A flash of hatred twisted through Rebecca's eyes.
"Fine. She's the Henson heiress, after all."
When they moved to take me away, Kathy and Ivan blocked the path, refusing to let us leave.
"Miss Fletcher, you're really taking her?" Ivan stepped forward, his expression sour. "But you said she was supposed to be my—"
Rebecca silenced him with a single razor-sharp glare.
He shut his mouth.
"Haven't I paid you enough?"
Rebecca pulled out a check and held it up between two fingers.
"There's five hundred thousand dollars on this. Consider it compensation for playing house with Miss Henson."
"For backwater villagers like you, this should be more than enough to last the rest of your miserable lives."
Ivan and Kathy's eyes lit up like slot machines hitting jackpot.
"Yes, yes, of course. Miss Fletcher is always so generous."
Ivan's gaze crawled over my body, greedy and slow. He muttered under his breath, "What a waste, though. A wife like that..."
Kathy jabbed him hard in the ribs.
"Don't push your luck. With this kind of money, you can buy whatever wife you want."
"Besides, you already used her up. She can't even give you a son. Worthless. Let her go."
I kept my head down, letting their words burrow into my ears.
My face was numb. Expressionless.
Rebecca had brought servants with her. They cleaned me up, combed my hair, and dressed me.
When I stepped out in a white sundress, Rebecca looked me over and burst out laughing.
"Marina, you used to look stunning in white. I had no idea it would look so... wrong on you now."
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I really didn't expect your skin to be this dark."
Her eyes brimmed with barely concealed glee.
Jacob stood beside her, frowning at me with open distaste. "Trying to look like something you're not."
He draped his arm around Rebecca, who wore a similar dress, and let out a mocking laugh.
"Standing next to each other, one of you looks like an heiress and the other looks like the help. And the heiress is obviously Rebecca."
Rebecca giggled, playfully swatting his chest.
"Don't say that. Marina and I are best friends. She's the real heiress."
She tilted her head, her voice dripping sweetness. "If it weren't for Marina, how would I have ever met you?"
She was right about that.
If I hadn't introduced Rebecca to my fiancé, the two of them would never have ended up together.
Looking back, the signs had been there all along. Every time Jacob and I went out on a date, Rebecca would text me, begging to hang out. Without fail.
Gradually, our dates for two became outings for three.
Then, somewhere along the way, I was the one cut out. It became just the two of them, shopping together, grabbing coffee.
The first time I caught them, I was livid. "Jacob, I don't want you seeing Rebecca alone behind my back."
He acted like it was nothing.
"Marina." He rubbed my shoulders, his voice patient, placating. "Rebecca's your best friend, isn't she? I treat her like a friend too. That's the only reason we grabbed coffee."
"I'm just trying to get along with her so you don't feel stuck in the middle."
"If it bothers you, I won't see her again."
After that, he stopped meeting Rebecca openly.
And because I wanted to preserve our friendship, I decided to set Rebecca up with a suitable boyfriend. The young man I had in mind was an assistant at my father's company. Fresh out of college, he'd already been promoted three times. A rising star.
I never expected what happened next. The moment I explained what I had in mind, Rebecca burst into tears and screamed at me.
