Chapter 8
“Jeffrey Shaw, you were the one who’s been spoiling El since young. You were the one who promised to give her the world, to pamper her for life. But look at you now. You knew from the get–go that this wasn’t in El’s control. She never had the power to dictate the course of her life. Ye, here we are, blaming if all on her. What gives us the right?”
Ivor’s voice slowly drained of vitality as he spoke. He could’t bear thinking back on the recent events. In the beginning, he had showered Rhianne with kindness out of pity.
But how had things spiraled so far out of control? How could he have been such a jerk?
“El. I need to find El. Get out of my way,”
The pain from his wounds jolted his mind awake. Memories flooded back, and he started to remember that this marriage was something he had actively sought.
Back then, the Rhett family was at its peak. There was no need for them to form an alliance with the Shaws.
It was Ivor who fell for me at first sight, wishing to marry me. He went so far as to stage a hunger strike until his family relented and granted him this chance.
How had it come to this in the end? He turned on me, all for the sake of the true daughter of the Shaw family.
“Ivor.”
Jeffrey stood frozen as he watched Ivor disappear through the doors. The rebuke had left him conflicted, his emotions swirling in chaos.
In truth, he hadn’t forgotten about my birthday. He simply wasn’t sure what to do.
For over 20 years, Rhianne and I had been living each other’s lives. Any kindness he had ever shown me now felt like a betrayal of Rhianne. Yet, reading the note I left made him realize he had gone too far.
After all, I had never wanted to fight Rhianne for anything. It was his own assumptions that blinded him. His belief that my attachment to the Shaw family was driven by greed for their wealth was, quite frankly, baseless.
“Jeff, does Ives hate me?”
