Chapter 80
That evening, she left work on time. As she was driving up to the entrance of Polaris Court, a figure suddenly darted out in front of her car. A jolt of panic, a remnant of her accident, shot through her, and she slammed on the brakes. But unlike the accident, which she had later convinced herself was a hallucination brought on by exhaustion, this time there was really someone there.
She took a breath to steady herself and looked up.
*BANG p>
Chuck Preston slammed his fist on the hood of her car, his face contorted with rage. “Liliana, get out of the car p>
She was still driving the spare car from the Preston estate, so it wasn’t surprising that he had found her. She hadn’t answered Vida’s calls or messages for days. He was clearly desperate about Hale’s case.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. Chuck lunged forward and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. “What did you do to piss off Cedric? He’s trying to ruin us p>
Pain shot up her arm. She winced. “What did he do p>
“He cut off all of the Preston family’s business deals!” Chuck had never once considered that this might be his own fault. He knew his threats would anger Cedric, perhaps even enough to make him kick Liliana out. But he had assumed she would do what she was supposed to do: cry, beg, and refuse to leave the Forrest estate. There was no way Cedric could have gotten rid of her that easily. So, something must have gone wrong on Liliana’s end. She hadn’t played her part.
“Whether he does business with the Preston family is not something I can control,” she said, stunned by how quickly Cedric had acted. Severing ties with an entire family’s business network wasn’t something that could be done in a day. And yet, just last night, he had tricked her into his bed.
She bit her lip and tried to wrench her arm free, but Chuck only squeezed tighter. “I raised you for nothing! You can’t even save Hale, and now you’re going to drag the whole family down with you? You are going back to the Forrest estate right now. I don’t care what you have to do-cry, beg, get on your knees-you will get Cedric to forgive you and restore our business deals p>
The pain was so intense that all the color drained from her lips. “I’m not going back!” she insisted.
It was rush hour, and a small crowd had gathered to watch the commotion. Not wanting to be the subject of neighborhood gossip, she tried to pull away from him, moving in the opposite direction of her building.
Then, through the crowd, she saw it: a black Maybach parked on the side of the road. Her heart stopped, the blood freezing in her veins. The car down and
window was powe
through the gap, she could see
pair of deep, dark eyes.
Cedric was watching the whole sordid affair.
“Liliana, have some self-awareness! Marrying Cedric was the best thing that ever happened to you! Who do you think you are to have pride in front of him p>
“If you actually get divorced, you’ll be damaged goods! Who do you think will want you then p>
“Now go back there! I don’t care if you have to cry or throw a fit or kneel and apologize, you will get his forgiveness! And stop pretending you’re better than you are. Even if he throws you out, you stay put p>
Chuck’s voice droned on, a tirade of insults and commands. He didn’t notice that she had gone completely still Her face was ashen. She felt as if she had been stripped naked in front of Cedric, utterly exposed and shamed.
And the look in Cedric’s eyes-a cold, growing amusement-was the final, devastating blow. It was a look that said: *See? Even your own father sees you for what you are. A worthless toy meant only to please me. You were made to revolve around me. Did you really expect me to ever see you as an equal p>
*You’re not worthy p>
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