usually preferred a bare face and the scent of printer ink, found herself pinned to

Marcus estate. She moved with a silent, terrifying effi

roline," Tya whispered, her voice full of

line murmured, watching her reflectio

rust me. A girl like you doesn't nee

he mirror. She didn't see the college student who spent her nights designing 3D cards. She saw a wo

ispered, her fingers hoveri

m the rack. "Now, for the final touch. The M

, burning crimson that looked like it had been spun from r

father ordered clothes for the whole family yesterday. We

ss, if you knew fashion, you wouldn't waste a piece like

ic smile as she stood up. "Tonight, the

z, the crown jewel of Havenport's skyline. Like nearly everything

other guests. One of the senior assistants, a man who seemed to have known her father for decades, gui

you again, Miss Jan

her stomach. Jane was at home, her eyes swollen from days of weeping. She had spent the

behind her eyes. She had always been the "cheerful" one-the girl with a thousand friends who could talk to

aching out to straighten the collar of

t in the house lately. He was the self-made titan of the family, a man who had built an e-commerce empire from a dorm room without

d been spending every ev

ry, "tell me. I'll burn my company to the ground to buy you a plane ticket to somewhere the

ty. Jake's guilt was a palpable thing, a shadow that followed him into the dining room. He felt he

doors were pulled open by

hree figures stood to welcome them. Then, a fourth entered, Harrison. He sto

noyance, but as he turned to the Hales, his express

stice. Seeing them in person was like looking at a solar system;

a jolt of nerves that this was Williams Marcus. She had pictured a man her fath

avelly rasp that commanded silence. He peered at Carol

d, searching for the correct honorific fo

" she sai

into a deep, booming laugh that echoed off the vaulted ceiling. H

rward. She hugged Caroline, smelling of expensive powder and genuine warmth. "I

member of the family. Her f

k in a modern, sophisticated bun. She was wearing a dress that was likely the comp

as his mother, she had to be in her mid-forties, but she looked like she ha

rofound it made Caroline want to look away. Is she sad because of me? Caroline wonde

g at Williams's jokes and hanging on every word from Juliana. Jake, however, r

e, his silence more loud than the conversation around them. C

d. She reached for her dessert spoon, but her hand trembled. The silver clattered against the porcel

id, mocking purple

to the bathroom

ine f

wanted to disappear, but the lessons of her old etiquette teacher echoed in he

sit back down,

ne of kindness. She had clearly seen the girl's panic. "Harrison, darling, why don't y

gainst the floor with a sound like a

rcle on her thigh. They passed a waiter in the hallway who seemed to physically shr

He looked down at the stain. "Are you planning to return to a Marcus family dinn

looked around and spotted a magazine on a waiting room table. She

ashing with genuine irritation. "You look li

ate elevator, his stride long and purposeful. Caroline had n

f the Ritz, the marketing and personnel offices. Despite it being nearly h

sentence, watching the "Prince of Havenport" stride past with a girl in a damp

hairdryer from a female staff member who had been waiting there, c

d the do

les and black leather, dominated by a massive mahogany desk. On one side, a floor-to-ceiling window offered a pano

is my office. And since we are 'partners,' I suggest you get used to