Chapter 253
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Chapter 253:
“Aspen deserves the spotlight,” Kieran said, his voice flat. He threw the ink-stained tissue into the wastebasket. “She’s been through enough. The car accident. The stress. She needs this day to be perfect p>
“Enough?” Bella stopped pacing. She laughed — a harsh, grating sound. “She caused enough. That’s what she did p>
Kieran stood. His chair scraped loudly against the floor. He walked around the desk, his jaw tight.
“Stop it. You’ve been hostile since the engagement party — since before that. You treat her like an enemy combatant p>
“Because I know what she is!” Bella yelled, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “And I know what you did to Jocelyn! I know you threw away the only real thing in your life for a plastic doll who plays victim for a living p>
“Jocelyn is the past,” Kieran snapped. The name made his stomach twist — a physical knot of guilt he refused to acknowledge. “She’s a gold digger who got lucky with a trust fund and a fake marriage. She moved on. So should you p>
“If you say one more word against my fiancée,” Kieran lowered his voice to a dangerous whisper, “you are out of the wedding party. You can watch from the back row with the distant cousins p>
𝖳𝗁𝘦 b𝘦𝘴𝗍 𝘳𝗲𝘃𝘪еw𝗌 𝘰ո
Bella looked at him. Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. Her gaze drifted to the framed photo on his desk — the old, grainy picture of him carrying a girl out of a dark attic.
“I’m trying to save you from humiliation, you idiot p>
“I don’t need saving,” Kieran said, following her gaze to the photo. A surge of protective pride rose in his chest. The girl in the picture was small, her face smudged with soot and turned away from the camera, buried in his shoulder. All he could clearly see was the sleeve of a frilly pink dress he recognized as Aspen’s. “I’m marrying the woman who saved me. The woman who survived that darkness p>
Bella shook her head slowly. She looked at the photo, then back at him. She knew the truth — or pieces of it — but she had no proof. Just a gut feeling that screamed wrong.
“Fine,” she whispered. “Marry her. But don’t come crying to me when the sky falls p>
She turned on her heel and marched toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Kieran demanded.
“To buy a black dress.” Bella slammed the door so hard a picture frame on the wall tilted. “It’s a funeral for your dignity p>
Kieran stared at the closed door. The silence rushed back in, heavier than before.
He walked to the side table and poured a drink. His hand trembled slightly as the amber liquid hit the glass.
She’s just jealous, he told himself. She liked Jocelyn better. That’s all.
His phone buzzed on the desk. He picked it up.
Aspen: Baby, I’m so nervous. I just want everything to be perfect tomorrow. I love you.
Kieran’s face softened. The knot in his stomach loosened just a fraction.
Kieran: Don’t be. I’ll protect you. Always.