“And you let me walk away from her,” I said. “You let me believe my own body had failed me.”

“It was the only way you would ever agree to leave her,” Eleanor said. “You were too stubborn, too blind to see that she was entirely wrong for you.”

“She was the woman I loved,” I said.

My mother let out a short, dry laugh.

“Love is a luxury for people who do not have a legacy to maintain,” she said. “Look at what you have now. You have Celeste. You have the investment firm. You have influence.”

“Celeste knew about this, didn’t she?” I asked.

“Celeste understands the rules of our world,” Eleanor said, ignoring the question. “She fits. Maren never would have.”

I stared at the woman who had raised me, feeling a profound sense of disgust.

She had dismantled my happiness with the same cold precision she used to manage her charity boards.

“I am going to fix this,” I said, my voice quiet but absolute.

“You will do no such thing,” Eleanor said, her eyes narrowing. “Think of the scandal, Adrian. The board of the foundation would never tolerate this kind of public exposure.”