She Ditched My Grandpa's Birthday for Another

It's Grandpa's birthday banquet, and yet my fiancee is working late again, missing her one chance to meet the family. My brother and his wife, still bitter about me taking the project from them, don't waste the opening. "What good is all his money when his fiancee can't even show up on a day this important? She clearly doesn't take him seriously." "That's why Archer's the smart one. He landed himself Claire Donovan, of all people. Even her throwaway gifts start at seven figures." I'm about to fire back when the familiar name stops me cold. My eyes lock onto the bracelet of dark wooden beads the butler carries in. It's identical to the one my fiancee just spent a fortune on a few days ago. My gaze turns to ice as I snatch the bracelet from his hands. "Return this. Tell them it's a fake, and Grandpa's furious. And didn't you want to meet my fiancee? She's walking through that door right now." Chapter 1 Diana Pearce, my sister-in-law, stepped in front of the butler and shot me a look of pure contempt. "Some people just can't stand what they don't have. That's Claire Donovan we're talking about. She's worth billions of dollars. You really think she'd send a fake? "She's right outside, by the way. Archer said his girlfriend has been wanting to visit for a while now. She's probably here to talk about the wedding, seeing as it's Grandpa's birthday and all." Outside the villa, a woman stood with her back to me, smoothing down Archer Colton's collar. I'd know her anywhere. It was my fiancee, Claire Donovan. We'd been together for six years, and she'd never once gone public with our relationship in front of any of my friends or family. Even our engagement was nothing more than a quiet dinner at home, just the two of us. When I asked her to come with me to Grandpa's birthday banquet, her face went cold. She snapped at me before I could get another word out, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm working late. Do you have to guilt-trip me every time, dragging me home to play house with your family?" I told myself she was just busy, that she wanted to make the best impression possible when she finally met them. I never imagined that her version of "busy" meant showing up here on someone else's arm. I watched the two of them together, so comfortable, so natural, and swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest. Then, I called her. She glanced down at the screen, and the moment she saw my name, her brows furrowed. "Didn't I tell you I'm working? Stop bothering me. "You're always on me about coming home. I'm trying to make a living here. Would it kill you to be a little more understanding?" She didn't even give me a chance to respond before she hung up. Whatever hope I had left vanished in that moment. I turned to the butler, Walter Haines. "Do what I told you. Return it." My older brother, Grant Stirling, clicked his tongue. "Trying to stir up trouble with that little stunt? Have you no shame? "And when they ask about it, don't you dare back down in front of Archer." Before I could answer, Archer walked up with Claire on his arm. He took one look at me standing with Walter and knew exactly what was going on. A smirk crept across his face. "Blake, you're that eager to meet my girlfriend? Perfect timing, actually. We've been talking about having the wedding at your hotel. "You should be our officiant. After all, you've had a front-row seat to our whole relationship." He leaned into those last words deliberately, making sure I understood. The two of them had a history, and I'd known nothing about it. Grant and Diana crowded in, gushing over the couple and asking about their relationship. I was the only one who stood still, staring at Claire with ice in my eyes. "So, that's what 'working late' really means. You were with another man." Claire's gaze darted away. "This is the first time we've met. Don't say things that will give people the wrong idea. "My boyfriend is Archer." All the resolve I'd built up for this confrontation crumbled in an instant. Grant bumped my shoulder and scoffed. "What are you doing? It was embarrassing enough that you tricked her into coming, and now you're making a scene?" Chapter 2 Archer raised an eyebrow, his smirk sharpening. "Maybe it's because his fiancee refuses to come home year after year, and all it took was one word from me to bring Claire here. Must sting a little. "You know, Blake, you might want to lower your standards a bit. We've got plenty of housekeepers around here. Pick one, and Grandpa gets to see a granddaughter-in-law every single day." He nudged the housekeepers toward me as he spoke. Every one of them was a no-nonsense professional type, all well into their 40s. It wasn't a suggestion. It was humiliation dressed up as a joke. The room erupted in laughter, but I was watching Claire. She covered her mouth, laughing along, and when she spoke, she didn't even bother hiding it behind concern. "Archer's just looking out for you. Maybe