Filthy rich werewolves novel Chapter 65

I’m momentarily frozen.

He’s here.

It’s like deja vous. Only it’s his ‘new’ fiancee in the spotlight now.

Oddly, the bright sanitation uniform isn’t much different than the one I wore in prison.

I’m in a daze. The scene of me crawling to him in prison, begging him to believe me appeared before my eyes again.

I shut it down.

I don’t need him. Or anyone in this world.

My strength is a force all its own.

Lily senses it too and her smile slips. She’s terrified, I realize.

And she should be.

With the cameras and press closing in and snapping photos, what if I were to start railing about how they’d treated me and abused me? What if I attack them for this ridiculous stunt with the ring? And tell the reporters what really happened.

The press would devour such a story and no one would believe that this ring episode that happened at the exact place where “Jennifer Atkinson’s Murderer” worked was a coincidence.

As it is, it was a stretch for Lily to be anywhere near this neighborhood.

Sean holds his breath, waiting to see what I will do next.

Lily glances at him from the corner of her eyes, and I know she’s thinking the same thing.

I smile and weigh my options.

Lily’s hands shake as she hands me the gift box. Her smile slips. "This is for you,” she says. “I'm sorry for making you search for my ring the other day."

I quietly take the gift box without saying a word and turn to leave.

After I get back to the center, I hand the box to Claire, saying, “Here, you take it."

"Oh? Don't you want to keep the clothing?" Claire asks in amazement.

"I have enough clothes," I reply.

“The check’s still in here..."

"I don't want it," I say.

I look at the clock and see that the lunch break is about to end. After picking up the tools, I head toward the section of highway that I’ve been assigned to sweep.

I heave a sigh of relief when I see that the reporters who had come for the event have left.

However, when I step out of the Sanitation Service Center, it’s Sean who’s walking toward me…

* * * * * * * * *

SEAN

Fear trickles through Grace and I can smell it.

I did what I had to do back then. And she had brought it upon herself.

Grace laughs harshly. “I can’t believe you’re even here right now. Back then, when I needed you the most, you treated me like some stranger on the street. You let me suffer, you encouraged people to torture me. And now you’re standing here, asking if I’m doing fine! What a joke!”

I cross my arms. What she said is true.

"You have to bear the consequences of your actions, Grace. You deserved to be punished. You caused the death of Lily's sister, and she was within her right to seek revenge. You can't complain about what she did to you!”

Grace's face turns pale. “Actually, I can. We have laws, Sean. Both human and pack—and we both know that she is the reason my grandfather is dead.”

I shake my head. “You admit it then…that you targeted her sister out of spite.”

She throws her arms up in the air. “No. I did nothing of the sort. And here’s the thing, I don’t owe you answers. i don’t owe you anything, anymore. And while we both know that no one will care about the accusations of some lowly sanitation worker, the fact remains that you and Lily broke the law. You abused your power. What you did was criminal, and someday that truth might come out…What then?”

“I’m not going to debate with you,” I say. Although on some gut-deep level, her certainty, her … it has me pausing.

But I’m not going to stand here and argue with this woman.

She’s the convict.

She’s the rogue.

Not me.

“You killed an innocent woman, Grace. And not even your own family sympathized!” Then I calm down. “Look. The past is behind us.” After letting out a sigh, I say, "When I'm back in the office, I'll inform the manager in my Human Resource Department to get you a clerical job in one of the companies we mediate in this neutral territory. It will be better than sweeping the streets every day.”