Chapter 5 The Reckoning

ROWAN'S POV

"Brielle? Catherine?" The names fell from my lips as I stood staring at where they had stood.

The room around me blurred into muted gold and ivory. My suite suddenly felt like a straitjacket, with my feet feeling glued to the spot. The stunned murmurs of the crowd had faded, but their stares lingered like smoke. Everyone had left - everyone except me.

And Giselle.

She was gone, too.

A sick thud pounded in my chest. I finally moved, my legs stiff, wooden. I descended the altar like a condemned man and made my way to the car, silence wrapping around me like fog.

I sank into the leather seat and exhaled.

"What a mess, Rowan," I muttered, resting my head back.

This was my doing. My carefully curated life - my business empire, my spotless image, my plans - all reduced to ash in one afternoon. I'd buried the past too carelessly. And now it had clawed its way out at the worst possible moment.

"I'll fix this." I promised myself.

When I arrived home, the mansion stood too still, too quiet. No Giselle, no Brielle. Not even Catherine. I half-expected to see one of them pacing the marble floors or flinging accusations across the hallway.

But there was nothing.

Just the echo of my own guilt.

I changed into something less suffocating - dark jeans, a white shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. I dropped onto the couch and stared blankly at the chandelier, thoughts spinning in tight circles.

The maid entered quietly. "Sir, your dinner is ready."

I nodded without looking at her. The scent of grilled sea bass and roasted potatoes filled the air - normally my favorite. Tonight, it might as well have been ashes.

Then, I pulled myself to the dining room. I sat at the dining table, pushing food around my plate like a child.

Appetite? Gone. Pride? Fractured.

I returned to the living room, phone in hand, and stared at the call log. Giselle's name blinked up at me. I dialed. Once. No answer.

Again. Still nothing.

Then I tried Brielle.

First ring - no answer.

Second - click.

"Hello?" Her voice was sharp, cold steel wrapped in velvet.

"Brielle. Please... I know you don't want to hear from me, but I need to explain."

"Explain?" she snapped. "Now you want to explain? After lying to me, to everyone? After letting me walk blindly into this circus?"

I closed my eyes. "I know. I deserve your anger. All of it. But please - come to the house tomorrow. Noon. Bring Catherine, too. If you also get in touch with Giselle, let her come along too. We need to talk. Properly."

Silence. I thought she'd hung up.

" What time?" She asked

"Twelve noon. If you have any difficulties, let me know. I will send my driver to come pick you ladies up" I replied

Then, "Fine. But this better be worth it." The line went dead.

I sat still, letting the relief wash over me in shallow waves. She didn't promise peace - but she agreed to come.

I tried calling Giselle one last time. Still no answer. I could only hope Brielle would convince her.

---

The next day, I woke up late. Almost two hours to noon. I scrambled, quickly informing the maid to prepare lunch for five and told the guards to expect guests.

By twelve, I was seated outside beneath the pergola. A light breeze rustled the leaves overhead. The sun cast a golden glow across the estate, but it did nothing to warm the chill twisting in my gut.

And then - they arrived.

Brielle. Catherine. Giselle. And the boy.

He walked between the two women, clutching Catherine's hand. His eyes - dark, curious, familiar - met mine for a heartbeat before darting away.

He had my eyes.

I stood as they approached. The women moved like queens. Composed, regal, unknowable. Pain had shaped them, but hadn't dulled their beauty.

"Welcome," I said softly, gesturing to the seats.

They sat. Brielle's gaze pierced through me. Giselle's was cool, unreadable. Catherine... her expression trembled at the edges.

A maid appeared to escort Xander inside. He looked up at his mother, then at me again.

"Playroom?" I asked gently.

Catherine nodded, and the maid led him away. He didn't have to witness whatever was going to happen.

We were alone.

"Thank you for coming," I began. "I know I've hurt you all. I..."

"Spare us the apology," Giselle cut in. "We want answers."

I nodded, folding my hands. "Fair."

I turned to Giselle. "You vanished after the ceremony."

She looked down, then met my gaze. "I had to. I was just filling in for Brielle. A stand-in bride. I couldn't stay and pretend after that."

"You fell in love with me, didn't you?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Her eyes flickered. She said nothing.

Beside her, Brielle tensed.

I turned to her. "You disappeared before the wedding. No goodbye, no word. Why?"

Brielle exhaled, her voice low but firm. "I had to leave to find answers. And I did."

She paused. "I ran into Catherine by accident. At a mall. We were old high school friends. We caught up. Then she saw our pre-wedding photos - and broke."

My breath caught.

"She told me everything. About you. About her. About the child you never mentioned."

Catherine's voice broke in, trembling but strong. "You left me, Rowan. No goodbye. No message. I was pregnant. I waited for you to show up, to at least ask - but you vanished. Why?"

I stared at her. My throat tightened.

"I am sorry" I whispered.

Her eyes widened.

" No note, no contact. I tried to reach you for weeks. Your number was disconnected."

"I had to leave the city," she said, softer now. "My father fell ill. I went to care for him. My phone got stolen. I wrote you letters, Rowan. Did you never get them?"

"Letters?" I asked Catherine with my eyes popping out. "No. Nothing ever came. I just did what I could do" I added Pain bloomed in my chest.

"And you thought swapping one sister for another would fix things?" Brielle snapped.

"No. I fell for you, Brielle. Genuinely. And I was going to tell you eventually. I just kept waiting for the right time."

"Which never came," she spat.

The silence after that felt like thunder waiting to crash.

Giselle shifted. "So what now?"

I turned to Catherine, placing my hands on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Catherine. Truly. I know it wasn't easy - I know how much you struggled. But abandoning you... that was never my intention."

"Then whose intention was it?" Catherine asked

"They were dying, Catherine. And they made it clear - everything would go to the son who didn't disappoint them. If they found out I had a child out of wedlock... they would have cut me off. I was terrified. And I chose wrong."

" You abandoned us. That was the only thing you could think of Rowan" Catherine cut in

" I was scared, Catherine. My parents were dying. What will it profit us if the wealth was given to an outsider? I am really sorry. I know things started moving well with me, making me forget my past. I am sorry Catherine. I really mean it" I said looking into her eyes.

She nodded her head. " I forgive you Rowan. I only expected better from you" she said in calm tone

" And I promise to compensate you".

Then I turned to Brielle. " I am sorry I didn't let you know the truth myself. You found out yourself. Please forgive me."

" It's fine." Her lips twitched, curving into the smallest smile.

Now to Giselle " You stepped in to save the moment. I knew you didn't want to be embarrassed the way you were. If not you would have come through for your sister but I too, didn't see it coming. I am sorry Giselle"

" It's past now. I understand" leaving a blush on her face.

"Woooo peace restored" I said, raising my hands in the air and easing the thick tension that had grown earlier.

We laughed together, for the first time in a long while. But beneath the laughter, a new silence crept in - one filled with decisions none of us were ready to make.

Because in the aftermath of the truth, one question still remained.

"Who would become... the real wife?"