Chapter 41
That single comment immediately shifted everyone’s attention.
“Holy shit, that really is him! That’s the Bugatti–the Centodieci, only 10 made worldwide!”
“You barely see him drive that thing. Base price is 60 million, but word is Nathan’s is worth over 100 mil!”
“In seven years, Nathan’s personally showed up to exactly three galas–two years ago, four years ago, and seven years ago. Every other time he just sends people to bid for him. He’s basically ghosted these events lately.”
“Makes sense though. Harrison Group’s charity game is insane. Dude’s always een generous with philanthropy.”
“So why’s he here tonight?”
“Is he flying solo or did he bring someone?”
“Who would he bring? Amelia?”
“No way. Can’t be Vivian–he and Amelia aren’t even divorced yet. He wouldn’t bring Vivian to something this public.”
“Good point.”
While everyone speculated, Amelia and Louie also watched the approaching car.
Louie clenched his jaw, glancing at his 26–million Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta. Suddenly it felt like chump change.
.Amelia watched the Bugatti park as reporters and paparazzi descended like vultures, cameras going nuts.
Constant camera clicks lit up the night like Times Square. Other VIPs turned to gawk.
Security immediately moved in for crowd control. The car door opened and Nathan stepped out first.
The crowd lost its shit. If there’d been any doubt before, now they had visual confirmation.
He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, cranking up the anticipation even more.
Who the hell was it? Who could make the notoriously private Nathan go this public?
As the door swung open, a designer heel appeared first. Jimmy Choo Averly with that signature bow design caught every eye.
Then Vivian emerged in a black gown. The dress looked standard at first glance, but the subtle bridal details were unmistakable.
Standing next to Nathan with that perfect smile, they looked like a fairy tale couple.
“No fucking way, it really is Vivian!”
“Nathan went full public just to show off Vivian?”
“What about Amelia? Guess she’s really getting the boot.”
“Or maybe she’ll just take it lying down? Amelia being a pushover isn’t exactly breaking news.”
As people gossiped, Louie was ready to explode. “How can he…”
Louie never imagined Nathan would disrespect Amelia this blatantly!
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Mr. Harrison, Wake Up Your Wife’s Gone
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Part of this was on him too. Running an entertainment company, he’d figuredance this was charity, he’d just had the stylist grab something appropriate from the brand’s loan collection.
Loute looked back at Amelia, worried sick.
Amelia just smiled calmly, totally unbothered.
Actually, this worked out perfectly. She needed cash to buy hack her family’s old assets–borrowed designer threads saved money.
Amelia didn’t feel defeated at all. This was a legit charity auction, not some celebrity fashion circus. Looking appropriate was enough.
Who Nathan brought was none of her damn business.
While reporters mobbed Vivian and Nathan with questions, Amelia turned to ouie.
“Let’s head in,” she said.
“Yeah.” Louie nodded and escorted Amelia toward the mansion.
Meanwhile, Nathan suddenly looked up like he sensed something. He spotted a couple walking slowly toward the entrance
He completely ignored Louie, laser–focused on the woman beside him.
Moonlight poured over her like liquid silver, giving her this otherworldly glow that separated her from everyone else.
Her dark hair was loosely pinned up, most of it cascading down her back, making her skin look porcelain–white…
She was saying something to Louie, her slightly parted red lips making her look absolutely magnetic..
Elena.
“Nathan?” Vivian had been riding high on everyone’s shock but noticed Nathan zoning out.
What was he staring at?
Vivian followed his gaze but saw nothing interesting.
“Mm.”
Nathan refocused on Vivian. “Let’s go.”
“Sure.” Vivian beamed and followed Nathan inside.
The paparazzi tried to follow but mansion security blocked them out. They couldn’t get past the entrance.
So they watched helplessly as VIPS disappeared inside.
But scoring shots of Vivian as Nathan’s date was massive!
“Looks like Amelia’s toast.”
“I don’t know–doesn’t Vivian only have like six months left?”
“True. Question is whether Amelia can survive those six months.”
They muttered while frantically texting their contacts to break the story.
The mansion was Cavendish family property–three floors with the main hall downstairs, VIP seating on two, and the third floor split between a lounge and rooftop garden.
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Chapter 41
Inside, Nathan’s arrival caused total chaos as people tried networking with hi
Harrison Group was the biggest of New York’s power trio, and Nathan ran the whole show! Plus he never showed up to these things!
But after checking in, Nathan and Vivian went straight upstairs.
The second floor had limited seats, leaving lots of people shit out of luck.
Amelia and Louie were already settled when Nathan and Vivian arrived. Nathan immediately clocked the pair across the
Vivian glanced once at the masked woman and her mood soured. Elena was here too!
Then Vivian chilled out. Elena was obviously Louie’s plus one, not a real invite
Actually, this was perfect–they were both dates, but she was Nathan’s date!ge fucking difference.
As time passed, the host kicked off the event and started presenting auction itens.
“First item is a Ming Dynasty piece. The donor’s contributing 50% to charity. Starting bid…”
The room got heated fast as people started bidding on stuff they wanted.
Nathan glanced at Vivian as she studied the auction catalog.
“See anything you like, just bid on it,” Nathan said, tapping his paddle number. Clear message–he was covering it.
room.
Vivian looked up with that sweet smile. “That’s really not necessary, Nathan. I’ve got some savings, and I don’t need fancy stuff. I just want to help however I can.”
Nathan didn’t respond.
But hearing Vivian’s words triggered a memory of that property agreement Amelia had handed him at city hall.
The agreement clearly stated that during their cooling–off period, whatever they each earned was theirs individually.
He was thinking about her again. His mind kept flashing to that scene of her and Caspian huddled together behind the frosted glass.
Had she seen him show up with Vivian?
Nathan’s eyes went dark as he clenched his fist, emotions he couldn’t name churning inside him.
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