"The fireworks… I was wrong about you. The police already confirmed it was a malfunction on the vendor's end. It had nothing to do with you."
Jocelyn's lips curled into a mocking sliver of a smile. The look stung him, and the guilt in his eyes deepened.
"I was out of my mind with worry. You know how it is—Nellie's not like you. Even if the sky fell, you'd find a way to protect yourself. But she has no one. I'm all she has in this world."
"This was my fault. I lost my head, and I treated you the way I did. Jocelyn, I know I was wrong. I've already sent every person responsible to prison. Forgive me this once. Please?"
Jocelyn opened her eyes and met his gaze head-on. "Is that so? Then whose idea were the fireworks in the first place? And who arranged them?"
Ivor froze for a beat. A thin layer of anger surfaced on his face.
"Why do you always have to go after Nellie? You know perfectly well that someone of her background couldn't possibly be any threat to you!"
Jocelyn almost laughed out loud.
He shielded Nellie at every turn, cradled her in the palm of his hand. Yet deep down, he had never once thought that woman was his equal.