Part 3After the Sunflowers

The deadline for high school seniors to commit to colleges fell on the same day as Adrian's thirtieth-birthday gala at Cedarhaven's most exclusive private club.

He had commissioned a couture gown for me and led me through the ballroom by the hand.

He introduced me to everyone as his fiancee.

I played my part as the perfect partner.

I smiled politely and made conversation with the various socialites.

Inside, I counted down the days until my flight to Port Sterling.

Three days.

The party was at its height when Celeste appeared.

She wore a white gown that looked almost identical to mine.

Her eyes were red, and she hovered timidly near the edge of the room.

Adrian noticed her at once.

He released my hand and hurried over to ask what was wrong.

Women nearby began to whisper.

They watched me standing alone with equal parts pity and amusement.

"So what if she's the official fiancee? One tear from the former sister-in-law and she disappears."

"Those matching dresses are interesting. I wonder which woman is the original and which one is the substitute."

Their mockery stirred nothing in me.

If anything, I was bored.

Then the evening turned violent.

Adrian's older brother, Marcus Hawthorne, stormed into the ballroom.

He reeked of alcohol, and rage filled his eyes.

Celeste had divorced Marcus because of his affairs, drinking, and physical abuse.

To protect the family name, the Hawthornes had told the public that the marriage ended peacefully over irreconcilable differences.

Marcus spotted Celeste and laughed bitterly.

"You've got some nerve. You divorce me and immediately attach yourself to my brother?"

Celeste went pale and hid behind Adrian.

Adrian stepped in front of her, his expression hardening.

"Marcus, this is my birthday. Don't start anything."

The warning enraged him. He smashed the glass in his hand.

"I'm starting something? She's my ex-wife! You protect her so fiercely that you neglect your own girlfriend, and you still call yourself my brother?"

A shocked murmur swept through the ballroom.

Standing in the crowd, I finally understood.

Adrian always claimed Celeste was fragile because the divorce was so recent.

It was not simply because she had nowhere else to turn.

He believed the Hawthorne family owed her for what Marcus had done.

Marcus suddenly shoved through the guests toward Celeste.

The broken stem of his glass flashed in his hand.

"You ruined me, and now you're trying to ruin my brother?"

Adrian instinctively pulled Celeste into his arms.

When he twisted to shield her, his elbow slammed into my shoulder.

The jostling crowd sent me stumbling forward.

I fell directly into the path of Marcus's swinging hand.

Broken glass tore through my sleeve and into my arm.

Blood spread across my white gown.

Club security tackled Marcus within seconds.

Still shaken, Adrian loosened his hold on the unharmed Celeste.

Her knees buckled from fright.

Adrian swept her into his arms and shouted in panic.

"Call an ambulance! Celeste fainted!"

He carried her toward the exit.

I sat on the floor clutching my arm while blood ran between my fingers.

Adrian passed close enough to touch me, but he never slowed.

He saw the blood on the floor and the color drained from my face.

He chose Celeste anyway.

As he disappeared through the doors, my tears finally fell.

I remembered the night three years earlier when men cornered us in an alley.

Adrian had fought his way in front of me and said,

"No one touches my girl."

The promise remained in my memory, but the man who made it had just walked past me.