Chapter 19

A heavy storm rolled in that night after the engagement party. In the study of the Lesterfields' villa, Roxanne finally told her family about her and Brandon's secret marriage. She started with how she had secretly fallen in with him and then kept it hidden when they had married. Then, she told them about the bet she had made with Nicole, how she had lost it, and all the pain and humiliation she had endured along the way. Roxanne didn't withhold a single thing from her family. The room was shrouded in a heavy silence once she had finished. She initially thought her family would reproach her for getting involved with the Slewmans' son. But to her surprise, the only thing her parents were upset about was, "Our daughter is good, beautiful, capable. Yet, Brandon Slewman drove her to this point." Bridget's heart ached, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Roxanne's scarred left arm. "You told me your burn scar was from a hot oil accident in the kitchen, when in actual fact, it was because you had been splashed with sulfuric acid. It must've felt so painful…" Ezra's hands were fisted, and his jaw was clenched from rage. "How dare Brandon Slewman treat you that way? I'll make him pay for what he's done!" he gritted out. But Roxanne shook her head at him and said, "I don't even care anymore, Ezra. Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with me anymore. Plus, I no longer love him and seriously don't want to remain married to him." Martha chimed in at this. "We must get him to sign the divorce papers. The Quinns have already set a wedding date, and we can't let anything jeopardize Roxanne's marriage to Julian." At this moment, Dillon asked Roxanne, "Are you absolutely sure you don't have feelings for Brandon Slewman anymore? Marriage is a big deal and isn't something to play around with. And since you've made up your mind to end it, it must be done cleanly. There can't be any loose ends, especially on the Slewmans' side." Wiping her tears away, Roxanne resolutely declared, "I don't love him anymore—not after everything he's done to me. I won't give him another chance." "Good." Dillon rose determinedly to his feet before continuing, "Things will be easy to handle moving forward because of what you've just said." With that, he walked to the study door, opened it, and directed his next words to someone outside the room. "I'm sure you heard everything clearly, Brandon Slewman. My daughter no longer wishes to be with you, so give up." Roxanne couldn't help but be stunned. Sure enough, she saw Brandon standing outside the study when she looked at the doorway. He was drenched to the bone from the storm, and his gaze was utterly sorrowful as he looked at her. On top of that, he had heard every word she had said. Dillon had spotted Brandon kneeling outside in the storm and refusing to leave. Since this was the case, he had Brandon brought to the study's door so Brandon could hear Roxanne's true feelings himself. Before that, Dillon had struck a deal with Brandon. "I'll have Roxanne tell us everything. And if there's even a sliver of uncertainty in her voice, I'll let you take my daughter with you. However, if she says she no longer loves you, you must return and never bother my family ever again." Brandon had agreed because he firmly believed Roxanne loved him too much to ever let him go. But now, his gaze was filled with unease, confusion, and humility as he stared at her. His voice even trembled as he said, "You don't mean that, Roxanne. You can't not love me. I don't believe it…" Dillon asked the rest of his family to leave the room to give Roxanne the time and privacy to deal with Brandon. The two of them were the only ones left in the study when the door closed. Sighing deeply, Roxanne met Brandon's gaze. She knew she needed to break things off with him. Her tone was devoid of any affection when she spoke. "Brandon, it's over between us. I don't love you anymore, so please, leave."