A wealthy heiress discovers that the people closest to her have made room in their lives for another woman—but not for her. Cast aside and forced to beg, she decides she is done pleading and sets out to reclaim what is rightfully hers.
You're doing this on purpose. Big deal. It's your birthday. She screamed it at me and ran out of the room. Julian shot me a furious look and went after her. His friends glanced at each other filtered out, one after another. I picked up the knife and cut three slices of cake. Two went on the other side of the table. One I kept.
It's good, Mom. Dad, eat. I'm coming back to you tomorrow. Then I ate my whole slice by myself, and took out my phone, and bought a ticket home for the next day. The bus left the following afternoon. I gave myself plenty of time to pack. All the things Julian and my mother had given me over the years, I'd never had the heart to
They went in the suitcase. I was taking them with me. Close to noon, I called Julian, meaning to tell him I was leaving. Before I got a word out, he said, cold.
If this is about coming home, don't start. Vivi cried all night. Mom's blood pressure spiked. We almost had to admit her.
It took me all night to calm Vivi down. I haven't slept. We're not discussing it. I let out a breath.
Can we meet? There's something I need to tell you. In a few days. I'm shopping with Vivi today.
Okay. I didn't push. I hung up and went back to packing. When I opened the nightstand drawer, a frame fell out.