Chapter 731

Briony paused for a moment. "And you're saying that's not true?"

"Oh, everyone thinks I was in love with Naylor..." Xenia Cooper took a drag from her cigarette and smiled. "But I wasn't. The man I love is his brother."

Briony was speechless.

"Do you know who his brother is?" Xenia Cooper stared into Briony's eyes. "It's Maynard."

"Holy crap!" Crystal, who had been listening on the sidelines, blurted out, her eyes wide. Her outburst, however, did little to break the tense atmosphere.

Xenia Cooper stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, unfazed by Crystal's reaction.

"The high society of Northborough is a small world," she continued. "The Maynard family and the Cooper family are both old-money, established for centuries. Maynard, Naylor, and my older brother went to the same elite private school from middle school all the way through high school. They were best friends, practically inseparable since childhood. I was two years behind them, but because of my brother, I was always around their circle. Naylor liked me, but I... I was in love with Maynard."

Briony had never imagined such a connection between Maynard and Xenia Cooper. Yet, Maynard had never once mentioned her name.

For a moment, Briony didn't know what to say.

Xenia Cooper raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have any questions, Ms. Kensington?"

Briony studied her for a moment before speaking. "If you love Maynard, why did you deliberately spread those rumors online? You had us followed, so you must have known that child has no connection to him."

"I just wanted to see how far Maynard would go for the woman he loves," Xenia said with a soft laugh. "And I have to say, he truly opened my eyes."

Crystal couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward. "If you were in love with Maynard, why did you end up with Naylor?"

Xenia raised an eyebrow and looked at Crystal with a dismissive smirk. "Because Maynard didn't want me, of course."

Crystal was at a loss for words.

Xenia's smile faded as she looked down. "I chased after him since I was in ninth grade, but he brushed me off with a simple You're the girl Naylor likes. He said Naylor was his best friend, and he would never compete with his best friend for a woman."

Crystal's expression was complicated. "Wow, that's... something else."

Briony also found Maynard's excuse a bit weak.

"Don't you both think that's ridiculous?" Xenia asked.

Crystal nodded. "If he didn't like you, he should have just said so. Using his friend as an excuse is just hypocritical."

"Exactly," Xenia agreed. "He talked a big game about Naylor being his brother, but after Naylor died in that accident, he avoided my son and me like the plague."

It all clicked for Briony. After all these years, Xenia Cooper still hadn't let go of Maynard. She resented him. She resented him for rejecting her with the excuse of not wanting to hurt his friend. But if he truly considered Naylora brother he shouldn't have abandoned Xenia and her child after Naylor's death.

It did seem hypocritical. Still, Briony felt there had to be more to the story. Maynard didn't seem like that kind of cruel person; a family like his, with their reputation, wouldn't raise someone so heartless.

But from Xenia's perspective, Maynard's actions were utterly cold. A widow and her child, navigating the intense infighting of the Cooper family-Briony could only imagine how desperate Xenia must have felt back then.

"My parents passed away when I was in elementary school," Xenia explained, her gaze distant. "My brother, who was four years older, took over the family business early on. If it weren't for that car accident, he'd be the one sitting in my position today."

She looked back at Briony. "Did you know I actually begged Maynard for help? The day before I decided to kill myself, I went to his office. He wouldn't even see me. He had his secretary give me a five-million-dollar check and sent me away."

Briony was stunned. She couldn't believe Maynard could be so ruthless.

Xenia lit another cigarette, the smoke curling around her striking features as she squinted. Through the haze, she looked at Briony. "You know compared to Maynard, don't you think Stewart is so much better? He's a man of true principle, a mana with a great capacity for love. I know being his wife must have put you through a lot, but I still think you're much luckier than me..."

Her voice trailed off. "At least Stewart has only ever loved you. At least, when you

were at your lowest, he was willing to sell his own soul to save you."