### Chapter 6
Time slipped by, and before I knew it, the night of the Delgado family banquet had arrived.
I stepped into the grand hall on the hotel penthouse floor, and the room blazed with light. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling, casting a brilliant glow over every smiling face. A champagne tower rose impossibly high, and a string quartet played softly in the corner.
Dustin and Alice stood at the center of the crowd in matching silver evening wear, looking like a picture-perfect couple under the lights.
Alice clung to his arm, wearing a poised, gracious smile.
Guests raised their glasses one after another, faces bright with flattery, compliments pouring out like a tide: "Mr. and Mrs. Delgado are truly a match made in heaven! So handsome, so elegant together!"
"I heard Mrs. Delgado is expecting again? Congratulations!"
"Look at how Mr. Delgado dotes on his wife. What a lucky woman!"
Everyone was offering their blessings, as if every single person had forgotten that Alice was the wife of Dustin's late elder brother, not his. No one dared ask whose child she was carrying.
I watched the whole spectacle and felt nothing. No pain. Just the absurdity of it all.
I turned and walked toward an empty corner.
"Cecily."
Dustin caught up and grabbed my arm.
"Are you upset? You know the guests only said those things because they're afraid of setting Alice off again."
"Oh, and what about the pregnancy?" I turned to face him, a bitter smile curling my lips. "Your brother's been dead for years. Did he crawl out of his grave to get her pregnant?"
The color drained from Dustin's face. A vein throbbed along his neck.
"What kind of attitude is that?" His voice was barely controlled, fury simmering beneath every word. "Can't you show even a shred of the grace expected of Mrs. Delgado?"
His eyes were black with something dangerous, a pressure that made it hard to breathe. But I didn't back down. Not this time.
My hand drifted to my flat stomach without thinking. The smile on my face turned bitter. I wanted to ask him why I should show grace to the woman who had cost me my child.
But the words wouldn't come.
Something in my eyes must have reached him, because a flicker of unease crossed his face. His anger dimmed, just slightly.
"Cecily, I know you've been wronged."
He reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist. I flinched, but he was already leaning down, his burning lips pressing toward mine.
"Ahhh!!"
Before I could push him away, a scream tore through the entire hall.
I turned and saw Alice standing a few yards away, her face white as paper.
"What are you doing?!" Her voice was shrill enough to pierce eardrums. "You shameless homewrecker! Why do you keep throwing yourself at my husband? Why?!"
Then something wild flooded her eyes, and she spun and bolted toward the terrace.
"Alice!"
Dustin shoved me aside without a second's hesitation and chased after her. "Alice, don't do anything stupid!"
The force of his push sent me stumbling several steps before I caught my balance. The crowd surged past me, rushing toward the terrace.
Alice had climbed onto the ledge. Wind whipped her gown at that height, the fabric snapping like a flag. She stared straight at me, her eyes filled with nothing but hatred. "Cecily Harding, you worthless tramp! You keep seducing my husband, so I'll die right in front of you!"
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Dustin stood a few steps away from her, his eyes full of regret and raw terror.
"Baby," his voice shook, and he inched forward with agonizing caution, "please come down. Just come down, and I'll never see that woman again."
Alice gripped the railing and shook her head like a woman possessed. "I don't believe you! Dustin Delgado, you bastard, I will never believe you again!"
"What do I have to do? Tell me. I'll agree to anything!"
Everyone held their breath, completely taken in by her flawless performance.
And I stood at the back of the crowd, suddenly so exhausted I just wanted to leave.
"I want that filthy whore on her knees! I want her to apologize and admit she's the homewrecker who stole another woman's husband!"
What?
I looked up in disbelief, only to watch Dustin take a deep breath and turn to me, his voice like ice. "Apologize to Alice. Now."
"Tell her you're the other woman."
My breathing stopped. My heartbeat stopped. My blood froze solid.
Seconds of silence passed before my entire body began to tremble. "Dustin Delgado, you want me to kneel before the woman who stole my husband and announce to everyone here that I'm the mistress?"
Dustin seized my arm. "Yes. Now."
My eyes flooded with red. "Never."
The word ground out through clenched teeth, soaked in blood and tears, carrying the last scrap of dignity I had left. Dustin froze for a split second. In that instant, I wrenched free of his grip and turned on my heel.
I tore down the corridor, burst into the restroom, and locked myself in the last stall.
I had never imagined Dustin would do this to me. Even if the love was gone, I never thought he would make me stand before a room full of people and let my dignity be trampled into the ground.
The tears came anyway.
I sat on the closed toilet lid, buried my face in my knees, and fought to steady my breathing, telling myself that this man was not worth a single tear.
Slowly, my heart rate settled. I was about to leave when the restroom door slammed open.
"Don't be mad, baby. I promise I'll have that woman gone by tomorrow. Out of this city for good."
Dustin's voice. Low, urgent, threaded with appeasement.
My hand on the stall door went slack.
"If you ever see her again, I will disappear, and you will never find me."
"I swear on my life." His voice dropped to barely a whisper, but it was deadly serious. "You're the only one I love. Have you forgotten what I did to her so you could get pregnant again?"
What did that mean?
What had he done to me? My mind went blank. I wanted to scream, to burst out and grab him and demand the truth.
The last thread of reason kept me rooted in place.
The sound of rustling clothes, fabric tearing, and then Alice's aggrieved whimper melted into soft laughter and a low moan.
"Fine," her voice was liquid, boneless, "I'll believe you one more time."
A pause. Then she spoke again, a note of testing in her tone. "But what if she finds out the truth about her little brat's miscarriage?"
Dustin's voice went cold.
"Don't worry about that. It's been six months. I've already told every doctor to keep their mouths shut. No one would dare tell her."
A chill crawled from the soles of my feet to the crown of my skull.
I stared down at my stomach. Alice's words from before crashed back into me. She had said my miscarriage was no accident.
At the time, I'd dismissed it as another one of her provocations. But what if the truth was far worse?
