The Billionaire Bride He Took for Granted novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: Ten Thousand, Paid in Full

Simone's POV

We watched the first three minutes on my phone, with the fire dying.

Trenton sat in a garage on a folding chair, in a clean white shirt, under a ring light he had borrowed from somebody.

His eyes were red, and his voice was low and brave.

"Hey, everybody," he said. "I wanted to speak to you directly. No script. No edits."

Three thousand people were watching.

On Saturday, it would have been millions.

"A lot of you saw something on Saturday that was cut up and shared out of context," he said. "I want to tell you what really happened."

"I never knew Simone was wealthy. She hid it from me for eight years. She tested me, in secret, and she set me up in front of my own staff, to humiliate me."

"The messages you saw were doctored. I'm still working out by whom."

"I loved her. I still do. And she's pregnant, and under a lot of stress, and I'm asking you, please, give her some grace."

He wiped one eye with a knuckle.

"I'm also asking for help. Because of what she did, my employees, my people, are losing their jobs. If you'd like to support them, there's a link below."

Miles made a very quiet noise beside me.

"He's asking for money," I said.

"He's asking you for money."

"Yes."

"With your baby in the first paragraph."

I stood up.

"I'd like to go," I said.

Miles looked at me for a moment, and then he got his keys.

Trenton's mother lived in a brick bungalow in Oak Park with a trimmed lawn and a flag.

The garage door stood open, and light spilled down the driveway.

Miles parked across the street and turned off the engine.

"I'll be here," he said.

"You can come."

"I'd rather you walked in on your own."

I looked at him.

"Not because I'm afraid you'll need a bodyguard," he said. "Because you have never once said it in your own voice, in front of the people it's about."

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