Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 92

The phone rang, slicing through the tense silence.

Philip almost ignored it, but Viola had sharp eyes—she'd already seen the name "Grandpa" flash across the screen.

"Philip, it's your grandfather!"

"Uh… Celeste, can you give me a few minutes? I just need to take this call."

Philip shot out a hand to hold Celeste at bay as he answered Abelard's call.

He barely got the phone to his ear before his grandfather's voice thundered down the line.

"Philip! Get yourself back to Silvercrest right now!"

"The Robertson Group is drowning in work. Just because the Hopkins deal isn't finalized doesn't mean you can ignore everything else! Don't think you can use company business as an excuse to chase after women—" Abelard broke off, coughing violently. "Hurry up and come home!"

The old man's frustration was obvious. The thought of Philip buying property in Asterwynn for Viola while the Hopkins partnership dragged on was enough to send his blood pressure skyrocketing.

Philip, meanwhile, immediately assumed his grandfather was talking about Celeste. Abelard must think he wasn't in Asterwynn for business, but for her.

"Grandpa, it's not about a woman. I'm this close to sealing the Hopkins deal—cooperation is just around the corner—"

"Cooperation, my foot! You've let some woman scramble your brains. Get back here—now!"

With that, Abelard hung up, abrupt as ever.

Philip was left stranded between a rock and a hard place. If he left now, how could he ever win Celeste back?

He turned to explain himself, but as he looked up, he caught the unmistakable glint of amusement at the corner of Celeste's mouth.

Alarms went off in his mind. Something wasn't right. He'd deliberately kept a low profile so the Robertson Group wouldn't suspect him of slacking off. Every day, he'd only brought trusted Viola to meetings and events.

How on earth did his grandfather know he was here, trying to convince Celeste to stay?

He and Viola were practically inseparable. The only people who knew what was going on…were standing in this room.

Celeste gave a soft, amused laugh.

"Oh, right, you don't want to go back alone. You want Philip to come with you, just the two of you, returning to Silvercrest together."

She put a deliberate emphasis on "the two of you," then stepped forward, her smile sweet but sharp. "Well, looks like your wish just came true. The old man has issued his command—Philip will get to go home early with you. Congratulations."

"That's not what I—" Viola stammered, lost for words.

But Philip was already halfway convinced. "Viola, I always thought you just missed the quiet life in Silvercrest. I never imagined you'd actually call my grandfather. If I leave now, what happens to the Hopkins deal?"

"I…" Viola faltered, glancing over just in time to see Celeste melt into the shadows. Out of Philip's line of sight, Celeste shot her a smug, wordless smile. Viola's eyes narrowed, and she jabbed a finger at Celeste. "Philip, it had to be Celeste—she's trying to pin this on me!"

But Philip wasn't listening anymore.

"Viola, I'm really disappointed in you."