- 7.
774
That was more or less the end of my
interactions with the Stone family. Mrs. Stone stopped calling. I heard she’d had another health scare.
The last time I saw Lily was at my art gallery. I was chatting with Chloe when my assistant said someone wanted to buy a painting and wished to speak with me.
Lily was standing in front of one of my
canvases. She turned, and the timid, awkward
girl I remembered was gone. In her place was a woman filled with a quiet, simmering
resentment. “Vivian Miller,” she said, “you’re
<
enjoying this, aren’t you? Watching my
downfall?”
I laughed. I had too much going on to waste
time on someone I barely considered. “You’re
giving yourself too much credit.”
She looked at me, then started to cry. “Ethan wants a divorce. I heard him talking to his lawyer. He doesn’t want me anymore. Why? You’re getting married. Why is he divorcing me?”
“What did I do wrong? It’s just my background. I don’t have your family, your education. You all look down on me, think I’m not good enough. But is that my fault?”
“I wish I was you. I wish I had your life. But I didn’t. You were just born lucky. If we started from the same place, I wouldn’t be such an embarrassment. If you were me, you wouldn’t be where you are today. You have everything
<
handed to you.”
She was sobbing, but thankfully, we were alone.
I wanted her to leave, but she clearly needed to vent. Even if it was at me.
I thought of her at the Stone house, constantly trying to please everyone, and sighed. “Lily, you’re wrong. If I were you, I wouldn’t be in your position.”
“First,” I continued, “I wouldn’t have let my
entire family leech off of Ethan. Your family became parasites. How could the Stones respect you after that?”
“Second,” I said, “You complain about your background, your lack of education. If I were you, I would have taken classes in etiquette, social skills, fashion. I would have observed, listened, and learned. But you haven’t changed in seven years.”
く
It was probably none of my business, but I felt a
strange pang of sympathy for the girl who’d
stood on the podium, so nervous and eager to
fit in, so determined to make something of
herself through hard work and education.
Lily lowered her hands, tears streaming down her face. A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes. “So… if I do what you say, there’s still a chance?”
She was delusional. Her position in the Stone family rested entirely on Ethan’s love, and he was done. It was too late.
I looked at her with pity. “Ethan is already talking to lawyers. If I were you, I’d file for divorce first. You have a prenup. Maybe the Stones will feel guilty and offer you a better settlement.”
She shook her head, laughing and crying at the same time. “No, Vivian, Ethan and I can still fix
<
this. We can.” She turned and hurried away,
probably to make one last desperate attempt.
Chloe emerged from behind a display. “I
thought you hated her.”
I turned to her, smiling. “I never saw her as competition.” I pitied her. She’d seen Ethan as her golden ticket, but she’d forgotten that her real asset should have been herself. She’d blamed her misfortune on her background, but it was her choices that had led her here.
