Looking at his face, so arrogant and self–assured, I couldn’t help but offer a quiet reminder, each wor
