Right before I died, he leaned in and whispered,
"If it weren't for you, Gloria and I would've been together. So if there's a next life... let me go."
That was it. Whatever love I had left burned out.
Gone.
So when I came back, I avoided Evan like my life depended on it.
Eight years. No contact. No mistakes.
And I still ran into him.
***
I had zero interest in wasting time on either of them.
I just wanted to find Mia.
But Gloria couldn't drop it. She needed to feel taller.
"That no-cap bid must've drained you. All that, just to fight me over Evan?" She smiled. "Don't bother. What you spent wouldn't even buy one of my bags."
Her little squad snickered right on cue.
"Wow. Side chicks are snatching men out loud now? Zero shame?"
I pressed my lips together. Counted to three.
Then said, deadpan, "Ms. Leach. I'm married."
The word 'married' hit Evan like a slap.
He snapped toward me. "You're married?"
I didn't even get a chance to answer.
He laughed—cold, ugly.
"At least make the lie believable," he said. "Did you forget how you once begged your parents to let you marry me?"
I froze.
I didn't even know he knew.
Back then, my parents saw it. Evan's heart wasn't with me.
They said no.
I didn't listen. I was stubborn. Desperate.
I begged all night.
They caved when they saw how broken I was.
And yeah—our family needed the Pattersons' money.
But that kind of love?
That stayed in my past life.
This time around, all I wanted was distance. From Evan. From all of it.
I sighed, kept my voice cool. Flat. "That was a long time ago. I've forgotten."
"Forgotten?" Gloria laughed, like I was cute. "Please. Like you could ever find someone better than Evan."
Then someone in the crowd gasped. Pointed at me.
"Wait—that dress. Isn't that the new Louis Vuitton piece? I saw it in a magazine. It's VVVIP-only. You can't even buy it with money."
Gloria's stare snapped to my dress.
And the jealousy? Immediate. Burning.
Then it hit her. And she sneered. "So what, you married some rich old guy for cash?"
She looked me up and down. "And now he can't satisfy you, you're crawling back to Evan?"
She even dragged Evan a step behind her.
"Evan, stay away. Women who sell themselves for money?" She scoffed. "Who knows what diseases they carry."
Evan frowned, disgust written all over his face. "Robyn, I can't believe you've sunk this low."
I didn't look at him. My eyes stayed on Gloria. "Gloria Leach, spreading lies is illegal. Want me to call the cops?"
She saw it—I wasn't bluffing.
So she backed off, muttering, "Broke nobody acting superior. If that dress isn't some man's gift, it's gotta be fake."
I didn't respond.
I turned away. Went to find Mia.
Then a voice cut through the crowd.
"Just got word—Mr. Ainsworth is coming personally to pick up his wife and daughter. Anyone seen Mrs. Ainsworth or Miss Ainsworth?"
The room froze.
Ripples everywhere.
No one was more stunned than Gloria.
"You mean that Adrian Ainsworth?" she blurted. "The one on Forbes' global top ten? He's really back in Carmoria?"
