bChapter /bb197 /b

A storm was brewing in Justin’s eyes. “She’s my wife. If I don’t stand up for her, who

will?”

Pennie, unable to win the argument, stomped her foot and rushed out of the iroom/i.

Car lingered only long enough to smooth things over, her voice rising as she hurried after Pennie. “Oh, Justin, look at that girl–old enough to know better, and still so stubborn. Always saying the wrong thing, running off in a huff. And Lucille itoo/i, so dramatic. I’ll go find them!”

Justin took a steadying breath, his expression still cold. “Aunt Car, Pennie really does need to learn some manners. Please, do try to teach her.”

Everyone from the lounge trailed out after them, leaving just Edith and Justin behind.

Suddenly, Edith felt out of ce, as if her presence today was unwee.

She recalled the look on Justin’s face when he answered Sarah’s call earlier–the

difort she hadn’t understood until now.

Was it because of Lucille?

A pang of bitterness gripped her heart. She spoke quietly, “Justin, we’re right by the sea, and Miss Lowell seems a bit… unsettled. Maybe you should go check on her?”

It was Pennie’s wedding day, after all. If some scene yed out, it would be a

disaster.

Justin’s brow furrowed as he looked at her. “Lucille is Uncle’s guest, not mine. If she’s upset, it’s his family’s job tofort her, not mine.”

Edith fell silent, biting back any further words.

After a long moment, Justin’s voice was low and heavy. “Edith, I’m your husband. How can you ask me so calmly ito /ifort another woman?”

Edith’s eyelids fluttered. She answered honestly, “From what I can tell, Miss Lowell is upset because of you. It’s Pennie’s wedding–I just don’t want things to get out of

hand.”

Justin’s frown deepened. “So you really want me to go to her?”

Edith froze, unable to speak.

She wanted to be the reasonable one, but right now, those words simply wouldn’t

16:42

When she stayed silent, Justin got to his feet. “Then I’ll go.”

Nervously, Edith looked up, but when she met Justin’s cool, unreadable gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to stop him.

Jealousy wasn’t a virtue. She forced herself to nod. “All right. Go if iyou /imust.”

Justin’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, his frustration slipped through his reserved fa?ade.

A few secondster, when Edith looked up again, Justin was already gone. She was alone in the cavernous lounge, an entire family vanished, leaving her by herself.

The emptiness of the room closed in, and a sharp, inexplicable ache pressed at her

chest.

Her thoughts tangled into knots, Lucille’s face haunting her mind.

She nced up and caught her own reflection in the mirror opposite–a face not unlike Lucille’s, startlingly simr.

Edith struggled to piece her thoughts together.

Pennie had said, with a sneer, that “the vixen” almost became the bride today simply because she looked like the groom’s first love.

Pennie had also said a woman from a third–rate family had nothing to offer–except

her face.

Edith could still recall the way Pennie had looked at her after those words, her stare direct, pointed.

Was Pennie hinting that Edith, too, was nothing more than a pretty face?

i912 /i