Chapter 11 I’m Already Married
Everyone took Rosalie’s smile as a sign she was fine and launched into more comfort and suggestions
for “excellent bachelors”.
Rosalie answered each one politely, the perfect debutante on the surface, but impatience gnawed at her.
They were William’s relatives, always leaning on him for favors yet resenting every success he and his family had.
Now that Rosalie’s wedding had fallen through, they spoke of pity while secretly enjoying the show.
In Claver, there was hardly another man with Lucian’s pedigree and promise.
It had been the same in her previous life.
When she struggled to conceive, those relatives, pretending it was out of concern, spread her private
business all over the city until it hit the trending feed and made her a laughingstock.
The hypocrisy made her stomach turn.
When she finally saw the relatives out and the living room grew quiet, her smile faded and her eyes turned
cold.
She pulled out her phone and called her lawyer, Nathan Pierce.
“Mr. Pierce, I need to move forward on the part of my grandfather’s will that assigns management control of the company’s equity. I want the inheritance and notarization handled as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Ms. Ashford. Per your grandfather’s will, if you are married, you receive management control of 40%
of the shares. May I confirm that you…”
“Yes,” Rosalie said calmly, her fingers tightening around the phone. “I’m already married.”
She hung up and went to her bedroom.
In the corner stood a waist-high safe. The combination was her anniversary with Lucian.
Her fingers hovered, then she keyed it in. The lock clicked, and the door swung open.
Light bounced off rows of jewelry. Every piece was expensive, and every one of them had been a gift from
Lucian.
For a moment, her vision blurred. She reached for a velvet box on the top shelf and opened it. Inside lay a large pink diamond engagement ring.
She had once cherished it so much that she hadn’t taken it off even to sleep. Now, it felt sharp and cold in
her hand.
Expressionless, she dropped the ring and its box onto a lower shelf, then placed her new marriage
any ty
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certificate on the top shell
She locked that shelf, pressed the intercom, and said, ‘Hilda, come upstairs.”
Soon, there was a knock at the door. Hilda Farrell, the longtime housekeeper who had been looking after Rosalie stepped inside “Ms Ashford, you asked for me?”
Rosalie nodded at the open safe. “Hilda, take inventory of everything in there and list it for sale online.”
“Sell it? Hilda stared, stunned. “Ms. Ashford, these are your favorites.”
She thought she had misheard. How could Rosalie bear to part with them?
Rosalie simply said, “Yes, sell them. As before, donate all proceeds to the scholarship fund for the
mountain schools.”
Abigail had founded that fund when she was young. Over the decades, it had sent thousands of students from the mountains to university.
Rosalie had contributed part of her allowance every year since she was a child.
Hilda grew anxious. She hurried to the safe, lifted a velvet case with both hands, and opened it to reveal a shimmering diamond necklace.
“Ms. Ashford, have you forgotten? This is Starlit Devotion. Mr. Fenwick fastened it around your neck on your 18th birthday. He said you were the only starlight in his sky, the whole galaxy that lit his world,” Hilda
said through her sobs.
She couldn’t understand why Lucian, who had once held Rosalie like something precious, would suddenly
call off the wedding.
She refused to believe his feelings could change so easily. There had to be some terrible
misunderstanding.
