Page 7 of King of Pride

Zoe moved closer to Rose and whispered, “Holy shit. I had no idea Jessica was such a player.”

Rose merely shrugged as she sipped her martini, finishing the rest of the glass while the girls behind them continued gossiping.

“But you know what else I heard?” the girl continued. “As soon as Jessica landed, her ex-boyfriend, Ivan, sent her a diamond necklace. She landed at eight in the morning, and by nine, a million-dollar necklace was delivered straight to her doorstep.”

She leaned closer to the girls, clearly enjoying the gossip.

“She was bragging about it to my sister, saying she’d received so many gifts that she didn’t even know where to put them. She was actually thinking about getting a private locker just to store all the expensive gifts she’d received from her admirers. And the way she was talking about it was so damn casual too. She was like, ‘Oh my God, I cannot. I don’t even know where I’m supposed to put all of these.’ Like, seriously?”

A few of the girls exchanged amused looks.

“And get this—it turns out Ivan didn’t just send her a gift. He even invited her to meet him at a party tonight. The party is happening right now. Apparently, all of his friends are there too, but honestly, I think the whole thing is just an excuse to get Jessica to come and see him.”

Chapter 2 Maverick Bishop

“Isn’t he already in a relationship with someone?” one of the girls asked, confusion crossing her face as she leaned closer to the group. “I heard he got into a relationship with a girl right after Jessica left. I thought he was serious about her. Weren’t they even talking about getting married or something?”

The girl who had been telling them about her sister immediately took a sip of her cocktail before answering.

“I doubt that girl knows anything about this. I mean, who would willingly let her boyfriend go meet his ex? Either she’s incredibly easy to fool, or she has to be completely clueless if she’s actually letting him go meet Jessica.”

She shook her head before continuing.

“Because, from what I can see, Ivan would run straight back into Jessica’s arms if she called him. Why else would he send her a gift like that?”

“Obviously. I mean, come on! What kind of man sends a necklace worth millions to his ex the moment she returns home?”

“I mean, isn’t that the kind of thing you send to your girlfriend, not your ex?”

The other girls murmured in agreement.

Zoe immediately noticed the way Rose was gripping her clear martini glass, her knuckles turning white around it.

Zoe reached over and gently grabbed Rose’s hand, pulling her away from the girls. She stepped closer and carefully took the empty glass from Rose’s trembling fingers before placing it back on the bar counter.

Rose immediately reached for another glass and downed the drink.

Zoe looked at her with concern. “Are you all right?”

Rose took another sip of whiskey. A tear slipped down her cheek as she shook her head.

“No, I’m not.”

Her voice trembled as she set the glass down, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill.

Zoe’s jaw clenched as she watched her, worry filling her eyes.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said softly. “We’re going to find you a better boyfriend. That asshole wasn’t worth marrying anyway.”

“I know.” Rose nodded, but the tears continued to fall.

She picked up the martini again and drank, barely noticing the burn of the alcohol as it slid down her throat. The ache in her chest only grew stronger.

Everything she had been trying to hold back was finally coming to the surface. The pain, the anger, the humiliation—all of it seemed to collide inside her until she could barely breathe through it.

She looked at Zoe, her voice breaking.

“Zoe, I wasn’t even worth more to him than that cheap snow globe his ex-girlfriend gave him. How can someone be so heartless?”