Aria Vale
The room grew silent as all eyes turned to Nathaniel. I swallowed and walked forward. “I was not deceived by him. It is not as simple as it appears.”
“Have some dignity, Ms. Vale. How dare you defend his lies?” Mrs. Anfield said. She turned to Nathaniel, “You dared to forge a fake relationship to deceive your father and have him temporarily forget you committed a crime. What did you intend to do, plan a runaway after some time and pay her off?”
Nathaniel folded his fist and turned to his father. “Believe me, Father...”
“Enough!” Mr. Anfield finally spoke up. “Publicly announce the end of your relationship with her. Investigations will resume.” He stood and was about to walk out of the room when Nathaniel called him back. His jaw ticking as the next words escaped out of hi
