–Me: Thank you.
I wait, but there’s nothing more. Is he already back at work? And would thanking him be against the respectful indifference code?
I reread his last text, brow furrowed.Ares, Ares, Ares…It’s like a heartbeat as I tap the corner of the phone. I don’t like the name. He deserves something more fitting.
I change his name on my phone to “My Knight” and save it with a smile.
Exactly one hour later, a black limo stops in front of the main entrance.Wow. Fancy.I thought Ares would send me a yellow cab, like you see in the movies.
The uniformed driver opens the back door with a smile. He looks to be in his fifties, with warm brown eyes and a lot of smile lines. “Where to, Mrs. Huxley?”
I stare at him blankly for a moment before realizing. It’s a bit startling to be called that, when all my life I’ve been called Ms. Hayworth. “What’s the best high-end jewelry store? I need something that’ll impress my in-laws,” I say.
“Sebastian Jewelry or Peery Diamonds. You can’t go wrong with either. Masako Hayashi also does some great custom work.”
“Peery Diamonds.” I feel like I should stick with a girl from my own country. Lucienne Peery was one of the most high-profile heiresses in Nesovia. She left and married an American billionaire. It made the news back home, and every celeb gossip rag talked about it with breathless titillation and derision. They seemed unhappy nobody was invited to the ceremony, and even less happy that she moved to the States to be with her husband when she should’ve stayed in Nesovia and contributed to the country’s economy.
Why should she, though?The country treated her like shit. They treat all women with money like trash. I won’t go back once I take over my trust. I’m not sure where I’ll settle down. Ares might object to my staying in L.A. after our divorce, so I should look around.
I add that to my mental list of tasks. Freedom is great, but it also comes with a lot of things to do.
Peery Diamonds turns out to be housed on the first floor of a massive gray and white stone building. Every window is spotlessand showcases gorgeous gemstones sparkling on dark, cushy velvet. A diamond and sapphire set catches my eye. The design is too classic for my taste, but the sapphire’s precise shade of blue exactly matches Ares’s eyes. Plus the sapphire isenormous, twice the size of a quail’s egg.
Want,I think, but shake my head. Ares needs me to get wedding bands, not other stuff at Peery Diamonds.
I step inside the store, my flats hitting the immaculate marble floor. A Mozart violin sonata floats in the air, elegant and tasteful. The air smells of a subtle fragrance that’s both opulent and calming, the kind of scent you’d expect at a high-end retail location.
Just being inside soothes your senses and makes you feel like a VIP. No wonder Parker acted like she wasall thatevery time she went to buy jewelry from Peery Diamonds, then pitied me for having never been despite all my wealth. Where she got the chutzpah to brag when it wasmymoney that paid for her excesses is beyond me.
Bitch.If I run into her again, I’ll tell her exactly how I feel, but with extra smugness, since she’ll be completely cut off from my money. The second I get a hold of my fortune, I’m evicting Doris and her family from my home. Then I’ll charge them for all the things they’ve stolen from me. They pretend to be innocent, but I know they’ve been selling the antiques my parents collected.Assholes.
A brown-haired clerk in a crisp black-and-white suit comes over. “May I help you, ma’am?” He flashes a clean-cut smile that is polite without being overly friendly.
I glance at the nametag. “Yes, Jasper. I need wedding bands. Ideally with sapphires like the ones there.” I gesture at the set I admired earlier. “But obviously the stones can’t be so large.”
He smiles. “I understand.” He’s started to lead me to a massive display behind him when I see a tall blonde coming outof one of the private rooms. Despite her height, she’s in high heels that make her tower over the male managers, and a ruby anklet draws eyes to her slim ankle.
Lucienne Peery—Lucienne Lasker now. I haven’t seen her in about five years, but she looks great. Confident andin charge. But then, she got married and took over her family empire. Her husband, from what I read, doesn’t interfere in her business or financial decisions. Freedom does that to you.
“Lucie,” I say.
She stops, then turns to me. Her eyes narrow for a moment, then widen with recognition. “Lareina Hayworth?”
I grin. “The one and only.”
“Oh myGod! What are you doing here?”
She puts gentle hands on my shoulders, then slides them down my arms as though to confirm I’m real. Although we didn’t spend a ton of time together, the horrible restrictions on young heiresses in Nesovia tended to make us feel a certain type of bond.
“How…?” She still looks stunned. “Last I heard, you were too sick to travel. You had to be in Nesovia to recuperate.”
“That’s what my aunt told everyone.” I shrug. “But as you can see, I’m not sick. Or in Nesovia.”
“You should’ve texted that you were here in L.A. I was worried when you were carried out like that.” Lucie was present during the last overdosing incident. Doris acted out of impatience and went too far. Although I’d been vigilant, I didn’t realize she’d resort to bribing the kitchen staff at the restaurant. I collapsed after taking three bites of steak. The only person who hurried over to check on me was Lucie, who happened to be dining there as well. And she called for the ambulance, while everyone else just stood around and watched.
After that, I quit eating out unless somebody else took a bite and made sure it was safe. It doesn’t matter that the chances ofDoris tampering with my food are one in a million. It’s now more psychological than rational. And I doubt therapy will fix it. The phobia is now as instinctive as a fear of spiders or snakes.
“It was just some minor food poisoning,” I say breezily. No point in getting into the gruesome details. They’d only distress her, as someone who was in a similar situation—although as far as I know,herfamily didn’t try to slow-poison her.
