Chapter 4

Before I could pick out the gift, Patsy volunteered to come along and help.

"Nobody knows what Marvin likes better than I do."

She took me to the shopping district nearby, slipping her arm through mine, all smiles and chatter.

"Do you think two people should come from the same kind of family?"

I said nothing, so she went right on talking.

"Actually, I'm the one who told him not to let you into Crossway."

"You really do have a gift for design, but talent isn't enough without connections, is it? You couldn't do anything for him."

"So why not..."

"Fine. He's yours."

I walked calmly into a shop and left Patsy standing there.

Her thoughts weren't hard to read.

There was nothing left to hide now.

"There's no such thing as a truth serum. Those words were Marvin testing you, seeing whether you'd walk away on your own."

Young girls can never keep a secret.

I pressed the record button.

She bit her lip, and the smug delight spread to the corners of her eyes and brows.

"As long as you're smart about this, I won't shortchange you."

She held out a business card.

"This is the best designer in the industry. You can go work under him. Just mention my name."

I glanced at it. Yes, one of my mother's students.

They had no idea I didn't need the job at Crossway at all.

My mother runs a private art auction house overseas.

And I already have my own design firm abroad, with work that's made a bit of a name for itself.

I just hadn't had the chance to tell Marvin any of it.

And he couldn't wait to throw me away.

"If you don't leave on your own, Marvin's conscience won't let him be with me..."

"I'll leave."

In the most final way there is.

For his birthday gift, I picked out a plaid tie.

The day the Pruitts claimed him as their own, I'd rushed out and bought him a suit.

It didn't fit quite right, but he wore it well.

I used to think that once he'd found his footing at Crossway, my company could be his too.

What kind of face would he make when he heard who I was?

Now he only felt I wasn't his equal anymore.

That was fine too.

I didn't go to the birthday dinner. I had Patsy pass the gift along for me.

I went to the riverside instead.

The moon was hazy, and the night wind was cold.

Marvin's call came in. I put it on speaker.

"Daisy... why aren't you here yet?"

At his own birthday dinner, he hadn't waited for me before drinking himself blind.

Beside him, Patsy was still sweetly urging him to drink more.

I said I'd be right there, and I glanced back at the McLaren P1 not far off.

That was the birthday gift I'd really wanted to give Marvin.

When he first came to the Pruitts, he said he envied Dudley's coming-of-age present, a limited-edition supercar.

I'd quietly gotten one ready, waiting for the long distance to end so I could surprise him.

Now it was time to give it back to him another way.

Since my being around made things so hard for him.

Then I'd just disappear.

I waved my hand, and the man I'd hired drove the car into the guardrail at the edge of the bridge.

In the roar of the crash, I heard Marvin sober enough to be confused.

"What was that sound? Where are you?"

I smiled. My voice was shaking.

"...it hurts so much, Marvin."

"I'm sorry... I don't think I'll be able to spend your birthdays with you anymore."

Ten years, over.

I threw the phone into the river, along with the windbreaker off my back.

There were no cameras on this stretch of road, and I had no family or friends left in the country.

Was leaving like this thorough enough?

Enough for you to be with her with a clear mind?

But the other gift I'd left Marvin was only just starting to play.