Theodore stared down at me, cold as ever. His dark eyes were clouded with something heavy and unreadable-it was the kind of look that chilled you to the bone.
Standing right next to him was his mother, Marjorie Hughes-the one everyone said Theodore doted on the most.
She glanced over at me and Vivian, then calmly turned to look at Hubert. "Mr. Reynolds, the alliance between our families still needs further discussion. I suggest you and your daughter be more prudent. Goodbye."
Without missing a beat, she turned and walked away. Theodore followed her, but before stepping out, he threw a look over his shoulder at me-it was filled with nothing but disgust.
This-this whole mess-was exactly the outcome Vivian wanted. She bribed Julian, dragged me through the mud, just to ruin my reputation. All because I was in the way of her own daughter marrying into the Sterling family.
Her plan? Throw me at some old guy, destroy my name, and make sure I'd never be accepted by their kind.
Cruel, isn't it? I have no clue what kind of deal Vivian offered Julian, but after three years together, he still stabbed me in the back for profit. Just handed me off like I never mattered. My fists tightened, nails digging into my palms as the hate flared in my eyes.
I stood up and turned to go when Hubert's voice, cold and loud, slammed through the room. "Stop right there!"
I froze. A stack of photos was flung in my face, landing with a harsh thud. "Look at you! Shameless! You've disgraced the Reynolds name completely!"
I glanced down. Of course, they were those kinds of photos-every one of them perfectly timed, perfectly angled. Torn clothes. Messy hair. Bruises where they shouldn't be. All the evidence she needed.
I picked them up and threw them back in front of Vivian. "You work fast, don't you? This whole thing must've been planned forever. Even Julian? How much did you cough up for him?"
Hubert stepped in front of her. "Natalie! Don't even think of blaming your mother for your own mess! From today on, you're not to step one foot outside this house. Stay in your room and don't humiliate us any further!"
I just laughed hollowly. How did he even believe that garbage?
When the maid came up to drag me away, I looked them both straight in the eye with a cold smile. "You can try keeping me locked up all you want. But are you sure Grandpa will be okay hearing about this? Isn't the shareholders' meeting around the corner? Think real hard, Dad-are you absolutely sure you wanna risk it?"
That shut them up fast. Hubert's face twitched, and Vivian looked like she'd swallowed poison. She burst out, "You're threatening your father with your grandpa?!"
I stared at Hubert, unmoving. The guilt in his eyes told me everything. "What can I say? Grandpa's always liked me best. I'm the Reynolds' eldest daughter-he's never once mentioned anything about a second one."
"You-!" Vivian looked like she was about to implode, her face twisted into something downright ugly.
I couldn't be bothered. I just turned and headed upstairs.
"Let her go," Hubert said after a beat, "But listen closely, Natalie-your sister's about to get engaged to the Sterlings. Thanks to your crap, Julian wants out of the engagement. So fine, ruin yourself all you want-but if you mess this up for your sister too, not even your grandfather will forgive you."
I paused on the staircase, didn't say a word. But my heart felt heavier than ever, the grief so sharp I couldn't stop the tears from sliding down.
I sat on the bed, staring at the photo of my mom on the nightstand. After the funeral, Vivian claimed her stuff brought bad luck and forced Hubert to burn all of it. Her room was even turned into a storage space. Only this one photo was left-I dug through that dusty mess for days to find it.
"Mom, don't worry," I whispered, "I promise I won't let that woman walk all over me."
But before I could even make a move, the news broke-Sterling and Reynolds families were officially tying the knot. The guy? Theodore, duh. And the girl? Not me. It was Isabella Reynolds. Vivian's actual daughter.
I was so mad my teeth hurt from clenching. Vivian acted fast. Before I could even strike back, she'd already gotten Marjorie to accept her daughter as the bride?
I grabbed my phone and dialed Lucille Green. She's been my ride-or-die since forever. Sure, she's a scandal magnet and the media basically uses her for gossip practice, but she's always had my back, no questions asked.
The Green family isn't just big in business. Lucille's grandpa was a freaking war hero, and her brother holds a cushy political job now. If I needed to dig into something quietly, she was my only option.
As soon as the call connected, her loud voice came in hot. "Took you long enough! What's up? Those two psychos at your place do something to you again?"
I let out a cold sigh. "Just caught another beating. No big deal. Vivian didn't get off easy either-she had to put on quite the act."
"Seriously? Hubert hit you again? I swear, don't stop me this time, I'm getting people to raise hell at his door."
"Chill. I called you because I need your help."
Lucille went quiet for a beat before bursting into laughter. "I know what you want. You want to know who that mystery guy from your 'first night' was, right? Your girl went digging, and guess what-I've got news.
Girl, you hit the jackpot. The guy was none other than Mr. Golden Boy himself, Theodore! That night, he'd just flown in from Singarra, had some business meeting, couldn't get home in time, and decided to crash at the hotel. Can you believe your luck?"
She kept rambling on, but my brain had already short-circuited. Images from that night-his touches, his breath, my flushed skin-flashed in my head, face burning with embarrassment... then instantly going pale.
"Holy crap..."
Did I seriously sleep with Isabella's future fiancé? She'd lose it if she ever found out.
I quickly snapped out of it and filled Lucille in on the engagement news between Isabella and Theodore. As expected, the gossip queen went nuts. "Girl! Are you kidding me? You are straight-up savage! This is gonna be legendary. Meet me at Grandion at 8-I'm treating you tonight!"
That place? The most high-end club in Southveil. I rubbed my temples and shot her a look through the phone. "Don't get ahead of yourself. First, I need you to find out what happened to Julian after that night. He just vanished, which doesn't feel right. I think Vivian had something to do with it. Otherwise, there's no reason he'd go MIA, especially with the Reynolds-Chandler project still full steam ahead."
Lucille got dead serious in a second. "So, you're trying to dig up dirt on Vivian and blow her cover?"
"Not just that. The engagement party's coming up fast. Theodore's probably planning to take this secret to the grave, but I'm not exactly on the same page."
Lucille paused, then cracked up again, probably slammed a hand on the table. "Girl, I can't wait. Let the drama begin!"
