Looking at the wedding ring I'd chosen so carefully, my chest went tight.
In the past, every time Sebastian and I fought over Jill, he'd give me a piece of jewelry the next day as an apology.
It never occurred to me that even those so-called apologies had been fake.
The others were laughing, ribbing him.
"Seb, if you two are this crazy about each other, just dump Thelma and marry Jill already."
Sebastian shook his head. "Can't. The Sullivans helped me out, and Thelma's put real effort into me. I don't want people calling me an ingrate."
Then, as if something had just come to him, he pinched Jill's cheek, doting. "Besides, this little princess here is a money pit. I'm the only one who can put up with her. But I'm worried one Henson fortune won't be enough to keep her, so obviously I need to earn more."
"Doing it on my own is a little slow. The Sullivans only have the one daughter, and Thelma's all about family. The second we're married, I'll get her pregnant right away, and then she won't have time for the company anymore."
"Her father trusts me completely, and his heart's been bad these last couple of years. All I have to do is find a way to set him off, and once the old man kicks it, who else is he going to hand the family business to but his son-in-law?"
"And once that happens, whatever Jill wants, I'll be able to give her."
My fists clenched hard.
One of the reasons I'd chosen Sebastian in the first place was how devoted he was to his elders.
When my father hurt his leg, it was Sebastian who carried him to physical therapy every day, tracked down specialists, bought him supplements.
My mother had a bad cough, and it was Sebastian who personally brewed her honey lemon tea every day and brought it over.
So it had all been to win my father's trust, to marry into my family and strip it bare?
Serena was so furious she wanted to storm in and start swinging. I grabbed her and held her back.
Inside, the ribbing went on.
"All right, all right, so you're the great Sebastian Henson, the true romantic, so noble and self-sacrificing."
"So if you can't marry her, at least you can beat the wedding night with Jill, right? Don't pretend we don't all know she's crazy about you. When you played house as kids, she'd only ever have you as the groom."
"Yeah, do it in the wedding suite you and Thelma are using. On that wedding quilt she embroidered with her own hands. She bullied Jill so hard yesterday, let it be payback for Jill!"
Sebastian hesitated. "But Thelma hasn't even slept in the wedding suite yet, and that quilt, she spent a whole year on it, her ten fingers full of holes from the needle bleeding..."
Before he could finish, Jill wrapped her arms around his neck, all soft and pitiful.
Not a trace of her usual tomboy act.
"Sebastian, I really do love you."
"If I hadn't been afraid you wouldn't accept me, I never would have gone abroad. Later, when I saw how much you cared about me, all I could do was hate myself for not confessing sooner... I won't force you to be a cheat. I just want to be your bride once, in the real sense. Please?"
Her fingertips trailed lightly across Sebastian's chest as she coaxed him.
"And don't you think it'd be exciting? Doing it in yours and Thelma's wedding suite, on that quilt?"
Sebastian's eyes darkened, and he swept her up in his arms. "Fine. Then let's go a little wild, no regrets."
Seeing the crowd usher them out, I quickly pulled Serena around a corner.
Only when their shapes had disappeared did Serena smack my hand away, snapping under her breath.
"Thelma Sullivan, since when did you turn into such a coward? Why wouldn't you let me go in there and tear those two shameless dogs apart?!"
After what I'd just seen, I was completely done with Sebastian.
"They'll get torn apart. Just not yet."
I called my assistant. "I need you to go take care of something for me right now."
Then I turned to Serena. "You got all of that on record, didn't you?"
Serena seemed to catch on. She waggled her phone, pleased with herself. "Of course. Your girl's sharp."
Since Sebastian wanted to marry in and clean out my family, I'd make sure it blew up in his face.
Over the next few days, Sebastian was with Jill the whole time, never coming home at night.
I didn't make a scene. I let him.
On the wedding day, I walked into the hall on my father's arm as the opening music played.
By the schedule, Sebastian should have been standing at the front, waiting for my father to give my hand to him.
Instead, he came charging over, an aggrieved Jill trailing behind him.
"Thelma, do you really have to have it out for Jill like this?"
"I told you, her party favor was supposed to be that diamond necklace. Why isn't it here?!"
My father's expression turned dark at once.
"Sebastian, this is your wedding with Thelma. Don't let an outsider hold things up. The little stuff can wait."
But he shot back, sour.
"Jill isn't an outsider! Anything that upsets her is a big deal!"
"Thelma, either you go buy that necklace back right now, or you get down on your knees and apologize to Jill!"
The words had barely landed when the doors of the hall swung open.
Joe Gilbert walked at the front, in an immaculate, perfectly cut suit.
Behind him came several bodyguards, and in the gift box one of them carried was the necklace worth millions, that egg-sized diamond.
I lifted a corner of my mouth. "What's the rush? Here it is."
Only then did Sebastian's face soften. "Good. At least you know how to behave."
He assumed the man was from the jewelry store, and he complained.
"What kind of timing does your store keep? Couldn't even manage to be early. Careful, or I'll file a complaint!"
He reached out to take the necklace, only for Joe to seize his wrist and wrench it back, hard.
Sebastian dropped to his knees on the floor, in pain.
There was a smile at the corner of Joe's mouth, but his eyes were pure ice.
"Sir."
"This is a wedding gift for my own wife, and you're grabbing for it? Doesn't seem quite appropriate, does it?"
