Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Darcy smoothed her hands over her jacket.
The motion was mostly useless; there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight, not after their team of wardrobe/hair/makeup had spent the better part of twenty minutes before they’d left, threatening her with a steamer and Darcy with bodily harm if she touched it again.
Okay, so Blythe had been on FaceTime with her, and she’d been the one with the threats, but she felt like she’d seen agreement in wardrobe’s eyes.
Still, her palms needed somewhere to go.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
It was technically a suit, though it didn’t look anything like the stiff tuxedos others would be wearing tonight; that really wasn’t…
her. The trousers were deep navy, high-waisted and cut with a long, fluid line through the leg, falling perfectly over the pointed ivory heels she’d chosen to go with them.
The matching blazer was tailored close to her frame, its sharp shoulders and clean lines giving the whole thing a polished edge.
Beneath it, she’d traded a traditional button-down for an ivory silk blouse. The neckline draped softly open at her throat, tucked neatly into the waistband of her pants, giving her something that both softened the lines cut in her suit and was incredibly elegant.
A few delicate pieces of silver jewelry were all she’d opted for – small earrings, a fine chain at her throat, as always, a couple of rings. She was going to try her best not to fiddle around with them, but Juliet was up for awards tonight, and Darcy was already feeling antsy on her behalf.
She’d left her hair down, for both simplicity and comfort.
The Grammys.
Her first award show with Juliet. Not technically , given that they’d sort-of done events and award shows together for the last two years, since Juliet and Robbie had been broken up.
They’d accompanied one another plenty, but always as friends.
Doing separate interviews, never really touching.
No more than arms brushing or the backs of their hands.
Always leaving Darcy wanting more, but never having it.
Tonight was different.
Together, in public. And not just going out to dinner or to the store, but in a big way .
The thought still made something in her chest fill with warmth, before that sensation rolled through her veins.
“Are you ready?” Juliet asked as she opened the door from their ensuite.
Darcy already knew what Juliet would be wearing tonight; they’d deliberately chosen every aspect of their outfits to coordinate. And still, her breath caught and held in her throat, all normal, human words dropping away from her vocabulary.
Leaving her simply with, “Wow.”
Juliet paused as she’d started walking through the doorway, first arching Darcy a look, before a slow smile tugged at her lips.
God.
Juliet was wearing a midnight-blue gown, the same exact tone as Darcy’s jacket.
When she moved, the fabric caught in the light in tiny flashes, like stars were trapped inside of it.
It was fitted as though it had been sewn for Juliet’s exact form in the bodice, before it fell into a sleek, fluid skirt that brushed the floor.
The neckline dipped just enough to still maintain its elegance; one shoulder was bare, the other framed by a delicate sweep of the soft material, and there was a cut up the side that was barely noticeable unless Juliet was walking.
This was not a dress for Juliet Jacobs of yore. This was not a dress for cute-and-innocent country music’s sweetheart.
This was a dress that made your heart pound by looking at her, and Darcy’s was no exception.
Her dark hair had been swept back into a low, loose twist, leaving a few soft pieces around her face. Diamond earrings caught the light whenever she moved.
And there was a ring on her right hand. Silver. One of… Darcy’s stomach dipped low in a free-fall. One of her rings, from her jewelry case.
“Who’s the thief now?” She managed, sliding her gaze from the ring up to Juliet’s.
Her lips poked into a small pout as she cocked her hip, her hand falling to it. “You like?”
“Uh, I love, actually.”
“Don’t get sappy. We have a show to get to.”
“I can be sappy if I want,” she shot back. “You and I are going to a show together. We’re complementary. And you’re going to fucking sweep .”
Juliet rolled her eyes. “All right, let’s come back down to earth.”
Darcy scoffed; not a fucking chance. She couldn’t help the sap tonight. She was a little nervous; she was a lot excited, and… and it was a big deal. This was a big fucking deal .
And she knew Juliet felt the same, from the way her expression dipped into something a little more vulnerable. Allowing Darcy to see underneath the bravado for a few seconds before she broke away, clearing her throat.
“The car is going to be here in, like, two minutes,” Juliet announced, shaking her head back. “I need to grab my lip gloss in the bathroom. Can you get my phone? It’s on my side of the bed, on the charger.”
Darcy meandered over to Juliet’s side of the bed as Juliet disappeared back into the bathroom.
