He Said He Loved Me, Then Gave Her Our Marriage Certificate Chapter 09

He Said He Loved Me, Then Gave Her Our Marriage Certificate Chapter 09

“Everything was arranged,” Serena cried. “Talia was supposed to lose everything, but somehow life protected her again.”

“I was the one who was assaulted. Host the one thing I thought could secure my future.

“How could I not hate her?”

I slapped her.

“So you chained me to your hatred for all these years?”

She threw back her head and laughed.

“Of course. Nothing controlled you more completely than your guilt.”

“I used it to take the scholarship nomination, the best job offer, and award after award.”

“Even my first night with Grant happened because you created the proposal that led to our celebration.”

Grant kicked her away from him.

“So you deliberately seduced me? Why did you have to ruin my life?”

Serena pressed her lips together. Her eyes turned hard.

“Why? Because you were the man Talia loved.”

She looked directly at me.

“Once I stepped into your privileged life, I finally understood how easy a person’s existence could be.”

“That meant I had to have your man, too.”

“I acted helpless when it suited me and made the first move when I needed to. I never expected him to take the bait so easily.”

“Now I know the one thing life denied you was decent judgment in men.’

Scattered laughter broke across the ballroom.

“She’s vicious, but she got that part right.”

“Grant chose to cheat, and now he’s blaming the woman he cheated with. He has no spine.

“Exactly. If he hadn’t wanted the affair, no one could have dragged him into her bed.”

Grant shook his head desperately.

“Talia, it wasn’t like that. She seduced me.

“She lied to me.”

“She manipulated you for years, and she manipulated me, too. We were both victims.”

“You’re the woman I love. Give me one more chance.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Serena is cruel, but you are not innocent.”

“The moment you chose to betray me, whatever future we had was over.”

Grant looked wounded. “I made the same mistake countless men make.

“Is that worth spending your entire life with a man you don’t love?”

I answered before I could think.

“You’re wrong. I love my husband.”

Grant’s face reddened. “How could you love him?”

“Five years ago, he came to your family with a $3 billion contract, and even that could not open your heart. Are you lying to me now, or lying to yourself?”

I met his gaze calmly.

“Five years ago, my judgment was terrible. I truly believed I could never live without you.

“But feelings do not answer to logic.”

“Maybe I love Hayes because he waited without pressuring me, Maybe it’s because he remained faithful to a

feeling he never demanded I return.”

“Maybe it’s because he cared for me without keeping score, or because he finally lifted the burden I had

carried for years.”

“Believe it or don’t. At this moment, the man I love is my husband.”

Grant’s voice broke.

“No. I don’t believe you.”

He turned to Hayes.

“Do you believe her? Do you honestly believe Talia loves you?”

“Or are you willing to marry a woman whose heart still belongs to someone else?”

Hayes watched Grant come apart without the slightest change in his expression and drew me into his arms.

“She is my wife. Why wouldn’t I believe her?”

Despair washed across Grant’s face.

“Don’t forget that I paid for and planned this wedding.”

“You used my ceremony to marry the woman who was supposed to be mine. Does the Whitlock family have no pride left?”