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Celeste’s eyes went wide with shock before her face got even more angry. “And you came here to cause more trouble? I know you’ve been trying to manipulate my son again since he got here to Velden. But I’m warning you, Lena, back off. We’ve already seen your true face behind that innocent mask you wear.” Celeste lowered her voice a little and looked at the people around her. “And I’m glad to hear that you couldn’t get away from the punishment your sins brought. I’ve heard you feel ashamed to be seen with that child of yours. But you should know that it’s something you brought on yourself, no matter how embarrassing it is. Now go back to your child, Lena, and stop chasing after my Kellen.”
Are you serious?
So that’s what many thought was the reason they never saw her with her child?
It’s no surprise that there were so many people who didn’t like humans. People in society might be really cruel at times.
“I have to tell you, ma’am, that the rumors are as silly as you and your son’s imaginations are,” she said. Her eyes were full of angry tears, but she lifted her chin defiantly against the constant stream of insults and accusations. “And don’t worry about what I should do. I know it’s better to go back to my child than to live with people like you.”
She quickly pulled the divorce papers out of her handbag and put them into Celeste’s hands, which were not expecting them. “Please do me a favor and give this to Kellen. Tell him he’s free.”
Lena rushed out of the hall without looking back, without even pausing to scowl at the people pointing at her as if they knew…  as if they could now see who she was. As the woman who had done wrong, as the woman who had been rejected.
******
Kellen shook his head and looked at the noise near the entrance of the hall for a second. It didn’t seem like much. He could only see the tiny group of people gathering there plainly from where he was standing on the other side. It was like a usual party drama.
The gentleman Kellen was talking to, who was also a businessman, said, “It must be a catfight.”
“Indeed.” He scowled when he saw the time on his watch and realized that Selene was taking too long. He didn’t want to hold his future wife in his arms; he just wanted to go away from all the people who either made him angry with their congratulations or made him want to kill them because they were so interested in his failed marriage.
Isaac Arthur had already ruined his mood when he strolled in and praised Kellen for making the correct choice.
Just when Kellen was thinking about sending someone to get Selene and get this drama over with, she stepped in—more like tumbled in. The visitors moved back as Selene wobbled forward, like a sea splitting in two.
Kellen was shocked when Selene smiled too much and finally saw him.
Damn, she was intoxicated!
Kellen saw the shocked looks on both his mother’s and Isaac Arthur’s faces out of the corner of his eye.
Selene’s eyes were half closed, and she had a Cheshire smile on her lips. She tripped over her own dress as she got to him and was ready to fall face first. He was lucky to catch her at the last minute, so she didn’t kiss his feet or, even worse, throw up on them.
He attempted to get her to stand up straight, but it didn’t work. It was hard to keep someone who was so serious about not defying gravity up.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Kellen said in a low voice. “Why the hell are you drunk now?” he yelled at the conclusion.
Selene started a little when he suddenly raised his voice, but when she glanced up at him, she smiled dreamily.
“Bloody hell,” Kellen said, closing his eyes for a second as his anger grew. “Stop acting like a fool!”
Selene’s smile grew bigger, and her eyes were now shiny with alcohol. She laughed like she had heard the best joke when she said, “Fool?”  “No, sweetheart, I’m not a fool, but you are. In fact, you’re the biggest fool I’ve ever seen…” she mumbled. “That makes me love you even more, you know.”
She leaned in to kiss him, but Kellen stopped her by holding her shoulders. He was convinced that the visitors were having a great time with the drama. “Shut the f**k up.”
“But Kellen…” she moaned.
“Your silly drama is getting on my nerves…”
“She’s only telling the truth, Kellen,” a loud voice said, cutting him short.
People turned their heads to see where the sound came from. Isaac Arthur, who was on his way to help with the problem, stopped dead in his tracks.
Selene was busy sulking at Kellen, but as she saw the man walk out of the crowd, she screamed, “Ryan!”
“Ryan!”
Selene had yelled in a drunken way. Kellen followed her drooping eyes and saw Ryan emerging out of the mob of excited fans.
Ryan strolled up to Kellen and Selene in a very calm way, with a slight smile on his lips. Ryan said again, “Selene is only telling the truth, Kellen.”  “The truth.”
He pointed at Kellen and said, “You’re the biggest fool of them all.” A flash of anger broke through his generally calm attitude.
Kellen was already quite angry with Selene’s inebriated behavior, and now Ryan’s abrupt arrival and snarky comments made him much angrier. His eyes became slits. “Why the hell are you here? I don’t remember inviting you to this party.”
But Ryan didn’t seem to care what he said. Selene, on the other hand, wobbled while smiling at Kellen. He was having a hard time keeping her upright and not charging at the calm and smug face in front of him.
Ryan rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, just stop your stupid rants for once, Hart.”
At that point, Kellen knew he had had enough. He let go of Selene, who was leaning against the pillar a few feet away and was too lazy to get up. Then he ran toward Ryan and grabbed him by the collar. “You have the nerve to come to my party without an invitation and talk shit!”
“No, not me. It’s you,” Ryan said as he violently yanked Kellen’s hand away and walked a few steps away from him. “You’ve gone too far with everything.”
“Get the hell out of here, Ryan, or I’ll have to call the guards,” Kellen said, his voice quivering with anger. He couldn’t believe he had to deal with both his inebriated fiancée and his wife’s f*ck-buddy at the same time. That’s crazy.
Ryan clucked his tongue and said, “Oh, come on.”  “I only came here to say congratulations. You don’t have to be so rude.”
Ryan looked around at the confused expressions of visitors, Hart’s friends and family, and business partners. Some were gazing at him, while others were scowling at him. “I’m here to congratulate this great business tycoon for avoiding bankruptcy by selling himself to Miss Arthur.”
Celeste, who was now next to Kellen, gasped when she heard what Ryan said. Kellen was ready to yell for the guards, but Celeste stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. “Kellen, what is he…?”
Kellen turned away, gritting his teeth and making Celeste seem sad. She must have known about that previous loan, and now that she had put two and two together, she found a consequence that didn’t look good at all.
“No… it can’t be…” she said, still shocked more than not believing.
Ryan stopped for a second and said, “I’m only telling the truth, Mrs. Hart.”  “Just like Lena did that night.”
Kellen said coldly, “Don’t.” He didn’t want anyone to talk about that awful night again since it brought back too many emotions of treachery and pain. And he really didn’t want Ryan to be the one to tell the story.
“Why not?” Ryan asked with a laugh. “Throwing your wife out of your house and life when she was at her most vulnerable, based on some photos that can be changed, must have seemed like a noble thing to do. It must have seemed okay to you to deny the child she was carrying and insult it in the worst way possible. By the way, Hart, I hope you were smart enough to get something solid to back up your theory. Maybe a DNA test report?” Ryan tilted his head and paused for a moment, pretending to be in great disarray. “Or maybe you didn’t have any backup at all. Maybe what you really did was fail as a husband, a father, and a freaking human being.”
The whole hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Selene’s quiet laugh in the background was the sole sound. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking about the whole speech. She was going to say what she thought about the things Ryan brought up, but Kellen’s angry shout stopped her short.
“It’s sad that you’re trying to make things better for Lena. Just shut the f**k up and leave.”
Kellen looked for the guards who should have been there by now, but he couldn’t see any of them, even though he could hear the noise. It seemed strange that the security he had hired just for the gathering was not in sight.