“What? Bride?” Xander wrinkled his brow. “What are you talking about, Blair? There is no other bride. It’s always been you. I’m just busy right now… things are complicated. I can’t focus on a wedding until everything is sorted.”
I stared at him, the calm façade I held barely masking the storm inside me. “Stop,” I said, shaking my head.
“Stop what?” he asked, feigning confusion.
“Stop with your shit already,” I snapped. “I know everything, Xander. You think I don’t know Italian? You really thought you could stand there and talk about marrying Elise Reid to save your company while I was in the room?”
His face fell. “Blair, I—”
“No,” I interrupted, anger rising as I remembered. “You and your friends. All those times you laughed at me. You made me a joke, thinking I wouldn’t understand.” My fists clenched as the words poured out. “But I understood it all, Xander. Every single word.”
He froze, his mouth opening and closing as if he were searching for the right thing to say. “Blair, wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen this way. I… I had no choice.”
“No choice?” I asked.
Xander exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “I have to marry Elise,” he admitted, his tone almost pleading. “It’s for the family. If I don’t, the company will collapse. Do you understand what that means? Winfield Insurance is the number one healthcare insurance company in America. If I can’t save it—if I can’t fix this—everything will be gone. The business, my father’s legacy… everything.”
I folded my arms, refusing to let him see the crack forming in my resolve. “So, that’s it? You just marry her, and I’m supposed to wait on the sidelines?”
“It’s not like that,” he said quickly. “It’s not serious. It’s just… an arrangement. Blair, I still love you.”
I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “You love me, yet you think you can throw me scraps while you play the perfect husband for Elise? What am I? Your barbie doll?”
Xander stepped closer, his hands reaching out as if to reassure me. “Blair, please. You don’t understand the pressure I’m under.”
I took a deep breath, forcing my emotions to the side. “What if I could help you?”
He blinked, surprised by my words. Then, to my disgust, he laughed.
“Help me?” he asked. “Blair, this isn’t a game. Do you even understand the scale of this problem? This isn’t something you can fix. You don’t have the money. You don’t have anything.”
The words hit me like a slap, but I refused to let him see how much they hurt. I sighed, shrugged, and forced a cold smile. “Fine, Xander. Do your business.”
I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there.
The bar was dimly lit, the hum of low conversation mixing with the clink of glasses. I sat in the corner, nursing a drink and trying to drown the ache in my chest.
How had I let this happen? How had I spent so many years with someone so blind, so selfish?
I swirled the liquid in my glass, the ice cubes clinking softly. All I could think about was the betrayal, the lies, the man I’d wasted so much of myself on.
Then my phone buzzed.
I picked it up, expecting nothing more than a message or spam call. But what I saw made my grip tighten around the glass.
A wedding invitation.
From Elise Reid.
I opened it, my stomach twisting as I read the elegant script. The wedding was formal, grand, dripping with all the luxury her family could afford. And she had sent this to me directly.
It wasn’t a mistake.
It was to provoke me.
We had all gone to the same high school, years ago. Elise had always wanted Xander. But he had chosen me back then. And Elise was furious because she lost to someone like me, a no one as they weren't aware of my real identity since.
Now, she was rubbing it in my face. She had finally gotten her chance to take him from me, and she wanted me to see it firsthand.
My chest burned with anger. I placed the phone down and picked up my drink, finishing it in one bitter gulp.
A cold resolve settled over me as I dialed a number I hadn’t used in years.
The line clicked, and a familiar voice greeted me. “Miss Gallo?”
“It’s me,” I said evenly to my butler. “Prepare the most expensive wedding gown you can find. And bring out the full set of jewelry from the family vault.”
There was a pause. “A wedding gown, Miss Gallo?”
“Yes,” I said, my lips curling into a smile. “I have a wedding to attend.”
