Page 61 of The Exception

That seemed to snap everyone out of it. Knox was the first to step forward and offer his congratulations. I breathed a sigh of relief as Nate and the others fell in line. Emerson and Kendall soon disappeared downstairs with Brooklyn, leaving Lily and me alone with my siblings.

“Congratulations.” Jasper looked…dejected. I frowned, hating the idea that I’d somehow hurt my family, even if I knew I’d done this for them. For all of us.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Sloan’s eyes welled up with tears, and she sniffled. Fuck me. Not only was my baby sister crying, but I was the cause of it. And that was completely unacceptable.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to fix this. And so, I kept my mouth shut.

“I’m sorry, Lily.” Sloan met her eyes, swiping away a tear. “I’m sure you’re lovely. And if Graham has fallen for you, I know the rest of us will too. I just…” Sloan’s breath hitched, and her attention swung back to me. “I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to your wedding. I know how excited you were to be a part of Jackson’s and my celebration. Don’t you think I’d want to be there for you?”

My heart dropped.Shit.When she put it that way…

Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, and even Jackson seemed pissed.Fucking hell.

My throat was thick with emotion, and I felt paralyzed. Liliana glanced up at me, panic in her eyes. But before I could say anything, Sloan was turning into Jackson, seeking comfort as she buried her face in his chest.

He soothed her, whispering words of comfort as he rubbed her back, his attention focused solely on her. Meanwhile, Jasper glared at me, and I couldn’t help feeling like I’d fucked everything up, when I had just been trying to fix it.

“I hate that you’re upset,” Liliana said, dipping her head. “And I’m sure it feels like it happened quickly. But honestly, it was a bit of a whirlwind romance for us too.” She patted my chest.

Damn.She was good. She’d jumped right in. Trying to smooth things over while still making me look good.

“And I hope that once you get to know me, you’ll be happy for Graham. Because we’re happy.” She smiled, and it was bright and forced, even if I was the only one who could tell.

How dare my family make Lily feel like she’d done something wrong. They should be thanking her for saving the company—not that they knew about that. I gnashed my teeth.

Someone mumbled that they were happy for me. But for the moment, I ignored my family and turned to face Lily, brushing her hair away from her cheek. She’d agreed to be my wife, but she didn’t deserve this.

“Lil, you don’t have to apologize.”

“I know.” She chewed on her bottom lip, and I could see the worry in her eyes. “I do, but I wanted to explain.”

“He’s right,” Jasper said. “And I’m sorry we aren’t giving off the best impression right now. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Graham.”

“Family is important,” Knox said. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were dating someone, let alone that it was serious.”

“None of us did,” Jasper chimed in, a bite to his tone. “When I saw them together at Azul, it certainly seemed like a date. But still…”

“I get that we’re all busy,” Nate said to me. “But you can come to us. We’re here for you. Good or bad, we’re here.”

Now I really felt like an ass.

“Did you not want to tell us because Lily used to be your assistant?” Jasper asked me.

“You know we’d never judge you, right?” Knox chimed in.

There was a pang in my chest, and panic raced through my veins. They were my family. My everything. I needed to fix this. I would fix this.

Liliana gave me a reassuring squeeze. “I would never want to come between you, but I asked Graham to keep our relationship a secret since I used to be his assistant, and now, I run a successful luxury-travel blog. Until I was able to transition out of that space, I didn’t want anyone to think I was biased.”

I supposed I should be thankful we were getting this all out of the way right now. Liliana’s blog. Her role as my former assistant. Our marriage.

“Is that why you wrote the less-than-stellar reviews about the Huxley brand?” Jasper asked. “SoGilded Lilywouldn’t seem biased?”

“Wait…” Sloan furrowed her brow. “What?” Her eyes widened. “You’reGilded Lily?”

“Yeah.” Lily cringed. “Guilty. And I’m sorry about the reviews. But I had to be honest.”

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