His Secret Wife Was My Best Friend Chapter 05

His Secret Wife Was My Best Friend Chapter 05 Left At The Roadside
A shocked murmur swept through the guests. Mrs. Sutton stared at Gareth. “Are you certain?” He looked away, avoiding Cecily’s eyes, and gave a firm nod. “I saw it myself.” Her mother’s face flushed, then paled with anger. Her own daughter had caused trouble at the family’s event and publicly blamed someone else. Once this got out, what would become of the Suttons’ reputation? “I didn’t!” Cecily protested, her face bloodless. “You weren’t the only person here. That isn’t what happened.” Gareth raised his voice slightly, allowing no room for argument. “Cecily, I’m your fiancé. Why would I lie about you? I’m trying to stop you from making one mistake after another.” He knew how much her mother cared about appearances. She would never let Cecily embarrass everyone in a setting like this. Sure enough, before Cecily could answer, her mother turned and slapped her. “You disgraceful girl. Get backstage. Now.” Her cheek burned. For several seconds, she could barely take in what had happened. She didn’t shed a tear. She simply stared as Gareth shielded the cowering Daphne behind him. Cecily knew her mother’s temper all too well. Her engagement to Gareth had given her mother something to boast about, and only then had she begun restraining the urge to discipline her daughter in public. Now Gareth was protecting the person responsible and leaving his own fiancée to face the humiliation. People pointed and whispered. His betrayal shamed Cecily more deeply than the slap. As she watched him gently comfort Daphne, the last trace of warmth she felt for him went cold. She turned and walked out of the exhibition without looking back. Her Panamera sped along the road, streetlights flashing across her pale face. Then Gareth’s Maybach appeared in her rearview mirror. Without hesitating, she pressed harder on the gas. She didn’t want to see him again. The Maybach kept coming. It accelerated alongside her, then swerved across her path. Cecily had no time to brake. The front of her car slammed into the passenger side of the Maybach. The airbag exploded against her chest with agonizing force. As consciousness slipped away, she wondered dimly how things between her and Gareth had come to this. … An ambulance siren finally pulled her out of the darkness. She had no idea how much time had passed. She had just dragged herself out of the wreck when she saw Gareth step from another car nearby. He rushed to his Maybach and lifted an unconscious Daphne out, frantic with worry. “Daphne, wake up. Please, don’t do this to me.” So Daphne had been driving his Maybach. Gareth had eyes only for her. He didn’t even notice Cecily standing nearby with blood streaming from her head. As the paramedics loaded Daphne into the ambulance, he kept telling them to be gentle and not hurt her. Cecily hadn’t seen that kind of tenderness from him in a long time. Once the ambulance had left, Gareth turned and strode toward her. Before she could react, he grabbed her shoulder. His fingers dug viciously into the torn flesh, as though he meant to punish her. Blood ran down her arm. She moaned with pain. “You knew she was pregnant, and you still tried to kill her? How can you be so vicious?” Cecily stared at him in disbelief. Her voice was barely more than a broken whisper. “Daphne cut in front of me and blocked the road. I didn’t even know she was in the car.” Gareth gave a cold laugh. “She saw you storm out and was worried something might happen. She took my car to go after you. “Besides, if it hadn’t been her, it would have been me. After all this time together, do you really hate me enough to want me dead?” He was furious, his icy stare full of accusation. The night air carried the harsh smell of metal. Her chest hurt, but it was nothing beside the pain inside. They stood within arm’s reach, yet Cecily knew she would never find her way back to him. Daphne wasn’t the only thing between them. There was trust that could never be repaired, and a past they could never return to.