Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
“No need to thank me. Your mother included it as a clause in the pendant sale.”
Ouch.
He was extra arctic today. I already felt the frostbite.
Tabby hip-checked Reggie out of the way. “I’m so happy we finally get to meet one-on-one.” She offered a hand. “You and I have hung out in the same circles forever. Seems like we always miss one another.”
Zach ignored her outstretched limb. “What a travesty.”
From the tiny cracks in the shutters, I couldn’t get a good view of him. I itched to crack the door open and peer at them, but I knew better than to yield to temptation.
Judging by Vera’s gasp, she’d finally caught a glimpse of the remnants of her daughter’s mess on the floor. “Is that… blood?”
Tabby crept behind Reggie. “It’s Bolognese.”
One could argue that two pounds of ground beef in a burnt jumbo loaf topped with a can of San Marzano tomatoes couldn’t be considered Bolognese, but what did I know?
I wasn’t the acclaimed food vlogger.
Vera swiveled back to Zach. “I am so sorry, Mr. Sun. Believe me when I say I’m utterly horrified. The home isn’t usually so messy, but our maid slacks off without strict supervision. I’m afraid it’s difficult to find good help these days. You know how it is.”
By maid, she meant me.
And by screw you, I meant her.
Vera gestured to the mess behind her. “Oh, I hope this doesn’t ruin your impression of me.”
Zach began rolling his sleeves up to his forearm. “About my ask—”
“Would you like anything to drink?” Vera drew a palm to her chest. “My goodness, where are my manners? Not anywhere within reach, it seems. I blame the long work hours. I’ve taken over my husband’s business, you know.”
What you’ve taken over is the living room couch.
I was the cleaner, the bookkeeper, and the administration executive. All she did was bark orders and call me useless. Even that, she only did once in a full moon.
She spent her days shopping with money she’d gotten from pawning Dad’s things, gobbling up daytime soaps, and ordering takeout on the corporate card.
Irritation rolled off Zach’s body like a thick fume.
“I don’t want anything.” He finished his sleeves and set his forearms on the counter. “Other than to ask my question, if I may.”
“Oh, sure.” Vera sobered. “What is it?”
He fished something from a white gift bag he’d brought with him, holding it to the light.
Was that…?
No way.
It couldn’t be.
But it was.
“Does this shoe happen to belong to anyone in your household?”
Motherfucker.
The billionaire asshole was out to get me.
He’d actually taken time off his schedule to parade my busted-ass shoe all over Maryland like it was a deer’s head.
Men in power were such sadists. He simply couldn’t let it go.
Fear nipped its way up my spine. Goosebumps replaced the bleach tingles on my arms.
The center of Zachary Sun’s attention was a very bad place to be. He had the means to destroy anyone with a simple phone call.
What was I thinking, slipping into his residence to retrieve the pendant?
Silence blanketed the kitchen.
Without a doubt, Vera, Reggie, and Tabby knew the shoe belonged to me. Not a single day passed without them teasing me for my attire.
They couldn’t understand why I didn’t let the price of my clothes determine my value as a person.
A briny drop of sweat trekked down my forehead to my eye.
Breathe.
Just breathe, Farrow.
But I couldn’t.
My chest caved. I smothered my mouth with a palm, hoping it stifled the sound of my breaths.
Another second of silence, and they’d hear me. Surely.
For once, Reggie’s shrill voice saved me. “Oh, that’s awkward. I believe this one’s mine, actually.”
“No, no. I think it’s mine.” Tabby elbowed her out of the way. “I always bring a flat pair when I go to parties. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m quite the dancer—”
“But don’t you remember, Tabby…” Reggie clamped a hand on Tabby’s shoulder, probably digging her acrylics into the bone. Her tone carried an eerie threat. “…that I borrowed those… shoes from you that night because mine got lost when I saved an injured bunny in Mr. Sun’s garden?”
I dug my teeth into my inner cheek, wrangling back a frantic laugh. As low as I’d gotten, I hoped I never became this pathetic.
This Cinderella bull crap was right up their alley.
I bet if Zach had come in with a used menstrual cup, asking if it belonged to one of them, they’d give him a demonstration to prove they were the rightful owners.
Vera put an end to the debate before Reggie made a valley out of Tabby’s shoulder. “It’s Tabitha’s shoe.”
Tabby was the costliest of her two daughters, so I supposed Vera wanted her off her hands sooner rather than later.
She nodded, reassuring herself she’d made the right decision. “Definitely hers.”
More silence.
Unfortunately for my so-called family members, Zach Sun was too smart to buy into their bullshit.