Chapter 20
I took a slow breath.
“Mine.”
The word seemed to hit him harder than anything else.
My life.
My pregnancy.
My future.
Mine.
Not his failure.
Not his loss.
Not his reputation.
Mine.
Dalia looked at Julian.
Then at the diamond on her hand.
She did not remove it.
She simply lowered her hand to her side.
And for Julian, I thought that might have been worse.
Chapter 5: I finally showed my face
We stayed until the end of the gala.
That mattered to me.
I didn’t want to flee after the confrontation.
I didn’t want photographs of me leaving early to become another version of the same old story.
So I stayed.
I spoke to donors.
I congratulated scholarship recipients.
I ate half a chocolate dessert Gabriel claimed not to want and then stole two bites from.
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not performatively.
Not because a camera was near.
At one point, an old investor named Raymond Pierce approached me.
He had known Julian in the early days.
More importantly, he had known me.
“Khloe Bennett,” he said.
Not Duval.
Bennett.
My maiden name.
I smiled.
“Raymond.”
He took my hand.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For pretending I didn’t know who built half those early models.”
My throat tightened.
He glanced across the ballroom toward Julian.
“We all knew you were more involved than the articles suggested. But he was the founder.”
“He was the face. It was easier to let the mythology stand.”
I nodded slowly.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“I should have said it ten years ago.”
“Yes.”
He winced.
I smiled.
“You wanted honesty.”
“I deserved that.”
Maybe people could change.
Maybe some apologies were late and still worth hearing.
The reporter from the corridor found me again near midnight.
This time, she approached without recording.
“Ms. Bennett?”
The name startled me.
She noticed.
“Is that all right?”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to apologize for recording you without asking.”
“You were doing your job.”
“That doesn’t make everything acceptable.”
I studied her.
“What do you want?”
“One question.”
I almost laughed.
“Everyone wants one question tonight.”
“You can say no.”
I looked toward Gabriel.
He was speaking with the foundation chair.
Then I looked toward Julian.
He stood near the exit with Dalia.
They weren’t touching.
“All right,” I said.
The reporter hesitated.
“Do you want to respond to Mr. Duval’s comment that you wouldn’t show your face tonight?”