Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 270

Once Lance had Celestine’s agreement, the tension in his brow melted away.

Good. At least she knew when to fall in line.

If she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have hesitated to get more forceful.

He turned to Joanna, who was sitting on the bed, her cheeks streaked with tears. His voice softened with concern. “Joanna, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she shows up tonight.”

“Thank you, Lance…” Joanna sobbed, throwing herself into his arms. “I’m so scared. I just don’t understand why Celly is so determined to ruin me. I only wanted to move up in this world—was that really so wrong?”

Looking down at the woman clinging to him, Lance saw a reflection of his former self.

Emotion flickered in his eyes.

“You’re not wrong.”

Ambition was never a sin—not compared to those useless layabouts content to rot at home. Ambition was a gift.

And plastic surgery? Please. Compared to theft and violence, it was nothing.

His Joanna had never done anything wrong.

The ones at fault were the schemers lurking in the shadows, the ones who stabbed others in the back.

He’d never let those people win.

“Don’t worry. Tonight, I’ll bring her to the party. I promise.”

“Thank you, Lance. I’ll talk to her myself.” For a second, Joanna’s tear-filled eyes gleamed with something sharper.

This time, she wouldn’t let Celestine slip away so easily.

If she remembered right, tomorrow was the day Celestine and Chester were supposed to sign their divorce papers.

Well then. Before it was official, she’d make sure Celestine received a proper send-off.

—

Celestine agreed to Lance’s invitation to the charity auction.

Not because she was interested in the spectacle, but because she’d spotted something in the auction catalog—a handcrafted fountain pen by an old artist, one her grandfather had cherished.

He’d given her that pen back in college, but it had vanished from her studio not long after.

Curiosity about Lance’s latest scheme played a part, but it was the pen that sealed her decision.

She stared at the picture of it on her screen, lost in thought for a long time.

By evening, Lance called to say his car was waiting at the entrance to her building.

Celestine made sure Cynthia was settled in, then changed into her evening dress.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify