42.01
2:13 PM
Chapter 12%
The first thing I saw when I arrived was the stretch of lavender that lined the estate gates. It had been years, but our driver still knew how to time it–just after rain, when the scent soaked into the earth and the sky was still pale gold. The moment the limousine pulled into the long driveway toward our ancestral home, I felt something in me ease.
The gates opened, and the tires crunched along the familiar gravel path as the estate rose in view–white columns, sweeping ivy, and the crest of our family etched above the entrance like a crown.
I exhaled.
Home.
The door opened, and before I could take a step, my mother stood at the top of the stairs–elegant as ever in a beige coat, her eyes full of unshed tears. The second I stepped onto the stone, I broke.Z
All the restraint I’d worn like armor for weeks shattered the moment her arms wrapped around me.”
“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed into her shoulder. “I should’ve listened. I should’ve listened when you said Audrey–she was going to take everything. And I let her. I let her take Jared. Jackson. All of it.“%
She held me tighter, her hand gently smoothing my hair like she used to when I was a child. “Darling,” she whispered, “she didn’t take anything.“2
I shook my head. “No, you don’t understand-“%
“She didn’t take anything,” she said again, firmer this time. “Because you are still you. You are still Maureen Reid. You are still the heiress of this family. And no one–not a fake sister, not two foolish boys–can ever steal what you were born with. Or what you are destined for.” Her words didn’t erase the pain, but they softened the ache.
Later that afternoon, I stood in front of the tall mirror in my room–the same one I’d stood in front of when I was sixteen and wore my first pair of heels. The room hadn’t changed. And neither had my mother’s taste in couture.
Boxes of dresses were laid out across the bed. Cream silks, sapphire velvet, even one gold sequined gown that shimmered under the chandelier. A rack of dresses, custom–made, tailored to fit my figure, awaited my final decision.
“You need to pick something to wear tonight,” my mother said from behind me, sipping her tea. “You’re having dinner with your groom.”
I blinked. “My what?”
She turned with a calm smile. “Your groom. The one your father chose. The one who’s been watching over you–waiting for the right time. And it’s now.”
I stared at her. “You’re serious?”
“He’s important,” she said simply. “And worth it. You’ll never have to worry with him. You’ll be safe. And loved.”
I didn’t reply. Not because I didn’t trust her judgment–but because part of me couldn’t believe I was standing here again, in silks and sunlight, after everything I had endured.
For years, I had tucked my beauty away. My best clothes had gathered dust at the back of my closet. I stopped wearing earrings unless they were plain. I packed away my necklaces in fear they’d make Audrey feel small.
I remembered the comments.
“You shouldn’t wear that in front of her,” Jared had said once. “She can’t afford that stuff, Maureen.“>
“You don’t want to make her feel left out,” Jackson had added another time, when I wore a designer bag.
And I… listened.
I had been shrinking myself for so long just to make someone else feel full.
But not anymore.”
I pulled a soft blue gown from the rack–off–the–shoulder, satin, hugging me just enough to remind myself I still had a body worth celebrating. I wore the diamond necklace my grandmother gave me, the real one. I added earrings that sparkled under the light. I wore heels that clicked with pride across the marble floors.
No one was here to tell me not to.
No one was here to dull me down.”
By 6:30 p.m., the limousine was waiting again, idling in front of the estate. This time, it took me to a hotel I’d only ever seen in magazines -crystal chandeliers in the lobby, violins playing in the lounge, candles flickering on every table in the rooftop restaurant.
I was led to a private dining area, the kind roped off with velvet.
He wasn’t there yet. I sat down, nerves tapping lightly at my ribcage. Who was this man? What kind of stranger had been quietly watching me fall apart and still wanted to meet me after?
Then I saw him.
He walked in with quiet confidence. Sharp suit. Broad shoulders. A bouquet of white lilies in hand.
He stopped in front of my table and smiled faintly.”
“Miss Reid,” he said. “It’s good to finally see you… standing tall.”
I stared at him, stunned. “Roscoe?”
He nodded once. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
I stood slowly. “It was you…”
“At the hnenital vee”
2/2
48.0%
2:13 PM
“At the hospital, yes.“N
“You paid for me. You stayed with me.“M
He offered me the flowers. “And I would again.”
I took them, but my hands trembled. “Why?”
He met my gaze, steady and unwavering “Because I’ve seen the way they treated you Because I saw the way you kept shrinking even when you didn’t have to. Because I knew someone like you… would eventually need someone like me ”
