Or perhaps, all of it was just an excuse for his affair and his scheme to seize my shares.
Arnold had been at odds with Elwin for years. He knew exactly how to twist the knife.
Sure enough, Elwin fixed his glare on me, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscles twitch.
"Maureen, have you lost your mind? You're selling your shares to him?"
"How much did he pay you to throw away your position as a Gilbert daughter? Do you really want to make an enemy of me?"
"Can you not tell the difference between one good meal and a lifetime of them?"
"Or did you use those shares as a bargaining chip to become his mistress, just so the two of you could humiliate me together?"
So that was it. In Elwin's eyes, neither my devotion nor I as a person had ever been worthy of the light of day.
I didn't look at him. Instead, I turned to Arnold with a smile playing at the corners of my lips.
"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Delgado to show me something impressive. I'm dying to see how the daughter of the richest man in the country plans to save Starlight Corporation from bankruptcy."
Arnold held my gaze for a moment, then pulled out his phone and made a call.
"In half an hour, Starlight's stock will hit its lower limit."
The certainty in his voice caught even me off guard.
I wouldn't have dared claim I could tank Starlight's stock in thirty minutes. Was this guy overselling himself?
But it was Valerie whose eyes flickered with panic.
She clutched Elwin's arm, her voice unsteady. "Elwin, you don't think he's found some powerful backer, do you?"
Elwin pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. "Silly girl. What backer could possibly be more powerful than you?"
He turned back to me with a sneer. "Maureen, you're giving him way too much credit. If he had the ability to bring me down, he wouldn't have kept it hidden all this time."
"Besides, with Valerie here, neither of you can touch a single hair on Starlight's head."
But his mockery only made Valerie's unease more visible.
When she caught my knowing look, she opened her mouth as if to say something—then defaulted to slinging mud at me instead.
"Maureen, you latched onto Arnold awfully fast. Don't tell me you two have been carrying on behind everyone's backs this whole time?"
Elwin's already dark expression turned thunderous.
"Maureen, is this your way of getting back at me for not proposing to you today?"
"If you truly loved me, shouldn't you feel guilty? Shouldn't you step aside and wish me happiness when I've found someone better?"
I stared at the mouth moving in front of me, unable to believe this was the man I'd loved for years.
I felt nothing but shame for my own blindness.
Fury surged through me. I reached over and took Arnold's hand, lacing my fingers through his.
"You've already cheated and found your true love. Am I not allowed to move on?"
"Or is it that I sold my shares to Arnold instead of handing them over to your mistress for free, and now you're barking about it?"
Elwin, humiliated and enraged, raised his hand to slap me.
I sidestepped.
He stumbled, off-balance, and took Valerie down with him. They hit the floor face-first.
Arnold and I couldn't help it. Our eyes met, and we burst out laughing.
Everyone else wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
They could only point at me and hurl insults.
"Maureen, you shameless little tramp! You've got some nerve! Cross Mr. Gilbert, and you can forget about surviving in Bayview City!"
"Exactly! The Gilbert family could crush you like an ant! You're acting high and mighty now, but you'll be on your knees begging soon enough!"
I shrugged, utterly unconcerned.
"Is that so? I have a feeling the one begging on their knees might be someone else entirely."
Elwin glared at me with fury blazing in his eyes, unable to fathom where my calm confidence came from.
A flicker of unease stirred in his chest—but Valerie's sobbing quickly drowned it out.
