"Everyone, the woman beside me is my fiancée. Don't get confused."
"As for this one?" Lucas's lip curled. "She's nothing but a dirty gold-digger and a thief."
"Security—restrain her."
Before Pat could react, guards seized her arms and wrenched them behind her back. She struggled, but their grip was iron. Her jaw tightened, fury blazing in her eyes.
Lucas released Daisy's hand and snatched Pat's clutch, rifling through it with theatrical slowness. When he withdrew his hand, a diamond ring glittered between his fingers—the stone as large as a pigeon's egg.
That ring. He'd asked her to bring it tonight. Said he was going to propose.
The trap snapped shut. She'd walked right into it.
"See?" Lucas held up the ring, playing to the crowd. "I'm not making accusations without proof. She actually stole the ring I was going to use to propose to my fiancée."
Daisy sauntered forward, her smile dripping with venom. Her palm connected with Pat's cheek—crack—the sound cutting through the murmurs.
"Pat Kaufman." Daisy leaned close, her voice a poisonous whisper. "You're the shameless gold-digger and thief here. How dare you accuse me of stealing your worthless jade bracelet back then?"
Another slap—the other cheek this time. Pat's head snapped to the side.
The whispers became a roar. Laughter. Mockery. Camera flashes. Each sound drove into her skull like a nail while Daisy's blows left her cheeks burning.
"Remember how you humiliated me?" Daisy's eyes glittered with malice. "Tonight, I'm paying you back a hundredfold. A thousandfold."
She tilted her head, mock-sympathetic. "Did you enjoy those gifts you received recently? The dress, the accessories?" A cruel laugh bubbled up. "Lucas arranged all of it. And your pretty little gown? It's hiding more surprises."
Daisy patted Pat's stinging cheek—slow, degrading taps.
Lucas crossed his arms, watching with cold amusement. "Why are you looking at me like that? We haven't framed you for anything."
"You were caught red-handed."
His gaze raked over her with contempt. "You also damaged my watch and scratched the ring. How do you plan to pay for that?"
Daisy grabbed a fistful of Pat's hair and yanked her head back. "Pay? With what?" She laughed, shrill and ugly. "The only skill she has is what she does in bed."
Pat's nails dug into her palms. Every instinct screamed at her to break free, to claw that smug expression off Daisy's face. But the guards held fast.
Then Lucas stepped forward.
His hands found the seam of her gown.
Riiiiip.
The fabric tore, exposing her legs to the crowd. Wolf-whistles erupted from the men. Pat's stomach turned to ice.
But Lucas wasn't done. From the ruined folds of her dress, he produced more items—an emerald ring, a necklace dripping with diamonds.
Pat stared. She'd never seen either piece in her life.
Only Lucas had been close enough to plant them. Only Lucas, whom she'd trusted completely.
"Whose necklace is this?" Lucas called out, holding it high. "And this ring?"
Two older men shoved through the crowd.
"The necklace is mine!"
"That emerald ring—I was going to give it to my wife!"
The first man snatched the ring and examined it, his face purpling. "There's a crack in it! You filthy little thief—you damaged my favorite emerald!"
"My necklace is broken too!" The second man's voice shook with rage.
Pat opened her mouth—I've never even seen those things—but before a single word escaped, both men struck her across the face.
One. Then the other.
Her cheeks blazed. The pain was nothing compared to the hollowing in her chest.
Twenty-three years. She had lived twenty-three years without suffering humiliation like this. No one had ever dared.
Now, in this unfamiliar city, the man she loved most had betrayed her. Had orchestrated her destruction piece by piece.
And she had let him.
