"Did your father scare you?"
Cherry went still.
Gilbert watched her closely, and she could feel the question becoming a suspicion in the silence between them. She wanted to answer, but she did not know how to begin without bringing back everything she had tried to keep inside.
He let out a slow breath.
"What did your father promise you to make you turn against me?"
Turn against him.
The words hurt. Cherry lowered her eyes, unable to face the accusation in his expression. He wanted an explanation for what she had done, but even now, saying it aloud frightened her.
"Ten million," she whispered.
Gilbert stared at her.
Then he gave a short, bitter laugh.
"Ten million? The house I gave you after the annulment was worth eight times that."
Cherry's hands tightened in her lap.
"Do you think I couldn't give you ten million?" he asked. "You turned down everything from me, but you took that money from my father?"
She shook her head quickly.
"I didn't want the money."
"Then why?"
