Chapter 205

Victor’s sudden appearance in the room startled me, and I responded instinctively. “Nothing important,” I said. “We were just talking.”

I instantly regretted my lie when Victor studied first me and then William with an intense gaze. Something was making him unusually suspicious.

“We were discussing the prom,” William said, which was true. “You know, The formal dance our school throws every spring for seniors like Daisy and me.”

William was joking, but I wondered if there wasn’t another message for Victor in his words. Victor thought so, too.

“Despite my advanced age, I know what the prom is,” Victor said with a wry smile.

“I was just kidding. Twenty-five isn’t old,” William said. “Who did you take to your prom? You never mentioned having a girlfriend in high school.”

“I dated many girls in high school, but there wasn’t anybody special. And I went stag to the prom,” he replied before looking into my eyes. “Are you sure that's all you were talking about?”

I squirmed inwardly under his scrutiny. Maybe he already knew what we were talking about and wanted to see if I would answer honestly.

He could have overheard us from listening at the door like Lily James. Or maybe Lily told him what we were talking about. She wouldn’t intentionally hurt William, but she wasn’t the type to be able to keep a juicy nugget of gossip to herself.

My mind and emotions were still frazzled by everything that had happened recently, and I realized I was tired of all the secrets and lies that surrounded me. They were causing most of my troubles or making them worse.

Everyone told a fib occasionally. We do it to protect a loved one, to spare someone's feelings, or to hide something shameful.

But lies often make problems bigger and more complicated. It hurt to discover someone you loved lied to you, and I wanted to do better. Maybe if I began to live more truthfully, the people I love would be compelled to do the same.

There would be no more lies, secrets, or half-truths starting now. But it was hard to admit when you haven’t been totally honest.

“Actually, Victor, there were other things we were discussing besides the prom,” I confessed. “We were discussing Olivia and why she was here.”

“I’m listening,” Victor said. “What about Olivia?”

“William never believed Olivia was Alex’s daughter,” I replied. “He did his own investigation, and he discovered some things that concern me.”

“Like what?” Victor’s eyes narrowed when he looked at William.

I told him what William had discovered. He listened silently and with a neutral expression on his face until William passed him his phone and instructed Victor to read the emails.

He grew more uncomfortable as he read them and began running a hand over his beard stubble.

“And you already showed these to Daisy?” he asked.

“Yes, I read them all,” I replied. “I must speak to Alex and find out why he and Benson would make up a story like this and make me leave the mansion.”

Victor stood with his hands on his lean hips, looking at the floor. He started to say something and changed his mind.

“You knew about it, didn’t you?” William accused.

No. Please don’t let that be true. I would never be able to trust Victor again if he knew about this plot and didn’t tell

me.

“William, please calm down,” Victor requested. “I didn’t know any more than Daisy did until the day she moved back into the mansion.”

“When exactly did you know?” William asked.

“After I came to Alex and told him I still wanted to marry Daisy even if she wasn’t his daughter, he confessed he was using Olivia to test me.”

“To test you,” William repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Alex wanted to be certain I genuinely cared about Daisy and that I wasn’t marrying her to attain the leadership position,” Victor explained. “He loves his daughter, and he wanted to be sure I did too.”

“Why didn’t you tell Daisy after you found out the truth?” William asked. “I would have.”

“Alex asked me not to tell her,” Victor answered. “I felt he should tell her himself when the time was right. And I didn’t want to cause Daisy more pain so soon after what she had just been through.”

I listened to their exchange in stunned disbelief. I had hoped there was a reasonable explanation for what William discovered, but it was true. The entire Olivia ordeal had been a ruse!

As much as I love Alex, I felt betrayed.

“I still think you should have told her,” William grumbled.

Victor nodded. “Perhaps, but I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I now believe Daisy needs to speak to Alex immediately to understand why he did what he did and regain her peace of mind.”

“I agree.” William moved toward the door. “I’ll find him and bring him here. I want to be with Daisy when she speaks to him about it.”

I moved in front of William to keep him from leaving the room. I had enough of secrets. Another one had to be brought into the open.

“Don’t go for Alex yet. I need to confess something to Victor and apologize,” I said before turning to Victor. “William has known since he returned to the city that our engagement was fake. I told him when I left our engagement party, and we talked in the living room.”

It felt good to tell the truth. There would be no more lies in my life.

Victor remained silent and stared into space.

“I know I promised not to tell anyone about our arrangement, but it seemed wrong to keep it from him,” I added. “I should have told you about it before now, and I’m sorry for keeping it from you. But William didn’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret was safe with me. I made Daisy a promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone,” William said. “And I would never break my word to her.”

Victor took the news well. “Thank you for telling me the truth, Daisy. And you should know that I did tell Alex that I was only interested in you at first because of the job. But everything changed after we got to know each other better.”

“You told him that?” I asked. Victor’s words struck my heart and made me smile.

“I did.” He returned my smile, and I felt more connected to him than ever. It was an intimate moment between William and me that upset William and his wolf.

“So, is your fake engagement still going on, or is it real now?” William asked.

“Daisy, this situation could get out of hand,” Diana told me. “I can feel Mark’s restlessness and Adam’s tension. You must steer these Alpha males into calmer waters.”

“But I’d like to know the answer to that question too,” I told her. But she was right. Emotions were running high in the room. I had to find a way to tone it down.

“William, please go and find Alex,” I said. “I want to get things settled with him tonight so I can get on with my life.”

But William didn’t leave. “I’d like Victor to answer my question first,” he said. “Daisy, when I asked you the same thing, you told me you didn’t know. Don’t you want to know where you stand with him?”

I needed to find a way to calm everyone down. William had a right to know, and I understood how he felt, but making demands on Victor could start a fight that I didn’t want to witness. I had to keep them both calm.

“Yes, I would like to know,” I told William. “But I think that discussion should be between us.”

William’s body grew more tense. “I understand. But, Daisy, considering what we’ve been talking about, don’t you think it’s something I need to know, too?” He turned to face Victor. “Is your fake engagement to Daisy still going on?”

My stomach did a flip when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and realized Alex was standing in the doorway.

“What do you mean by fake engagement?” he demanded.