Chapter 18 Next afternoon , everything started smooth like nothing ugly ever touched my life . I sat beside Celeste under the white parasols while soft violin music floated around the garden like silk in the wind . The older women smiled politely when I made a comment about how champagne was just overpriced regret in a bottle . One even laughed so hard her pearls jiggled , and I thought , maybe this was what it felt like to belong . To sit at a table and not flinch . To not be waiting for a slap or a cruel remark hidden behind a smile . I caught Ephraim watching me from the terrace steps , his hand tucked in his pocket , and his mouth twitching like he was trying not to grin . I gave him a small look , nothing too obvious , and he winked like a bastard . Celeste leaned over and said , " You're already making more friends in one hour than I have in ten years . " One of the ladies , with skin tight as wax and too many diamonds clinging to her fingers , whispered to Celeste like I was too far to hear , " She's too poised for someone with that history . " Celeste didn't even blink . She took a sip of her drink , looked the woman straight in the face , and said , " Exactly why she belongs here . " I didn't flinch . I just reached for my lipstick and excused myself . The powder room smelled like roses and lavender and expensive secrets . I stood in front of the old - fashioned vanity mirror , fixing my lipstick , breathing slowly . My hands were steady now . They used to shake . Not anymore . Then the door creaked . I saw her reflection before I turned . Mrs. Massaro . Torren's mother . Still trying to look younger than her lies . She closed the door behind her and locked it with a slow click , like we were in a cheap thriller and she thought I would cower . She leaned back against the door and crossed her arms . Her smile was tight and cruel . " You climbed out of a grave and straight into another man's bed , " she said like her words could bruise me . " At least pretend you have shame , you little bitch . " I kept applying my lipstick . Didn't look at her . I didn't need to . " You think changing your name makes you one of them ? " she hissed . " You'll always be trash . Just a prettier kind of garbage . " I capped my lipstick slowly and turned to face her . My heels clicked once across the marble , then again . I didn't raise my voice . I just slapped her . Hard . The sound echoed in the powder room like a gunshot . Her head snapped sideways and He left Me for Dead Now He Reas Me for Mercy 1/3 52.5 % 22:11 Sun , Aug 10 48 % D X - she stumbled back into the sink . One of her diamond earrings flew off and landed near the trash bin . She clutched her face like I'd broken her bone , and I hoped I had . " Careful , Mrs. Massaro ," I said , voice low . " I'm no longer your son's wife . " She stared at me , wide - eyed and shaking . " I'm a Lambert now , " I said . " And in one snap , I can erase your entire bloodline . Don't test me . " Her lip trembled . She lunged . It was clumsy and slow , too desperate to be dangerous . I caught her wrist mid - air and slapped her again , harder this time . Her head hit the mirror and her hair got tangled in the pins . She gasped , and I leaned in . " Try that again and I'll make sure you disappear from every guest list in this city . I'll buy the clubs . I'll buy the people who run them . You'll be standing in the parking lot with a fake smile and nobody will remember your name ." The door opened suddenly . T Celeste walked in like she already knew what happened . She glanced at Mrs. Massaro fixing her hair , face red and flustered . " Is there a problem ? " Celeste asked with a tilt of her head . Mrs. Massaro opened her mouth but nothing came out . I stepped forward , smooth and calm . " She was just leaving , " I said . Celeste nodded like that and settled it . She placed a hand on my back gently . Not like a warning . Like comfort . " You handled it well ," she said . " The old families always test the new ones . " I nodded and took a breath . My heart wasn't even racing . A few minutes later , Ephraim met me by the hedge archway and glanced at Mrs. Massaro's face . He whistled under his breath . " She looks like she met a freight train ," he said with a smirk . " Did I miss all the fun ? " I arched a brow and sipped my champagne . " She tried to slap me ," I said . He leaned in , his mouth brushing my ear . " I knew you'd look good with blood on your hands . " I smiled . Not sweet . Not innocent . Just mine . 22:11 Sun , Aug 10 TORREN'S POV 48 % D X - It started with that damn phone call from my mother . She was screaming like a banshee , yelling how Therese slapped her not once but twice . Said her cheek was still swollen and she was humiliated in front of Celeste Lambert . I didn't even care about the slap , to be honest . What got under my skin was the fact that Therese walked away from it like she won . Like she had the right to lift her hand in front of everyone and act like she was untouchable . Then came the photos . I saw them online that afternoon . Therese in that white silk dress standing beside Ephraim fucking Lambert like she was born with gold in her blood . His hand on her waist . Her lips soft with a smile I never got . Her fingers tangled with his . The handprint on my mother's face . The ring on her finger . The smirk on her lips . I started drinking before dinner . I was in my home office by nine . The lights were off and the curtains drawn . The only thing glowing was my phone screen as I watched old videos of her and Cleo . Back when I used to think she was mine . Back when she wore my name and kissed me in public like she meant it . Back when I thought she was just an orphan with no roots . But that was a lie , too . She's a Calderon . She's old money . She's war - blooded . She played me like a goddamn violin . I kept watching the same clip . Cleo's birthday last year . Therese was singing , hair tied back , holding the cake . She looked soft and stupid in love . Now she looks like a fucking queen . 22:11 Sun , Aug 10