Chapter 27
LANEY
“ I t is Laney, isn’t it?” Cassandra’s voice rang out like a fancy bell, sweet, chiming, and unmistakably sharp-edged.
I already regretted not bringing Gwen out here with me as backup when I realized Cassandra wasn’t alone. A well-dressed, snooty-looking girl appeared on either one of her sides, their thin arms crossed over their chests and their matching smirks telling me that I was in for some trouble.
They clutched their champagne flutes in their hands, their sleek gowns gleaming under the lantern light. Cassandra stood in the center like she’d been placed there at birth, a natural leader of the Bitch Gang she’d probably been leading since they were old enough to walk.
I looked back at them but focused on her, the girl with the kind of beauty that screamed of old money. Cassandra had one of those faces that had probably never been told no. She’d clearly followed me here after CC had led me away from them all, but she didn’t say another word for the longest time.
Instead, we just stood there, locked in some weird stare-off as she looked at me like I was the mangiest puppy in the pound. A few long minutes later, she smiled. “You looked so upset back there. We thought we’d come check that you’re okay.”
I smiled back, polite but cautious. My insides were still reeling with grief and memories of a woman who’d impacted so many lives so effortlessly, but I couldn’t let these girls see that the loss had been so intense that it’d been threatening to choke me all over again just a moment ago.
“That’s so kind of you, but I’m alright now,” I said, taking a step forward and wondering how to get away from them without being overtly rude. “I just needed a moment to collect myself.”
“Of course.” She held my gaze for another moment, long enough to let me see the flash of malice in hers. “We’re all so curious about you.”
Her friends snickered behind their champagne flutes and one of them leaned over to whisper something to the other.
They both laughed in that way that told me they’d wanted me to hear it, their snorts soft and their heads downturned, but the sounds loud enough that there was no possibility that they were really trying to hide it.
I stood my ground, ignoring the prickling at the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure how close these women were to Sterling or his family. I didn’t know if this was meant to be a test of some kind, a warning, or just some good old-fashioned, mean-girl version of fun.
All I knew for sure was that I had that feeling in my stomach, the curling, nauseating dread of being circled by girls who smiled like sharks and who were just as deadly to self-esteem.
It was high school all over again, only with these girls, instead of fake designer bags and dollar-store lip gloss, they wore diamonds and carried purses worth more than my annual income.
“I meant to ask you earlier,” Cassandra said, tilting her head. “Your dress is so unique. Where did you find it? A thrift shop?”
She said it kindly but in that insincere way the rich spoke to someone who’d tried their best but still hadn’t quite managed to meet their standards. Taken aback that she would treat me this way considering my new last name, I smiled but decided it was time to stop playing nice.
“No, actually. I bought it from a boutique CC frequents. Sterling insisted.” I shot her a sweet, but sharp-edged smile of my very own. “I’m sure she’d love to hear that you thought it came from a thrift store, though. She does so like things that are authentic.”
Her expression didn’t falter, but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. It was just enough to let me know that I’d struck a nerve. A soft sigh came out of her. “I suppose it’s very you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Of course.” She strode closer, enough to make it look like we were friends. Then she leaned forward just a fraction. “We’re all just so very surprised that he married someone like you. Someone so rough and unpolished.”
My smile didn’t slip. If that was the worst insult she could think of, she had another thing coming.
I’d been trying to stay polite, keep my chin up, and to be the good little wife who didn’t embarrass her new in-laws, but the fact was that these girls weren’t going to let me leave with my dignity intact unless I took it from them.
Forcibly.
I could feel it in the way they blocked the path ahead of me. I saw it in the way Cassandra’s gaze clung to mine like a hook. They weren’t just trying to get to know the new girl in their midst. They were hunting.
Unfortunately for them, I’d spent four years of high school dodging girls much worse.
Girls who hadn’t had the ability to destroy reputations with just one phone call to Daddy .
The mean girls I’d known had fake nails, borrowed stilettos, and a shaky understanding of how to spell Versace , but they’d been tough, hardened in a way these girls could never be, and ready to draw literal blood if they needed to.
