Chapter 22
His face drained.
"You heard that?"
"Every word."
For the first time, he looked genuinely shaken.
I stepped back.
"Don't ask me to protect you anymore."
I turned toward the ballroom.
He caught up beside me.
"Vivian, wait."
I stopped.
His voice changed.
The anger faded.
He sounded almost pleading.
"You're upset. I understand that."
I looked at him.
"Do you?"
"We've had problems. I know."
"Problems?"
"Yes. We stopped being happy. We stopped being close."
I felt a sharp ache.
He was trying to turn five years of humiliation into a mutual failure.
Something vague.
Something nobody had caused.
"It didn't have to happen this way," he said.
"No. It didn't."
He seized on my answer.
"Then withdraw the divorce. We can talk."
I stared at him.
"You're asking me to stay married to you?"
"Just until everything settles."
The words hung between us.
Until everything settles.
Until the equity review ended.
Until he could secure what he wanted.
Then I would become disposable again.
I let out a slow breath.
"Thank you, Preston."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"For reminding me why I filed."
I walked away.
This time, he didn't follow.
When I returned to the ballroom, the lights had dimmed.
The annual awards presentation was beginning.
Gideon stood near the stage.
He glanced at me as I approached.
"Everything all right?"
"No."
He studied my expression.
Then I added, "But it will be."
He nodded.
"Are you still comfortable accepting the recognition?"
I looked toward the stage.
The audience was settling into silence.
I could see Cassidy at a table near the front.
She was speaking urgently to Preston, who had returned looking pale.
They both glanced toward Gideon.
Then toward me.
I thought of the years I spent preparing presentations that another person delivered.
The countless hours of work.
The moments I had been asked to remain invisible.
I looked back at Gideon.
"Yes."
He stepped onto the stage.
A spotlight followed him.
The ballroom fell quiet.
Gideon spoke briefly about the firm's performance, its responsibilities to clients, and the importance of recognizing people whose judgment created lasting value.
Then he turned toward the large screen behind him.
The title of my portfolio appeared.
My heart began to race.
"For the past several years," Gideon said, "one of our most important investment strategies has depended on careful analysis, disciplined judgment, and the willingness to challenge assumptions."