When she unplugged the charger, the screen lit up, and the latest notification was front and center. Normally, Darcy wouldn’t have paid much mind; it wasn’t her phone.
But this was different. Very different.
Because the email was from Lucía Castillo – not weird, she was Juliet’s lawyer. The weird part was that the subject of the email read: Final payment – Angie Kincaid .
Darcy’s breathing came a little faster, something with a decidedly uglier tone than she’d anticipated from tonight crawling up inside of her.
Something she always felt at any reminders of her mother.
Thankfully, there had been very few since she’d popped up two years ago from whatever pit she’d settled into prior to that.
When she’d surfaced to regale the masses with stories about Darcy and Blythe, despite having totally abandoned her post as their mother nearly a decade earlier. Darcy couldn’t say for sure , but she felt strongly that took away her mom’s right to make money off of them.
And she hadn’t wanted to do what Blythe – and Eliana – had decided would be the best course of action: ignore her, don’t feed into it, don’t let her know that her arrival back in their lives meant anything. But she’d agreed to it, and soon after, their mom had disappeared again.
She’d assumed that meant the plan of ignoring her had miraculously worked.
She’d been amazed, really. Not that Angie gave up; she was, frankly, a huge quitter.
She’d quit everything in her life with the exception of getting involved with shitty men.
But Darcy had been shocked it had worked so quickly, so seamlessly.
She stared down at the email, her heart thumping faster, harder, as the blood rushed through her ears so loudly that she didn’t even hear Juliet walk to her side.
“Darcy? Are you okay? Our car is–”
Darcy turned, holding the phone up so Juliet could see her own screen.
“Why is Lucía emailing you about my mom?”
Juliet went still, like every muscle in her body was on pause, as her eyes flickered to the screen. Darcy couldn’t help but follow the motion. Just staring because none of this made any sense.
Juliet finally released a breath before she reached out. She didn’t take the phone from Darcy, but unlocked it and gestured, “You can read it.”
Darcy’s eyes were already feasting on the words, trying to make sense of it all.
Juliet, as per the contract, the third and final annual payment under the Settlement Agreement and Release is now due. Before I disburse the funds, please confirm that you have no objection to the release of the payment pursuant to the terms of the agreement.
Darcy looked up, shaking her head. “Third and final annual payment? What does that even mean? What is this?”
“Darcy, I promise I wasn’t trying to keep this from you to – to lie to you. I was never trying to cause you pain. I swear. That’s what I was trying to avoid with this.”
Two years ago, which was when her mom had cropped up. When Juliet had come to see her, when she’d held Darcy as she’d cried about it. As she’d sobbed to Juliet that she just wished her mom was gone .
“You… paid my mother to leave me alone?”
“I paid her to honor the agreement she signed,” Juliet correctly, lightly.
Darcy stared at her, like, come on . She was still trying to wrap her mind around it, though. Trying to slot this into reality. “What was the agreement, then?” She pushed, her throat dry.
“She agreed to never go public again. Never speak to the press about you. Never contact you for money. Never publish anything, sell anything, or make any claims about you or your family. She signed an NDA, a settlement and release. There are financial penalties if she breaches it. As in, she knows my estate will sue her immediately , and shut down anything she tries to get going, and that she’d owe us in restitution for… well, basically her entire life.”
Darcy's lips parted on a ragged breath. “You did that?”
That – they hadn’t even said I love you , then.
“I had Lucía handle it,” Juliet danced around the whole truth.
Darcy pressed for more. “How much money?”
Juliet’s gaze was so… soft on her. “Do you really want to know?”
It was then that Darcy realized Juliet believed she wanted to know what Darcy and Blythe , monetarily, were worth to her mother. But the reality was that Darcy had known for a long time that they meant very little to her.
It never made it easier. It never made her feel good. But she was a realist.
“Yes, I want to know.”
Juliet took a long, deep inhale. Before she pursed her lips and finally answered, “The agreement was for one hundred thousand, once a year, for three years.”
“ What?! ” Darcy’s mouth fell open in utter affront, her stomach bottoming out. “You’ve given her three hundred thousand dollars?!”
“No. I’ve given her two, and the final third is being disbursed shortly,” Juliet corrected, before she reached out to pluck her phone from Darcy’s hand.