"Mr. Garrick," Holloway said, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "You are mistaken."
Lacey let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Mistaken? About what? We all know Ariel has nothing else to offer. Why else would a man like Holden Tillman look twice at her?"
Holloway turned his gaze to Lacey. The sheer contempt in his eyes made her laughter die in her throat.
"Miss Melton did not trade anything for Mr. Tillman's protection," Holloway stated, his tone as dry and factual as a legal brief. "She is, in fact, Mr. Tillman's official and sole fiancée."
The words landed like a grenade.
The room went dead silent. Even the rain seemed to stop pounding against the window.
Garrick stared at Holloway, his mouth hanging open, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated shock. The pain in his wrist seemed to be forgotten as his brain short-circuited.
Lacey looked like she had been slapped. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Fiancée? The word echoed in her mind, tearing apart her reality.
Ariel? The woman they had thrown out into the rain? The woman they had called a barren hen? She was going to marry the most powerful man in New York?
"No," Garrick whispered, shaking his head violently. "No, that's impossible. She's nothing. She's a Melton. She's broken. Uncle Holden wouldn't... he wouldn't marry her."
He turned his wild eyes on Ariel, seeing her in a new light-a terrifying one. "What did you do? How did you trick him?"
Holloway ignored Garrick's breakdown. He continued, his voice steady and merciless.
"Therefore," Holloway said, pausing to let the information sink in, "in the eyes of the law and the family, she is now your elder."
He looked down at Garrick, who was still kneeling on the floor. "And your actions just now-raising a hand to her, injuring her-constitute an assault on the family patriarch's fiancée. A direct violation of family protocol."
Each word was a hammer blow, shattering what little composure Garrick had left. He hadn't just attacked his ex-wife. He had attacked Holden Tillman's woman. He had attacked his aunt.
Lacey's face was ashen. The burn on her arm seemed insignificant now compared to the icy dread gripping her heart. Her pregnancy, her position as Garrick's mistress-they were nothing compared to the power of the woman standing in front of her.
She finally understood the bow. She understood the respect.
Holloway turned back to Ariel, inclining his head once more. "Miss Melton, the air in this room is quite foul. May I suggest we leave?"
He paused, his gaze flicking briefly to Garrick and Lacey, ensuring they were listening.
"After all, you are the future mistress of Serenity Estate."
Mistress. The title was a death knell to Lacey's dreams. She wasn't going to be the lady of the house. She was never going to be anything but the woman who slept with a lesser Tillman.
Garrick slumped against the wall, his eyes staring blankly at the floor. His world had just been turned upside down, and he couldn't process it.
