Love Burnt Baby Stayed (by Nina R.Calder) novel Chapter 4

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Shepard turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on Briana and Henry. Half his face was illuminated, the other half shrouded in darkness, giving him a chilling and intimidating look. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes were like daggers, cutting right through them.

As the car pulled away, Shepard rolled up the window. “Mr. Carter,” James asked, “Mrs. Carter is alone with another man. If the paparazzi catch wind of this and blow it up, it could really damage your and Carter Group’s reputation.”

“Isn’t she the one who’ll suffer the most?” Shepard replied coldly.

“Uh…” James hesitated.

Shepard’s face was expressionless. “She’d better get a room with Henry tonight, let her reputation go down the drain, and let the whole world spit on her. That way, she won’t get a single cent from me when we

divorce.”

Shepard’s mind raced. ‘Briana wants money? The more she wants, the less I’m willing to give. I’d rather donate it to charity than give he

a penny.

‘I’d like to see how she’ll manage without him. With the Lane family in shambles and her good–for- nothing brother, there’s no way she’d have it easy.

‘Briana thought she was strong enough to fly solo and finally leave me, but she’d forgotten that all these years, she’d only been able to live a decent life because of my family.

‘I’ve been wanting to crush her arrogance for a long time!’

Evergreen Estate was the only place Briana had left to call home after the divorce.

After her parents passed away, Edward snatched up the company, the shares, and the properties. The only thing left for her and Charles was the villa. She’d moved out when she married Shepard, and now she was moving back in.

As she walked into the living room, the stench of alcohol hit her. Liquor bottles, cigarette butts, and party streamers littered the floor, along with decks of cards—for poker, rummy, the works. The whole place looked like a tornado had swept through a bar.

Charles was sprawled out on the couch, dead asleep, with a woman in a tank top draped over his arm.

Briana was fuming. She snatched up an empty bottle and slammed it down on the coffee table. The crash startled the two on the couch awake.

Charles jerked upright, still groggy. “What the hell? Did something just blow up?”

Briana glared at him. “I’m about to blow up.”

“Oh, Briana, it’s you,” Charles said, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw her. “You’re back. Just sit wherever.”

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Chapter 4

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He tried to flop back down, but Briana stormed over, grabbed his collar, and hauled him upright. Then she shot a look at the woman. “Why are you still here? Leave.”

“Who are you?” the woman snapped, glaring at Briana. “Charles, didn’t you say I was the only girl here?”

“Get out,” Charles grumbled. “She’s my sister. By blood.”

The woman left without another word, looking embarrassed.

Charles was still half–drunk, sprawled out on the couch, yawning. “You came by yourself? Where’s Shepard? Didn’t he bother to show up?”

“We’re divorced,” Briana replied.

“Oh, please. Quit messing around,” Charles snorted, waving her off. “You’ve been crazy about that guy since forever. Like you’d ever really let him go.”

“I’m not kidding. It’s for real this time,” Briana said.

Charles’s eyes widened as he stared at her. “Seriously, Briana, have you

lost your

mind?”

“You’re the one who lost his mind,” Briana snapped. “All you do is drink yourself stupid, chase after women, and throw parties. You’ve done nothing with your life. Is this how you’re gonna waste the rest of it? And our family’s never gonna get back on its feet?”

Back when Edward took over, he said Briana and Charles were just kids, too young to run the business, so he took charge of everything.

By the time they finally grew up, Charles turned out to be a hopeless case. Every project he touched blew up in his face. He didn’t know the first thing about business, but when it came to partying, he was an

expert.

And after Briana graduated, she got married. Edward said that since she was married, she should be as good as gone and had no say in the Lane family business.

“I want to make something of myself, too,” Charles shot back. “But I’m just not cut out for it. What do you expect me to do?

“And Shepard? He just stood by and never helped me out. He never lifted a finger for me, and you never did anything about it. He’s always bending over backwards for the Fletcher family instead.”

That hit a nerve for Briana. With Shepard’s kind of power, if he even let a little slip through, anyone under him would be set for life. But he never did a thing for Charles.

Charles had been bitter about it for ages, so he decided to lean into his own self–destruction and let everything slide even further.

“Also,” Charles added, “so what if Vivian saved his life? You’re the one he married. Why didn’t you put in a good word for me to get me a chance? You two grew up together. Doesn’t he care about any of that?”

“Vivian’s back in the country,” Briana said.

“What?” Charles gasped, panic all over his face. “We’re done for. We have no connection with Shepard now, and Vivian’s swooped in and taken your spot. We’re seriously screwed.”

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“Charles, Briana said, jaw clenched, “we carve our own path. It’s not over for us yet.”

“You want to go solo?” Charles asked.

“That’s right, Briana answered. “List out every contact, resource, and project you’ve got. Give me the whole rundown. Whatever deals you can’t close, I’ll handle them myself.”

Briana wasn’t about to believe she was second to anybody.

Charles looked her up and down. “Do you even hear yourself right now? You’re not just up against Shepard freezing you out. Uncle Edward’s not gonna make things easy for you, either.”

Briana just said, “Hand over everything you’ve got.”

She was furious at her own past powerlessness. If she had known then what she knew now, she would have fought to reclaim the family business years ago. She also hated the lovesick fool she had been, wasting five precious years.

She thought, ‘Luckily, it’s not too late.

Briana spent three whole days untangling the disasters Charles had left behind. She pushed hard on anything with a glimmer of hope and cut her losses on the rest.

During the day, she was running all over town, chasing down bank managers, project leads, and anyone else who might give her a shot. Getting shut out didn’t faze her. She just kept pushing until someone finally agreed to meet.

At night, she was hunched over her computer, digging through spreadsheets and reports until her eyes were ready to close for good. Sure, she was tired, but for her, loving Shepard had worn her out way more.

One morning, just as Briana was about to head out, her phone rang. It was Steven Wolfe, the butler from the Carter residence.

“Mrs. Carter, Steven said urgently, “Mrs. Evelyn Carter had a sudden attack last night and had to be rushed to the ER. She just woke up and keeps calling your name. Could you come over as soon as you can?”

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Briana replied.

Briana rushed to the hospital. Evelyn had always truly cared about Briana. And because she was the one‘ who’d set up the marriage from the start, deep down, Evelyn had always wanted Shepard and Briana to be happy together.

Briana burst into the ward, her heart pounding. The first thing she saw was Shepard standing by the bed. So he’s here, too, she mused.

Shepard shot her a cold glance, his lips pressed into a thin line. He still looked as aloof and superior as

ever.

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