From Broken Vow To True Love Chapter 05

From Broken Vow To True Love Chapter 05

“You’re right, Mrs. Lombardi.”

I looked at her, my voice so calm it surprised me.

“I can’t give that toast.”

Mrs. Lombardi frowned.

“What did you say?”

Dorian finally seemed to sense a shift. He lunged forward, reaching for my arm.

“Hannah Moretti, what do you think you’re doing?”

I took a sharp step back, and his hand closed on empty air.

The rejection was absolute.

Dorian’s hand hung in the space between us, his face twisting with fury.

“Have you lost your mind?”

He gritted his teeth, his voice a low threat.

“If you don’t give this toast, you’re not walking out of here.”

“Don’t you dare disgrace the Lombardi family name.”

Seeing her opening, Chloe rushed to Mrs. Lombardi’s side, clutching her arm.

“Mrs. Lombardi, don’t force her. It’s fine, I don’t need a toast.”

“I was never important anyway. I’m just a friend. How could I compare to his wife?”

As she spoke, her eyes welled up.

Mrs. Lombardi patted her hand, her expression heartbroken.

When she looked back at me, her gaze was glacial.

“Hannah Moretti, if you walk out that door today, don’t you ever think of marrying into this family.”

Matt laughed from the sidelines.

“Think carefully, Hannah.”

“With Dorian’s status, half the women in New York would kill to marry him.”

“You walk away from this, you’re not getting a second chance.”

They all thought I was bluffing.

In their eyes, I loved Dorian so much I had no pride left.

For him, I’d given up my spot at Parsons.

For him, I’d stayed in New York, managing his life down to what he ate for dinner.

They were sure I could never leave him.

I looked down at the ring on my left hand.

This was what I had to show for three years of my life.

Cheap. Ridiculous.

Slowly, I worked the ring off my finger.

The metal scraped my knuckle, a small, sharp pain.

“Dorian.”

I said his name.

He looked at me, a smirk playing on his lips.

“What, scared now? Trying to threaten me by taking off the ring?”

“Let me tell you, even if you get on your knees and beg, you’re still giving that toast.”

I ignored him.

I flicked the ring onto the marble floor at his feet.

It made a sharp, clear sound.

The ring rolled twice before stopping beside the hem of Chloe’s white dress.

“You can have it. It’ll be a perfect match for that pink diamond.”

I turned, gathered the skirt of my wedding dress, and walked down the steps of the dais.

Then I walked straight toward the front row of guests.

Every eye was on me.

Behind me, Dorian’s furious roar echoed through the hall.

“Hannah Moretti! Get back here!”

I didn’t even flinch. I stopped in front of a man in a black, custom-tailored suit.

He had been leaning back in his chair the entire time, quietly turning a silver Zippo lighter over and over in his hand.

The light caught the sharp, cold planes of his face.

He lifted his head and looked at me.

There was a flicker of interest in his dark eyes.

Evander Hawthorne.

One of the most powerful men in New York, and the one investor Dorian had been desperate to land.

I took a deep breath and held out my hand to him.

“Mr. Hawthorne, I hear you’re in the market for a wife. How about me?”