Chapter 4

"In a few days, once I get the hundred million from the buyout, I'll come marry you with a million-dollar dowry."

Christopher had it all worked out. He wanted to turn the whole hundred million into pre-marital assets, clean and untouchable.

Yvonne kissed him sweetly on the cheek, and then he pressed her down onto the couch and the two of them fell into a deep kiss. Before long he carried her into the bedroom and stripped her clothes off.

"Yvonne, you're gorgeous. A thousand times better than that worn-out hag."

My eyes stung.

Christopher had never once praised me.

And whenever we were together in bed, he'd always been quick and careless about it.

I used to think he was just old-fashioned. Now here he was, all over Yvonne like that.

Maybe he'd simply never loved me.

The day of the reunion came soon enough.

The others pulled up outside in all kinds of cars.

Me, I took the subway on purpose, then rode the last stretch on a rented city bike.

"Well, look at this. Eleanor Summers, gracing us on a city bike. What an honor for us all."

A good number of the crowd laughed at Yvonne's crack.

"Yvonne, you're too funny."

"Someone like her, bottom of the barrel, and we should feel honored?"

"Eleanor's wearing head-to-toe flea-market junk. Not fit to be seen."

"Not worth a single strand of Yvonne's hair."

Plenty of them were falling over themselves to flatter Christopher and Yvonne, throwing me nothing but contempt.

"Everyone, thank you all for coming to see our big mansion! Let me give you the tour. European-style architecture, huge floor plan, front and back yards where you can plant flowers and greenery, and a heated pool..."

I moved into the crowd and listened along as Yvonne showed off the mansion, smug about every inch of it.

She led everyone from the front yard into the house, from the first floor up to the third, walking them through every room, the little bar, the pool, and just about everything got talked up like it was some kind of miracle.

The flattery never let up.

"How much did a place like this cost?"

Someone couldn't help asking.

"Oh, only ten million or so. Honestly, buying this house brought its own headaches. You have to hire someone to trim the garden, hire a housekeeper to clean. Such a hassle." Christopher was good at putting on airs, and it earned him plenty of admiring noises.

Everyone sat down in the main hall, where Christopher treated the guests to a lavish spread delivered from a five-star restaurant. They snapped photos of the lobster, the steak, and all of it and posted them to their social media feeds.

At the table, one guest after another raised a glass to Christopher and Yvonne, laying the praise on thick.

Before long Christopher took a phone call. "The regional manager from Louis Vuitton just dropped off a few dozen LV bags for me. One for each of you. Pick whichever you want in a bit."

Right as he said it, the door opened, and three men in suits came in hauling a big crate of LV bags.

The crowd rushed forward, and everyone grabbed one, each bag going for twenty or thirty thousand.

Shrieks and cheers broke out one after another.

The reunion had hit its high point for the night.

Someone still didn't miss the chance to needle me. "Eleanor's got some nerve, showing up to a reunion just to score a free bag, right?"

"Right. A broke nobody like her could work her whole life and never afford a bag like this."

"Too bad Christopher didn't set one aside for her. Look at her, about to cry from the panic. Ha!"

Taking it all in, I kept my face flat and sent my brother a message. "Tristan, you can release the news that the redevelopment project is canceled now."

Tristan replied with an OK sticker.

"By the way, Harvey Hughes from the Hughes family posted on his page that he's driving a hundred Bugatti Veyrons over to come find you!"

There was a knowing grin behind Tristan's words.