Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 126

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Derek's eyes went cold.

He had always been devoted to his wife, loyal to the end, with not a shred of regret. To see a gift that so blatantly belittled her memory—one that took her love and effort and twisted it for someone else's benefit—filled him with anger. There was no way he would accept such a thing.

Sensing the tension, Herbert realized he was about to offend the entire Hopkins family and hastily changed his tune.

"This isn't some precious keepsake from my late wife, nor is it a token of our love! It's just an ordinary piece of china, nothing special at all!"

He turned to Celeste, his voice sharp and full of wounded pride. "Celeste, ever since your mother passed, you've resented me. Now you've married into a wonderful family like the Hopkins, and you stand here spinning lies, painting me as heartless and cruel! Why do you hate me so much?"

His words were harsh, his eyes rimmed red—such a performance! Playing the victim so well.

Fury welled up in Celeste. In front of everyone, she picked up one of the porcelain pieces and flipped it over. There, engraved on the base, were her mother's and Herbert's names.

"Herbert, isn't that your name right there?"

"If this wasn't my mother's handiwork, if she didn't love you deeply, why would she have both your names carved into such fine porcelain? The real joke is that you tried to profit off this, yet couldn't even be bothered to look closely at what you were giving away!"

Her voice rang out, accusation in every word.

The name "Herbert," etched there for all to see, suddenly seemed like the cruelest irony.

Herbert opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Amanda panicked, desperate to smooth things over, but Derek's voice cut through the room, cold as steel.

"Seems Mr. Duncan not only lacks feeling for his late wife, but he never intended to offer a genuine gift in the first place."

"The Hopkins family doesn't need this sort of porcelain. Mr. Duncan, you'd best take it back with you."

He glanced at Alfred. "And you—don't you care about your wife at all? Can't you see how upset Celeste is? Take her back to the sitting room and let her rest."

Alfred, who'd been standing by with clenched fists, snapped to attention at his grandfather's words and hurried to support Celeste out of the room.

Magda, too, linked arms with the old man and helped him inside.

Herbert and his wife exchanged a glance, resentment burning in their eyes—this was all Celeste's fault!

Magda didn't spare the necklace a single glance. Arms folded, she looked down her nose at them. "You Duncans only got in the door today by using Celeste's name. First, you try to palm off her late mother's keepsake to upset my grandfather, and now you send the mistress's daughter to butter me up with gifts. What, do you think I'm not good enough for real jewelry?"

Beverly froze, anger flashing in her eyes—mistress's daughter? How dare she!

Amanda hadn't expected such a rebuke. She bit her lip, flustered.

"I'm not a mistress…"

"Whether you are or not, you know the truth. These insincere gifts? I wouldn't dare accept them."

Magda shoved the necklace back, her gaze full of scorn. "Don't bother trying to curry favor with me. Jasper's young and might fall for a pretty face, but I won't! I know exactly what little schemes you and your mother are plotting."

"Ms. Magda…"

"What are you pouting for? And who are you calling Ms. Magda?" Magda sneered. "If you can call Celeste your sister, then you ought to call me your sister-in-law, too."

She gave a cold laugh. "No wonder you can't figure out your place—you can't even get the family tree right."