you should take him up on it. I think you'd be a good match, honestly." I looked down at the wooden box in my hands. I thought about the first time I'd seen the bracelet inside it, how thrilled I'd been, thinking she was finally picking out a gift for Grandpa, that she was finally ready to come home with me. Now, I just felt pathetic. I slammed the box onto the ground and said, "Claire, we're done." Her eyes went wide and she reached for me instinctively. "Let me explain. It's not what you think." The guests circled in, murmuring among themselves. "What's the matter with him, smashing things? He can't stand seeing his own brother do well?" Archer scrunched his face into the wounded expression he'd perfected over the years. "Blake, even if you're jealous, you can't just humiliate my girlfriend like this in front of everyone." "You pick on me all the time, and I deal with it, but she's right here. I'm begging you—just leave me a little dignity." A few words, and he had me pinned under every scornful stare in the room, cast as the petty bully who couldn't stand to see his brother happy. Claire pulled her hand back and looked at me like I was a stranger. "I didn't realize the CEO of Altius Capital was this much of a tyrant behind closed doors. "Imagine what would happen to your stock price if this got out. I'm willing to let the bracelet thing go, but I think you owe Archer an apology." Ever since Grandpa took him in, Archer had played every angle to turn the family against me. More than once, he'd deliberately hurt himself to make it look like I did it. Every relative in this house believed the same story, that I bullied him and always had. And he played the victim like he was born for the part. He'd tried it once at Claire's company, too, back when he interned there. She saw right through him that time and fired him on the spot without a shred of sympathy. "If you think cheap tricks like these are going to drive a wedge between me and Blake, you're dreaming," she told him then. "Nothing anyone says is ever going to turn me against my fiance." But now, she was looking at me with disgust. She believed every lie Archer had ever told her about me, completely and without question. My fists clenched, and the words barely made it out. "You're taking his side? Claire, then what am I to you?" She refused to meet my eyes, her tone cutting and final. "I'll say it one more time. I don't know you. Keep spreading lies about some relationship between us, and you'll be hearing from my lawyers." Archer, seeing her rally to his defense so fiercely, grew bolder. He grabbed my hand with a look of mock sympathy. "That's just how my girlfriend is. She won't let anyone mess with me. Don't take it personally. "Since she's here, just apologize. Otherwise, she's not going to let this go when we leave, and that won't be fun for you." Every word dripped with satisfaction. My knuckles cracked as my fists tightened. I lunged forward. "Archer, drop the act. You think being a homewrecker is something to be proud of?" Chapter 3 Grant grabbed my shoulder and shoved me forward, trying to force my head down. "You're the one nobody wants, and you've got the nerve to call someone else a homewrecker? Apologize to Archer and his girlfriend right now. "Donovan Group still has deals with this family. Don't you dare ruin that." Diana rallied the guests behind her and started in on me without bothering to lower her voice. "This is just who he is. He stole Archer's toys when they were kids, and now he's trying to steal his girlfriend. "He's acting like he's close with her, and she won't even give him the time of day. Take it from me, those two are in love. You're not going to wedge yourself in." I wrenched free of Grant's grip and locked eyes with Claire. "Are you sure you don't know me? And you're sure Archer is your boyfriend?" Claire's patience snapped. "I told you to apologize to Archer. Why are you changing the subject? "If Archer wasn't my boyfriend, would I just stand here and let someone humiliate him like this? "Apologize now. Or I promise you, I won't let this go." A bitter smile crossed my face. So she knew. She'd known all along that I was the one being humiliated, and she'd stood by and watched the whole time. I pulled up the photo from high school and held it up for everyone to see. "Say it again. Tell me you don't know me." The room went quiet. People leaned in to look, eyes narrowing with suspicion. Archer stepped forward and held up his hand, showing off a ring that matched Claire's perfectly. "Blake, if you keep trying to mislead everyone, my girlfriend is really going to lose her temper. I've already proposed to her. These are matching rings. My suit was custom-made by her clothing label. "The watch, the cufflinks, and everything I'm wearing, she picked it all out for me. If you're really her fiance, surely you can show more than one old photo." His ring matched Claire's. It was a couples' set, each one engraved with the other's name. Everything he wore came