CHAPTER 41
Daisy
Sophia bursts through the double doors, her emerald gown catching the chandelier light as she storms out.
“Sophia, wait!” I cry, my voice ripping out of me, stumbling to keep up.
She whirls around, and holy shit, if looks could kill, I’d be six feet under. “You slept with Edward? What the actual fuck, Daisy?”
I flinch at her face—I’ve never seen her this furious, not in all our years.
“We were seeing each other,” I say, wincing as it spills out. “I was going to tell you after the wedding.”
Her shock twists into something hotter, angrier. She stares at me like I’ve just plunged a knife into her back. “You lied to me.”
“Technically, I just didn’t mention it,” I offer weakly.
“Fuck off!” she snaps, actually stepping back like I might be contagious. “You promised me no drama, Daisy—no bloody chaos—and this whole time you were sneaking around with my brother behind my back? Edward ?”
She says his name like it’s sacred text, like I’ve desecrated something holy. In their world, I have. Edward, the heir to the Cavendish empire. Untouchable. And I had the audacity to touch.
“I’m sorry.” I reach for her, but she jerks away. “Soph, I never meant to hurt you. It wasn’t like that. Edward and I . . . it just happened—”
“It just happened ?” she cuts me off, a sharp, brittle laugh bursting from her lips, her hand fluttering to her chest. “With my brother? Like, what the fuck, Daisy? Are you just trying to sleep your way through my family? Is that the game?”
Her words knock the wind right out of me.
And there it is. The moment when being sorry turns into being angry.
“No!” I snap back, heat rushing up my neck. “How could you even say that? And why the hell is this just on me? You think I was alone in this relationship? That I seduced him into it or something? It takes two people, Sophia! Two.”
She recoils, blinking fast, like these words have stunned her even more. The anger doesn’t fade. If anything, it builds, her chest heaving under that gorgeous gown.
“A relationship ?” she barks, incredulous. “You and Edward ?” Her lips curl. Not in cruelty, but in sheer disbelief. Like the idea of me and Edward is so unthinkable, so fucking absurd, that she genuinely can’t decide whether to be furious or just . . . amused. “Are you serious right now?”
The tears hit again, streaming down my face like I’m literally crying out every shred of pride I’ve got left. I thought I was done after Edward walked off—thought I’d hit rock bottom—but no, here’s Sophia, another Cavendish twisting the knife.
All because I gave my heart to someone.
“Why is that so hard to believe? You think I’m not good enough for your precious brothers? Is that it?”
Sophia’s eyes spark, her breath catching in sharp little huffs. “That’s not it in the slightest!” she cries, flinging her hands up, exasperation rolling off her in waves. “Edward’s been through absolute hell—he’s not some random Tinder fling for you to muck about with. You’ve just humiliated him.”
I swallow, and it feels like gulping down glass. “I didn’t mean to make him look bad. But Soph, this isn’t all on me—he was in there with another woman! He told me he was working tonight.”
“Whatever,” she says, shaking her head like she’s done. “I can’t deal with this right now. This is my wedding, Daisy. I’m about to get married, and now you’re causing all this drama? Now, of all times?”
And there goes my last fuck to give.
“Oh, your wedding, right,” I shoot back, sarcasm lacing every word. “Because heaven forbid anything in the universe not revolve around Sophia Cavendish’s special day.”
“Daisy,” she warns. But I’m already careening off the cliff of no return.
“No, seriously, do you even hear yourself? You didn’t notice when Charlie and I were together, you didn’t notice when he broke my fucking heart. You had no idea Bernard was a complete pervert—”
She gasps, hand flying to her mouth like I’ve slapped her, but I’m on a roll. “You kept saying Bernard adored me—oh, he made that real clear, didn’t he. Of course you can’t imagine me with Edward—you’ve never seen anything past your own bloody nose!”
Her whole body is shaking now. “What is wrong with you?” she whispers. “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
I suck in a shaky breath, my chest heaving. “Maybe you don’t, Soph, because you’ve never bothered to look. Do you have any idea how much effort I’ve poured into your wedding? I feel like it’s more effort than if I got fucking married myself.”
She stumbles back a step, and for a long, horrible second, she just stares at me—eyes wide and wet, like she’s watching our entire friendship go up in flames.
“You’re right,” she says finally, nodding slowly, tears glistening as she blinks them back. “Clearly I’ve missed what’s been right in front of me. Thank you for your honesty.”
She dabs at her eyes before gaining control of herself. Like a classic Cavendish.
“I’ve asked too much of you. Send me your hours, your costs—I’ll make sure you’re not out of pocket. Then we can drop the act and get on with our lives.”
“I don’t want your money,” I say, completely stunned. “Don’t be ridiculous—I just wanted you to care a bit more. I wanted you to be more mindful.”
“I can’t do this,” she mutters, brushing past me, her shoulder clipping mine as she strides toward the venue, back to Giles.
It feels like she’s just reached into my chest and ripped my heart out with her bare hands.
“What, seriously?” I call after her. “You’re giving me, what? An early retirement? A payout for being sacked? After everything I’ve done, I make one mistake, albeit a big one, now I’m getting thrown out of your wedding? I tried, Sophia. You can’t say I didn’t try.”
I can already see Imogen’s smug face in my head, that told-you-so glint in her eyes as she steps into my shoes—probably cackling while I’m left here, Edward’s discarded fling, Sophia’s unpaid errand girl who’s just been sacked from her life.
Something red and burning swells up in me “Keep your money and your two-faced friendship,” I shout, my voice cracking like it’s about to give up. “And I hope it rains on your wedding day.”
It’s spiteful and childish, and I know it.
I have plummeted to depths I didn’t even know existed for me, and I hate myself for it.
Sophia gasps. “Daisy, I wasn’t kicking you out of the wedding—I was trying to say . . .”
“What?” I snap. “ What , Sophia? That I’m not good enough for your brother? That’s what this is all really about, isn’t it?”
She freezes. Just for a second. And then—there it is. The signature Cavendish transformation. Spine straight. Chin up. Emotions buried.
“Actually, you’re right,” she says, voice terrifyingly calm. “I don’t fancy standing at the altar with a maid of honor who thinks I’m a selfish cow. Goodbye, Daisy.”
Just like that, a second Cavendish turns their back on me and walks away.