The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 8

Garnett frowned the moment he saw her approach.

"Where's your jewelry?"

"I don't have any."

His frown deepened. This was a high-society reception. A man's wife was an extension of his status, and her looking this shabby was a direct slap to his face.

"What happened?"

"Your mother made me sign a liability waiver," Lavinia said evenly. "Four million dollars' worth of emeralds. I was afraid I couldn't afford it if I lost them."

A flash of shock crossed Garnett's eyes. Knowing his stepmother Zenia's typical antics, a flare of anger ignited in his chest. But this wasn't the time to make a scene.

"I'll have a word with her later," he said.

Lavinia didn't respond.

A commotion rippled near the entrance.

Sigrid strolled in, her arm looped through a man's. She was wearing a champagne-colored gown, a dazzling diamond necklace resting against her collarbone, catching every sliver of light in the room.

Lavinia recognized the man beside her. It was Garnett's high school and college classmate, Tobin Jensen. A wealthy heir who ran in the same circles, essentially one of Garnett's drinking buddies.

Garnett walked straight over to them, his entire demeanor shifting. His voice softened drastically. "Sigrid, what are you doing here? Are you feeling better?"

Sigrid smiled gently, her gaze sweeping over Lavinia before offering a polite nod. "I finally get to meet the legendary Mrs. Harper. You're as delicate as they say."

Her lips curved into a perfectly measured smile. "I'm Sigrid Sloan, an old classmate of Garnett's."

"I've heard so much about you," Lavinia nodded back politely.

That one phrase felt like a subtle jab to Garnett. He looked at his wife. "You know Sigrid?"

A flash of icy warning sparked in Garnett's eyes. "When did I ever say I was getting a divorce?"

"You treat her like garbage anyway, why not just end it?" Tobin jutted his chin toward Sigrid. "Besides, you and Sigrid were meant to be. If that thing hadn't happened back then, you two would've been married years ago. She's the only woman worthy of you."

Garnett looked at Sigrid. She averted her gaze, lowering her eyelashes as if trying to dodge the subject.

Garnett frowned. Since when did a sleazebag like Tobin have the right to dictate his marriage?

His voice went freezing cold. "Sigrid and I are good friends. Excuse me. I'm going to check on my wife."

Without another word, he turned and left, leaving a stunned Tobin and a slightly pale Sigrid standing there.

"Sigrid, don't worry about it. He's keeping up appearances. The one he really loves is definitely you," Tobin rushed to comfort her. "From the looks of it, he and that idiot wife of his are on their way out anyway."

Sigrid let out a silent sigh, offering a faint, impeccably poised smile. "Tobin, please don't say things like that. I didn't come back to wreck anyone's home. I just view him as a friend."