Chapter 16 - Roman Ends the Wedding in Front of Everyone
Vivian looked smaller without the red dress.
Not physically.
Her confidence.
The polished certainty that everyone else existed below her.
Gone.
She sat beside two attorneys.
Claire entered with Daniel.
Roman remained outside because Claire asked him to.
This was hers.
Vivian looked at her.
“You survived.”
Claire sat.
“You knew that.”
“I heard Roman found you.”
“You sound disappointed.”
One attorney intervened.
“Ms. Bennett—”
Vivian raised a hand.
“No.”
She looked directly at Claire.
“I didn't order Damian to leave you outside.”
“You sent him.”
“Yes.”
“You sent me into a blizzard knowing he was waiting.”
Vivian looked away.
“I thought he'd bring you in immediately.”
“You threatened Lily.”
“I needed the recording.”
“I didn't have it.”
“I know that now.”
Claire almost laughed.
“So all of this happened because you were wrong.”
Vivian's eyes flashed.
“This wasn't only about you.”
“I know.”
“Northstar employed twelve thousand people.”
“And Granite Harbor exploited thousands.”
“My father made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?”
Claire leaned forward.
“My father's debt was already paid.”
Vivian looked down.
“You knew.”
No answer.
“You knew I didn't owe that money.”
Vivian finally whispered, “Yes.”
Claire felt the last piece of anger settle.
Not disappear.
Settle.
She didn't need to scream.
“What do you want?”
Vivian's attorney spoke.
“Ms. Mercer is willing to provide complete cooperation regarding Northstar, Granite Harbor, and Salvatore DeLuca in exchange for consideration on certain charges.”
Claire looked at Vivian.
“And?”
Vivian swallowed.
“She wants your position considered in sentencing.”
Claire stared.
“You want me to ask them for mercy.”
Vivian's eyes filled unexpectedly.
“I've lost everything.”
Claire thought about lying beneath the snow.
About Lily behind a locked door at Harbor Ridge.
Her father believing he had failed.
Three years stolen.
Then she thought about what Roman had almost become when anger consumed him.
Claire stood.
“I won't ask for revenge.”
Vivian looked up hopefully.
Claire continued.
“But I won't ask them to protect you from consequences either.”
The hope disappeared.
Claire picked up her coat.
“You made choices.”
At the door, she stopped.
“So did I.”
Vivian looked at her.
“I choose not to hate you for the rest of my life.”
Claire left.
Roman was waiting in the corridor.
“How did it go?”
“I'm done.”
He studied her.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
This time it was true.
That evening Roman held a meeting at DeLuca House.
Not a wedding announcement.
The opposite.
Business partners.
Family allies.
Attorneys.
Senior staff.
Many of the same people who had attended Christmas Eve.
The ballroom looked almost identical.
Except the Christmas tree was gone.
Roman stood before the fireplace.
Claire remained near the back with Lily and Mrs. Patel.
Roman addressed everyone.
“My engagement to Vivian Mercer is terminated.”
Whispers moved through the room.
He continued.
“DeLuca Holdings will unwind every joint venture with Mercer-controlled companies where legally possible.”
More reaction.
“Additionally, we are cooperating fully with investigations involving Northstar Freight, Granite Harbor Financial, and any DeLuca entity implicated by those investigations.”
One older associate stepped forward.
“Roman, you're putting the entire organization at risk.”
“No.”
Roman looked around.
“People who used our name to steal from vulnerable families did that.”
Another man said, “Your father wouldn't have done this publicly.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“My father isn't here.”
Silence.
“And if protecting his legacy requires protecting what Salvatore did, then the legacy deserves to change.”
Claire felt something inside her lift.
Roman wasn't merely defeating the Mercers.
He was choosing what kind of man he would become afterward.
When the meeting ended, guests moved toward the doors.
Roman found Claire near the grand staircase.
“Well?”
She smiled.
“That was dramatic.”
“I was told Americans like drama.”
Claire laughed.
“You're impossible.”
“So you've mentioned.”
Lily appeared behind them.
“I'm going with Mrs. Patel.”
Claire narrowed her eyes.
“Why are you saying it like that?”
“No reason.”
Mrs. Patel pushed Lily's wheelchair toward the hallway.
“Good night.”
Both vanished suspiciously quickly.
Claire turned to Roman.
“They planned that.”
“Probably.”
The ballroom emptied.
Soft piano music remained from the event playlist.
Claire looked around.
“It's strange.”
“What?”
“Christmas Eve feels like years ago.”
Roman stepped closer.
“It was three weeks.”
“I know.”
He looked at her.
“You said you might leave.”
Claire's smile faded.
“I still might.”
Roman nodded.
He didn't pressure her.
That mattered.
“I need to figure out who I am when I'm not paying a debt that never existed.”
“That makes sense.”
“I've been taking care of Lily since I was twenty-two.”
“She may not need the same kind of care forever.”
“I know.”
“What do you want?”
Claire looked around the ballroom.
She had spent two years serving people in this room.
Invisible.
Now Roman was asking what she wanted.
“I want to finish school.”
“What did you study?”
“Social work.”
Roman smiled slightly.
“That fits.”
“I dropped out after Lily got sick.”
“Go back.”
“I might.”
“What else?”
Claire looked at him.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I want a complete report.”
She smiled.
Then her expression softened.
“What do you want?”
Roman went quiet.
Claire waited.
Finally:
“A life I chose.”
She understood.
Roman stepped closer.
“And you?”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“Maybe the same.”
Roman lifted a hand slowly.
Gave her time to move away.
Claire didn't.
His fingers touched her cheek.
Warm.
Gentle.
Nothing like the man everyone feared.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“If I kiss you, are you going to throw another cushion at me?”
“Depends how bad the kiss is.”
Roman smiled.
Then kissed her.
Softly.
No audience.
No engagement contract.
No alliance.
No business.
Choice.
When they separated, Claire whispered, “Acceptable.”
Roman raised an eyebrow.
“Acceptable?”
She laughed.
He kissed her again.
May you like
And for the first time, the ballroom of DeLuca House witnessed something real.
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