He stepped closer to my parents. "Do you regret it now? You had eyes but no vision. You claimed the wrong daughter and got this counterfeit instead."
I looked at his furious face. My nails dug into my palms until the skin broke, my heart feeling carved out with a dull blade.
Then he made his move. He grabbed Jade's hand and pulled her onto the stage.
"The only woman I love is Jade Winfield," he announced. "Those wild women outside—even if they crawl into my bed, they'll never enter my heart."
Agreement rippled through the crowd. They whispered that Connor and Jade were made for each other, that I was the interloper who'd forced my way between true lovers.
I should get lost. I should die. I should go to hell.
Connor gripped Jade's hand, turning to storm out.
I caught his sleeve.
"Connor," I said, low but steady. "The Delgado family shares. Do you want them, or not?"
He froze. Turned. His eyes burned with hatred.
"Samantha," Jade cut in, her voice dripping with pity. "Other than using money to threaten him, do you have any way to keep a man?"
She mocked my despicable methods. But Connor didn't know the truth: Jade Winfield was the one rotten to the bone.