They’d known how to destroy reputations all by their bitchy selves. These girls might have lawyers on speed dial, but I doubted they would be able to take on Sterling’s. Plus, I’d never met a verbal sparring match with bullies that I’d lost.
I held her gaze and stepped forward, effectively closing the space between us. “Well, you know what they say. Unpolished diamonds cut the deepest and the edges they leave are nice and jagged. There’s no sewing it up to look pretty.”
One of the other girls choked on her drink. The other pretended to cough. Cassandra’s cheeks flushed a very deep shade of pink.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I promised Sterling I wouldn’t keep him waiting,” I added sweetly, pulling away. “He does tend to miss me when I’m not around.”
I pivoted, keeping my chin up as I tried to move past them, my heart pounding a drumbeat in my chest, but the next thing I knew, I felt a tug at the hem of my dress.
The soft sound of a rip reached my ears and then I was falling.
The world tilted sideways as I stumbled over a high heel that appeared out of nowhere right in front of me.
My foot twisted as I went down with a sharp, sickening pop, followed by a rush of heat and the sharpest pain from my ankle. It radiated up my leg, aching so badly that my stomach turned. Laughter bubbled up behind me, soft and poisonous.
“Oops,” Cassandra said, her foot still planted on a torn sliver of fabric. “You should really watch your step.”
The next moment, they were disappearing around the hedge, giggling like schoolgirls while I stayed exactly where I was, tears of anger and embarrassment burning in my eyes. My foot throbbed. My dress was torn, and as much as it killed me, I hadn’t gotten my dignity back after all.
A few seconds later, I was still sitting there, trying to breathe through it, when I heard footsteps rushing toward me. “Laney, my God. Are you okay?”
I looked up, not knowing how he’d found me or where he’d come from, but Sterling was there. His eyes found mine, the blue dark and furious, and he didn’t say another word. He didn’t ask what had happened and he didn’t hesitate to bend over as soon as he reached me, gently lifting me in his arms.
I gasped, trying not to flinch as he straightened up, holding me to him. “Sterling, I’m so sorry. I?—”
“No.” His voice was steel. “Don’t.”
As he started carrying me toward the house, I caught a glimpse of Jameson, his jaw set as hard as stone as he scanned the path Cassandra and her hyenas had vanished down.
He didn’t speak either, just shaking his head before he turned and jogged so he was ahead of us, clearing the way of anyone who dared to step into our path.
We didn’t go back through the party. Sterling carried me to a side gate and up a narrow stone path, into the house through a hallway I’d never been in before. They brought me to a quiet upstairs guest room and he carried me directly to the huge bed in the center.
The lighting in the room was low, dimmed to create an intimate sort of ambiance, the windows cracked open to let in the breeze. I winced as Sterling lowered me onto the mattress, his hands cradling me as gently as if I were made glass.
A distinguished-looking, older man appeared in the doorway. I recognized him almost immediately as Garvey, the butler who had been around since before Sterling and his brothers had even been born. I’d met him briefly with CC the first time I’d come here.
He strode over to me without saying a word, quickly kneeling beside my leg to examine my ankle. Sterling was a silent storm behind him, his chin held high and his gaze as sharp as a razor blade as he watched Garvey’s fingers expertly pressing against the tender spots on my foot.
“I’ll go get ice,” Garvey finally said, rising elegantly and leaving the room.
“What happened?” Sterling asked, but his voice was too calm. Too quiet.
I swallowed, the tears I’d been fighting earlier once again appearing in my eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Laney.” He crouched beside me, hands resting gently on my shin. “Your dress is ripped. You’re hurt. It is a big deal.”
Jameson lingered near the door. “I saw her, Laney. I saw Cassandra stepping on your dress and tripping you. She definitely did it on purpose. You might as well fill him in on the details. That part, I don’t know.”
Sterling’s jaw flexed, but before he could say anything, Callum arrived, breathless. He blew into the room and came directly to the bed. “Jameson texted me. This was low, even for Cassandra.”
“She’s always had a thing for Sterling,” Jameson muttered, shaking his head. “She’s the biggest bitch on the Eastern Seaboard, though. None of us would touch her with a barge pole, much less with our dicks.”