Chapter 39: Annual Gala Dinner

“I had some time to think about what happened yesterday and I have come to a conclusion,” Finn started, paying close attention to her reaction. “I will pretend nothing happened, and we’ll keep doing what we were doing before… Regarding Cody, I mean.”
Gwen blinked a few times.
“What?”
“You heard me. I won’t do anything if you promise me you won’t try anything of this sort ever again. Cody is my rightful heir, Gwen, and I’m his father. You can’t take him away from me like that,” he explained, like she didn’t know it already.
She was simply acting out of fear. If she had a choice, she would never do anything to hurt Finn or Cody.
“I was just trying to protect my son,” she stated, concentrating on not losing control.
“Our son,” Finn corrected her, with a firm voice. “And nothing will happen to him. I’m not stupid, Gwen. I know I have enemies, I’d never leave Cody unprotected.”
She didn’t want to tell him again that in this case, the enemy was his mother, since she knew he wouldn’t believe her. That would only make things worse and their civilized conversation would turn into a heated discussion.
But at the same time, she was relieved to hear him saying that. She wanted to believe that Finn was going to protect Cody no matter what.
“But we will never mention anything about my mother again. I don’t want to hear it,” Finn continued, making Gwen’s hand shake with frustration.
She knew it would be impossible to make Finn believe her; she had always known that. But feeling so incapable was making Gwen extremely frustrated. She also didn’t want to make any promises, so she chose to stay quiet and doesn’t reply to his last statement.
“How’s Cody?” she asked, changing the subject.
Finn looked at the window, suddenly breaking their intense eye contact.
“He's fine. A bit sad because he didn’t understand what happened. I had to lie to him and say that you had to travel by yourself.”
“Why?” Gwen asked, astonished.
“Because I wasn’t thinking, Gwen. I didn’t want you near him at that moment. I almost lost him. And you.” he added, still not looking at her.
Gwen could see him passing his fingers through his hair, messing it all up; an attitude that always made him look much more sexy. But at that moment, she only felt her heart break even more by seeing him so sorrowful.
“I know you don’t believe me, Finn, but try to see things from my perspective, okay? Cody is all I have, I can’t lose him,” she said.
“Nothing will happen with Cody. Never. Just trust me, okay? I promise.” Finn finally looked at her. She just wanted to shake him up and warn him that he couldn’t promise such thing if he had no idea where the threat was coming from. But she also wanted to convince herself that Finn could do it; he could keep that promise.
He loved Cody more than anything; she could tell by the way he looked at the little boy. She had never seen Finn so happy and light as he was whenever he was with Cody. So maybe she should believe that his mother would have some moment of clarity and just leave them all alone for a change.
“Anyway, you can pick Cody up from school today if you want. I told him you’d be back today, so…” Finn continued, getting up from his chair and walking around the office. “If you want some time to be alone, he can stay with me, I don’t mind.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll pick him up. I want to apologize to him for… I don’t know, everything.” Gwen concluded, and realizing Finn wouldn’t say anything else, she excused herself from his office and got back to work.
The week ended in a blink of an eye, and when Gwen realized, it was already the day of the gala. Like Stephanie had promised, she arrived at Gwen’s apartment to help her friend get ready. She helped her with hair and make up, and when Gwen put on the navy silk dress, they both gasped at the sight of her.
“Oh, my Lord. You’re simply stunning, girl!” Stephanie yelled as soon as Gwen got out of the bathroom. “Honestly, Clyde and every rich man at this party will drool all over you tonight.”
Gwen smiled out of embarrassment. She never really learned how to react to compliments, even if they came from her best friend.
“Thanks. This dress is really breathtaking,” she observed, spinning to look how the dress moved on her body.
A few minutes later, Clyde texted her and told her he was waiting downstairs. She said goodbye to Stephanie and Cody, took the elevator and met Clyde outside.
He was using another luxury car, this one a bit more low profile, but just as posh as the other. Clyde was particularly handsome that night; his hair perfectly combed, his black tuxedo with a bow tie seemed to be made of a very expensive fabric and… Were those diamond cufflinks?
As they arrived at the party, Gwen felt a bit nervous to see so many rich people around, but Clyde made her feel extremely comfortable by introducing her to all of his acquaintances.
He took a glass of champagne for her as the waiter approached them, and Gwen was finally starting to feel a bit like herself after a couple sips, which was very hard in the middle of so much wealth.
Suddenly, she had a glimpse of someone familiar to her. It couldn’t be. She was probably seeing things. But when the man turned, she was certain that she hadn’t seen wrong. What was Finn doing at that party looking like a d*mn Greek god?
And then he noticed her presence there, making Gwen swallow nervously. His eyes went from her to Clyde, and his expression changed instantly.