“Imagine,” Nina said lightly,“she asked which boutiques I shop at, where I get my nails done, which aesthetician I see. I guess she wanted to look like me so Frank would pay more attention to her.The baby didn't work, so she tried a new tactic.”
“That's rich,” Lauren laughed.
“That is so low,” Marissa covered her mouth.
Nina leaned closer to the mirror, as if fixing her lipstick.
“What did you expect?” Marissa touched Nina’s elbow.“She really is… well, you know.”
Nina understood exactly what she meant and nodded.
“Of course.Her background says it all.”
A wave of quiet laughter followed.
“So be careful, girls,” Nina added casually.“If she ever shows up near your husbands,take charge immediately. I doubt she’ll stop with my Frank.”
Just then, Nina saw Vivian spin around and rush out. She was trembling all over. Humiliated.
“Cinderellas these daysjust aren’t the same,” Marissa declared solemnly.“After this, I’m afraid to let my husband go anywhere alone. I trust him, but these little climbers will do anything to hook a rich man. Married or not.”
The women nodded, unified in their disdain—as if Vivian truly posed a threat to all their marriages.
“All right, ladies, I should go.”
Nina picked up her clutch and headed toward the exit, feeling their eyes glued to her back. She knew they'd start new rumors the second she left.
Vivian was already gone. Nina didn’t need to see her to know—she was crushed and furious. Exactly what she wanted.
Nina paused, watching as Vivian and Frank practically rushed out of the hall. Vivian was stiff, curled into herself, and Nina felt an unsettling surge of satisfaction.
“You’re harsher than I thought,” a voice murmured behind her—low, rough.“You almost made your rival weep.”
She didn’t turn. She didn’t need to. Her body recognized him instantly. Jasper. She felt his gaze, his breath, his presencewash over her.
“Life has scraped away the last of my softness,” she said evenly. The words felt sharp on her tongue.
She stood still, knowing his gaze was fixed on her back. She didn’t look at him. Didn’t want to.
The tension between them thickened, settling around her like fog.
He walked past at last.
Suddenly his shoulder brushed hers. Lightly. Barely there. Accidental or intentional—she couldn’t tell.
But the touch sent a tremor through her. Her insides tightened as if struck. Her skin remembered.
She shrank in on herself, as if trying to disappear. Her breaths were shallow, slow.
"Get it together, Nina. There are people everywhere. He won’t do anything."
His back was right in front of her. And she remembered something important. Something that had been gnawing at her for days.
Her fear evaporated, replaced by a sudden, inexplicable boldness.
“Wait,” she said quietly.
He heard. He stopped abruptly.
