Chapter 110

The banquet ended with Hamilton deeply concerned about Mari's condition. He immediately summoned his personal physician to examine her. Only when the doctor confirmed she was fine did he finally relax.

In the dimly lit corridor, two striking figures leaned against the windowsill, the city lights casting long shadows behind them.

Thaddeus offered a cigarette to Jareth, who accepted it with a smirk. The flame flickered between them as Jareth took a slow drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the night air.

"So. Her real name is Evadne. Emeric's daughter?"

Jareth felt like he'd been struck by lightning. The revelation was too surreal to process.

"Correct." Thaddeus tapped his cigarette, the ash drifting to the floor like fallen snow.

"Holy hell, Thad. You hit the damn jackpot and didn’t even know it." Jareth clapped him on the back, eyes gleaming with amusement. "You were married to the Ashbourne heiress. If you hadn’t divorced her, you’d have Emeric’s empire backing you. Frederic and that scheming Elspeth would be groveling at your feet. The entire Abernathy Group would be yours to command."

"I don’t need Evadne’s name to control the Abernathy Group." Thaddeus exhaled sharply, shooting Jareth a dark look. "Do I look like a man who climbs the ladder using a woman?"

"No, you’re not. You’re the kind who buries himself in work instead of enjoying life." Jareth sighed dramatically. "Still, what a wasted opportunity. You could’ve shaved off a decade of struggle."

Thaddeus crushed his cigarette underfoot, a hollow ache settling in his chest. But his regret wasn’t for the reasons Jareth assumed.

"I still don’t understand why she married me in the first place."

"Neither do I." Jareth smirked. "You’re moody, emotionally stunted, hung up on someone else, and—let’s be honest—probably terrible in bed. She’d have been better off with me."

Thaddeus’s gaze turned lethal. "Jareth. Do you honestly think Emeric would let his daughter marry you?"

"At least I wouldn’t accuse her of cheating every time she breathed near another man." Jareth grinned. "In Evadne’s eyes, that already makes me the better man, don’t you think?"

He chuckled. "Remember how you used to pick fights with her over Cassius? Said all those ugly things? Bet you’re choking on those words now."

"Why did she hide her identity from me?" Thaddeus growled. "Why didn’t she tell me the truth?"

"You’re divorced. What difference would it make now?" Jareth shrugged. "Besides, if you’d trusted her even a little, you wouldn’t have treated her the way you did. That’s why I say you two were doomed from the start. No love, no loyalty, no trust. Three years of putting up with you—I admire her patience. I wouldn’t have lasted a day."

Jareth, suddenly the expert on relationships, dissected Thaddeus’s flaws with brutal precision.

Thaddeus clenched his fists, veins standing out against his skin.

Jareth patted his shoulder, grinning. "Don’t worry, buddy. I’ve learned from your mistakes. Whether she’s na or Evadne, I’ll make sure she falls for me. Wish me luck."

"Get lost."

If looks could kill, Jareth would be six feet under.

"Fine, fine. Enemies when we’re close, friends when we’re apart." Jareth paused before leaving, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "You’re not just going to let tonight slide, are you?"

"There’s something off about Elspeth and her daughter." Thaddeus’s voice was dangerously low. "But even with proof, Frederic will bury it. He won’t let the family’s dirty laundry go public. I’ll handle them my own way."

"Lucky Evadne’s unharmed. If anything had happened to her, Elspeth and Glynnis would be in handcuffs right now." Jareth whistled.

The thought alone made Thaddeus’s blood boil. If Evadne had been hurt, he wouldn’t have hesitated to destroy them.

A sharp, unfamiliar protectiveness surged through him.

"What about your fiancée?" Jareth raised a brow. "She was the first to step forward and describe the scene to Emeric. Don’t you find that suspicious?"

Thaddeus frowned, torn between logic and lingering sentiment.

He didn’t believe in coincidences.

But with Acacia, he wanted to believe.

"Mr. Thaddeus!" Gordon rushed over, phone in hand. "The surveillance footage you requested—Elspeth, Glynnis, and Ms. Acacia’s movements tonight. It’s all here."

"Efficient as always." Jareth lingered, intrigued.

Thaddeus scanned the footage, tension coiling in his shoulders.

"Ms. Acacia not only interacted frequently with Elspeth but also met privately with Glynnis." Gordon’s expression darkened. "But here’s the strange part—she never appeared near the room where Mr. Cassius and Ms. Evadne were."

Jareth smirked. "Interesting. If she wasn’t there, how did she know what happened inside?"

Thaddeus’s jaw tightened, realization hitting him like a freight train.

Meanwhile, the Abernathy family gathered in the grand hall, Acacia among them.

Glynnis, pale and trembling, clung to Elspeth, playing the victim. Frederic’s blind support shielded her from suspicion.

But Glynnis’s glare at Acacia was venomous. She wanted to claw that innocent mask right off her face.

"Who would’ve thought a fraud infiltrated our family?" Elspeth sneered, still seething over Evadne’s grand reveal.

"Right. She deceived Thaddeus for three years. What was her endgame?" Acacia feigned concern.

Hamilton scoffed. "You keep calling her a fraud. What exactly did she steal? Money? Power? She left with nothing. Meanwhile, you bullied her for years. Don’t think I didn’t notice."

Frederic stiffened. "Elspeth was just being cautious."

"Cautious?" Hamilton laughed. "You only care now because she’s Emeric’s daughter. Too late for regrets. You let an heiress slip through your fingers and settled for a woman from a tainted family. How’s that working out for you?"

Frederic’s face burned with humiliation.

Elspeth seethed, but Evadne’s status was untouchable. She was Emeric’s blood, leagues above Acacia.

Thaddeus stepped forward, but Acacia cut in, voice trembling.

"Mr. Hamilton, I know you despise me. But love isn’t measured by wealth. Thaddeus and I share something Evadne could never understand—a bond forged through hardship."

She turned to Thaddeus, desperation in her eyes. "Tell them, Thaddeus."

He looked down at her, cold detachment replacing warmth.

Memories of their past flickered, then faded into nothingness.

His voice was hollow.

"The wedding is postponed."