from brands under Claire's company, and she'd even had each piece monogrammed with his initials. I gripped my phone, suddenly feeling foolish. Six years together, and she had never given me a single gift. Every anniversary, it was the same thing. She'd give me a gift card and a text that said, "I'm busy with work. Just buy yourself something." She never cared about any of that, and the only photo we had was from high school, one I'd practically begged her to take. There were no other pictures, no public posts, and not a single shred of evidence that we'd ever been together. But for Archer, she'd poured everything she had into it, the custom labels and the personal engravings, and looking at all of it made my eyes burn. Claire hooked her arm through Archer's and turned to face me. "He and I have met before—I'll admit that. We were in the same school back in high school, and he wouldn't leave me alone. "As for that photo? He forced me to take it. Beyond that, there is nothing between us." Diana snatched my phone and deleted the photo before I could stop her. "Don't tell me the girlfriend you've been going on about is your own brother's woman. "So, this whole thing was a lie. You made up a fake girlfriend to trick Grandpa into handing you the estate." I clenched my fists, my voice rising over the noise. "That's not true. I'm not the one who's lying." But the crowd drowned me out. Someone shouted, "Claire's bracelet for Mr. Stirling Senior got smashed, and that thing was worth a fortune!" "Ms. Donovan, don't let him get away with this. Who knows what he'll do to Archer next?" "Make him step down as CEO. That's the least he can do to make it right." Chapter 4 Somewhere in the crowd, someone exchanged a glance with Archer. The moment the company was mentioned, the outrage in the room shifted into something sharper. Archer suppressed the gleam in his eyes and put on a show of stepping in on my behalf. "Come on, Blake didn't mean it. Asking for shares as compensation is a little extreme. "As long as you're willing to give me a sincere apology, we can forget about the bracelet." The more he backed down, the more wronged Claire thought he was. Her tone hardened. "No. Whatever it costs, that's what he pays. If he doesn't learn his lesson today, he'll just keep doing this to you. "Blake, hand over 20% of Altius Capital. That covers the bracelet." I watched her rally behind Archer like she'd go to war for him, and a cold laugh escaped me. I kicked the wooden box aside, brought my heel down on the bracelet, and ground it into the floor. "It wasn't even broken yet, and you already wanted compensation? You think you can use one bracelet to get Archer into Grandpa's good graces? Not a chance." I pressed harder until the beads splintered to dust. Walter rushed over and grabbed my arm. "Mr. Blake, please, enough." The desperation in his voice stopped me. "Even you think this is my fault?" Walter had been on my side since I was a boy. But now, he said nothing and stood in front of Archer, shielding him. I looked at Archer's smug face, and something in me snapped. I drew my fist back. Then, someone shouted toward the entrance, "Mr. Stirling Senior, Blake's lost his mind! Archer's got himself a girlfriend, and Blake's trying to ruin it." Grandpa walked up to me. I opened my mouth to tell him the truth, but a slap cracked across my face before I got a word out. Grandpa took Archer's hand and looked at me with nothing but disappointment. "It's my birthday, Blake. Are you done yet? "Your brother hasn't done a thing to you, and you keep provoking him. Do you want everyone here laughing at this family? Do you want me to drag up every shameful thing you've done and air it in front of all these people? Is that what it's going to take?" My right cheek burned. But worse than the pain was the coldness in Grandpa's eyes. My parents had always favored Archer. He'd spent years turning them against me, and they never questioned it. But Grandpa had always been on my side. He gave me the company over everyone's objections. He even sent my parents abroad so they couldn't interfere with how I ran things and couldn't let Archer worm his way in. And now, Grandpa was standing in front of Archer, looking at me the same way they did. It was like he'd stopped believing in me too. Grant and Diana wrenched my arms behind me and shoved me down in front of Archer. "Grandpa's spoken. Apologize. You really want to ruin Grandpa's birthday?" "Say you're sorry and pay for the bracelet, like Ms. Donovan said." All around me, the relatives chimed in, savoring every second of it. Plenty of these people had come to me for favors before, looking for a handout or a connection. I saw them clearly now. None of them cared about Archer. They just wanted to see me brought low, to watch me grovel so they could hold it over me later. I broke free and stood up, turning to Grandpa first. "Grandpa, none of this has been my fault, not a single part of it. "I can still prove that Claire and I were together."