Chapter 358: Certainty

Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Certainty

(Anthony POV)

Anthony had been awake for nearly an hour.

His roommate wasn’t there.

The room was quiet.

Which unfortunately left Anthony with nothing to do but think about last night.

He stared at the ceiling.

Christopher wasn’t the surprise.

Vivienne had already told him on Monday that she liked Christopher.

Last night, she had walked back to the group holding his hand and confirmed that they were officially together.

Anthony had known where her interest lay.

What he hadn’t known—

Was everything else.

Never have I ever had sex with someone in this room.

Vivienne had drunk.

Then Christopher.

That alone had surprised him.

They had only become a couple the day before.

Which meant either something had happened remarkably quickly—

Or it had happened before they officially became a couple.

Anthony didn’t know.

And then Damian had lifted his glass.

Anthony exhaled slowly.

Claire and Eleanor drinking afterward had muddied things for everyone else.

But Anthony had been paying attention.

He wasn’t blind.

He had seen the way Damian looked at Christopher.

The challenge in it.

And he had seen Christopher understand.

Anthony could reach the obvious conclusion.

Vivienne had slept with Christopher.

And she had slept with Damian.

His own cousin.

Anthony frowned.

How long had it even been?

A little over a month since he and Vivienne had ended their engagement.

But Damian—

Anthony remembered the pool party.

Two weeks ago.

He had asked Damian directly what was happening between him and Vivienne.

Damian had denied it.

Nothing was going on.

Nothing inappropriate had happened.

Anthony had believed him.

Which meant, assuming Damian had told him the truth then—

Whatever happened between them had happened sometime afterward.

Within the last two weeks.

And Christopher had to be recent too.

Very recent.

Anthony didn’t know which man had come first.

He didn’t know how many days separated one from the other.

He knew only that somewhere within those two weeks—

Damian.

Christopher.

Anthony rubbed a hand over his face.

Good God.

Two men in two weeks?

And that was even the most generous assumption.

The thought sounded crude even inside his own head.

But he couldn’t pretend it didn’t bother him.

Especially when one of them was his cousin.

Anthony sat up and leaned against the headboard.

Vivienne was no longer his fiancée.

They had mutually ended the engagement.

She was free to see whomever she wanted.

Sleep with whomever she wanted.

It was none of his business.

That didn’t mean it couldn’t change the way he saw her.

Perhaps that was the problem.

He didn’t really know Vivienne anymore.

He knew the girl she had been.

The girl who had loved him painstakingly for years.

The young woman his family had always expected him to marry.

But seven years was a long time.

What did he actually know about the nineteen-year-old Vivienne Beaumont who had arrived at St. Albion?

Apparently—

Not very much.

Was this normal for her?

Was she the sort of woman who became intimate with a man whenever she developed feelings for him?

Had there been others Anthony knew nothing about?

His brows drew together.

No.

That was speculation.

He had no reason to assume that.

Perhaps this was new.

University.

Freedom.

Their engagement ending.

Had that affected her more than she had let him see?

Anthony remembered telling her he didn’t love her.

Then, a few days later, Vivienne had suggested they end the engagement.

She had seemed certain.

Relieved, almost.

So perhaps not.

And Christopher clearly wasn’t some meaningless diversion.

She liked him.

Enough to refuse Anthony when he asked her to reconsider.

Enough to become Christopher’s girlfriend the next day.

Anthony let out a slow breath.

Whatever the reason, the result remained the same.

Within barely two weeks, Vivienne had apparently been intimate with two men Anthony knew personally.

One of them his cousin.

And Anthony couldn’t pretend that didn’t matter to him.

He had been raised as the future Duke of Ashford.

The woman he married would eventually become Duchess.

Marriage had never been presented to him as something entirely private.

Vivienne had been intended for that position for more than a decade.

He had spent most of his life assuming, however distantly, that she would eventually be his wife.

Only Monday—

He had asked her to come back.

Now, Anthony found himself strangely grateful that she had refused.

He was still attracted to her.

Very attracted to her.

But attraction was one thing.

Marriage was another.

And he couldn’t imagine marrying Vivienne now while knowing that two men he regularly sat across from had already been intimate with her.

Perhaps another man wouldn’t care.

Anthony did.

That was enough.

