His voice sharpened. “Alessia.”
“You heard me.”
Garrett glanced around again.
The guests who had once looked uncomfortable were now watching him differently.
The balance in the room had shifted.
Earlier, his confidence had depended on the assumption that everyone would tolerate his behavior.
That assumption was gone.
One man near the bar shook his head.
A woman beside him whispered something to her husband.
Two of Garrett’s business acquaintances moved subtly farther away.
He noticed.
For perhaps the first time in his adult life, Garrett was seeing how quickly power could disappear when people stopped pretending not to see what you were doing.
Evelyn noticed it too.
Her tone changed.
“Alessia, whatever differences exist between you and Garrett can be resolved without humiliating him publicly.”
Alessia turned toward her.
The hypocrisy was almost breathtaking.
“You had no problem with public humiliation when my mother was on the floor.”
Evelyn’s lips parted.
No answer came.
Alessia looked back at Garrett.
“Leave.”
Garrett’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
“You can’t throw me out.”
“I can.”
“I live here.”
“You have another residence downtown. Your belongings can be delivered there.”
His eyes narrowed. “You planned this?”
“No.”
That answer seemed to unsettle him more than anything else.
Alessia stepped closer.
“I planned nothing about tonight. You made this decision for me the second you treated my mother like she wasn’t human.”
Garrett stared at her.
The rage in his expression flickered.
Underneath it, something else appeared.
Fear.
Not fear of Alessia physically hurting him.
Fear of consequence.
Fear that she truly meant what she was saying.
Fear that there would be no private conversation where he could reshape the story.
A member of the household staff appeared quietly near the ballroom entrance.
Alessia caught his eye.
“Please bring Mr. Garrett’s coat.”
The staff member nodded.
Garrett looked around as though searching for someone willing to intervene.
No one stepped forward.
Miriam approached Alessia and stood beside her.
Their shoulders touched.
Garrett pointed toward Miriam.
“This is because of her.”
Alessia’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“She has always wanted you against me.”
“My mother spent three years telling me not to make permanent decisions during temporary arguments.”
Garrett opened his mouth.
Alessia continued.
“She defended you more times than you deserved because she wanted me to be happy.”
Miriam lowered her eyes.
Alessia reached for her hand.
“This is because of you, Garrett.”
The household staff member returned carrying a dark overcoat.
He stopped several feet away.
Garrett looked at the coat, then at Alessia.
The message was unmistakable.
He was being asked to leave.
His own party.
The ballroom he had spent months bragging about.
The house he introduced to strangers as though he had personally built every stone.
Evelyn’s voice trembled with anger.
“If he leaves, I leave too.”
Alessia looked at her.
“That would be best.”
Evelyn froze.
Another murmur moved through the guests.
Alessia had never spoken to her that way before.
