“I can explain.”
“I doubt it.” Her face is red. “You can’t even admit to the real reason why you’re here in New York, in this very theater.”
“Good job in there, Scarlett!” “Yeah, you killed it today!” Two actors pass us by, smiling and waving, but I don’t dare to move a muscle.
“I guess you didvery welltoday then.” My mother glares at me. “Should I be proud of something like that?”
I wish you were…
I struggle to suck in a slow, unsteady breath—to prevent myself from passing out.
Then again, maybe that’s not a terrible idea.
“Do you have any idea what your father would do if he found out about what you’ve been doing?” Her eyes are locked on mine. “Any fucking clue?”
“You haven’t told him?”
“Of course not.” She scoffs. “And I’mnevergoing to, because it’s already been fixed.”
“What do you mean?”
“I called in a favor,” she says, her tone ice cold. “You will return to Harvard in January for the spring semester, and you will finish the degree. You will spend the final weeks of this year, packing up your things and enjoying the last bit of freedom you will ever have before I’m forced to visit you twice a week on campus.”
“Mom—”
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.” She glares at me. “Should your father catch wind of you being away from campus, Harvard has agreed to play along about you being here on an extended field study.”
“What?”
“Yes, you’re welcome,” she says. “All it took was a very generous donation and me pre-paying the remainder of your tuition in full. Now, say thank you, mother.”
“I don’t want to go back to Harvard,” is all I can say.
“Did you hear me ask what you wanted to do?” She shrugs. “I’ve made the plan, you’ll follow it, and you’ll also follow me out of here and to the car.”
“Now that I know how much time you’ve been wasting, you can come to The Hamptons early and help me prepare for your father’s party.”
“I’m not going back to Harvard.” I try to keep my voice firm, but polite. “There’s nothing for me there.”
“There’splentythere.” She serves me a fake smile. “You don’t have to like it. You just have to pass the classes and commit to doing what’s best for you.”
“If you really want what’s best for me, you’ll let me find my own way,” I say. “You and my brothers might like what he has planned foryourlives, but?—”
“How fucking dare you.” She strikes the left side of my face with a blow so hard I stumble backward.
“Do you know how many women would kill for the lifestyle you and I have?” She draws her hand back again.
I groan in pain, but she doesn’t retreat.
“Can you guess how many of them would be willing to die just to get a taste of what you and I have access to?”
She strikes my right side, and I cry out at the feeling of her rings scratching my skin.
“Millions, Scarlett,” she says. “And I’m one of them.”
My head is ringing and everything ahead of me is a blur.
I reach out with my left hand, bracing my body against the wall.