Whatever uncertainty had made him ask her to reconsider on Monday—

It was gone.

The engagement ending had been the right decision.

Vivienne had chosen Christopher.

What she did with her life from this point forward was hers to decide.

And Anthony—

Anthony could finally leave it there.

His phone rang.

He glanced toward the bedside table.

Mother.

Anthony frowned.

Then reached for it.

--

"Hello?"

"Anthony."

"Mother."

"Are you busy?"

"No."

"Good."

A pause.

Then—

"I heard something rather strange this morning."

Anthony leaned back against the headboard.

"What?"

"It’s about Vivienne."

Of course it was.

"A friend called me earlier. Apparently her daughter heard something from someone at St. Albion."

Anthony waited.

"She said Vivienne is seeing Christopher Archibald."

"She is."

Silence.

Then—

"She is?"

"Yes."

"And you know about this?"

"I do."

"Anthony, what exactly is going on?"

He was quiet for a moment.

Then—

"Vivienne and I mutually agreed to end the engagement."

Silence.

"What?"

"We’re no longer engaged."

Another silence.

Then his mother’s voice sharpened.

"Anthony, how could the two of you decide something like that on your own without even consulting the family?"

Anthony said nothing.

"When did this happen?"

"A little over a month ago."

"A month?"

"Yes."

"And you’ve said nothing all this time?"

"No."

"Neither of you has."

It wasn’t a question.

If the Beaumonts had been informed, the former Duke of Beaumont would have contacted Anthony’s grandfather long before now.

His mother knew that as well as he did.

"Anthony."

"I know."

"No, I don’t think you do. Your father and grandfather are going to be furious."

"I know."

His mother exhaled.

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

"Then why did you both decide to end the engagement? Did you do something to upset her? Or..."

She paused.

"Was she seeing Christopher while you two were still engaged?"

Anthony sighed.

"Mother, Vivienne did nothing of the sort."

His mother went quiet.

"As for whether I upset her..."

Anthony looked toward the window.

"You’ve always known how I felt about Vivienne. She asked me if I thought I could grow to love her."

A pause.

"I answered honestly."

His mother said nothing.

"A few days later, she spoke to me again and suggested we end the engagement."

"And you agreed."

"Yes."

There was a longer silence this time.

Anthony let her make of that what she would.

Finally—

"I see."

Another pause.

"Then how did Vivienne and Christopher happen so quickly?"

Anthony knew exactly what she meant.

"She likes him."

"How long has this been going on?"

"I’m not sure about the specifics."

"Are they actually in a relationship?"

"Yes."

"Good Lord."

His mother sounded thoroughly displeased.

"Barely a month after ending an engagement she’s had for years, and she’s already publicly involved with another man."

Anthony said nothing.

His thoughts briefly returned to last night.

Vivienne.

Christopher.

Damian.

He pushed them aside.

His mother knew nothing about that.

And she wasn’t going to hear it from him.

"It’s her decision," he said.

"Perhaps. But as far as both families are concerned, the engagement hasn’t even ended yet."

Anthony remained silent.

"And I must admit, I’m disappointed in Vivienne as well. If she wanted to be with Christopher, she could at least have waited until both families had been informed. Or shown some discretion until then."

"She doesn’t need our permission."

"I didn’t say she did."

His mother’s voice remained firm.

"But there’s a difference between permission and propriety, Anthony."

He said nothing.

She sighed.

"Neither of you has handled this well."

Anthony couldn’t argue with that.

"I’ll speak to your father. Your grandfather will have to be told as well."

"All right."

"And you know he’ll speak to Lord Beaumont."

"I know."

His mother paused.

"What will you do if they insist on reconsidering the engagement?"

"They can discuss it."

"But?"

"It won’t change my decision."

Another silence.

"I don’t want to continue the engagement."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

His mother exhaled slowly.

"All right."

A pause.

"And Anthony?"

"Yes?"

"I should have heard this from you. Not because someone called to tell me Vivienne was with another man."

"I know."

"I’ll speak to you later."

"All right."

The call ended.

Anthony lowered the phone and set it beside him.

Soon, both families would know.

Whatever followed...

His answer would remain the same.

The engagement was over.

On Monday, he had still wondered whether ending it had been a mistake.

Now—

He didn’t.

--

Tbc