Chapter 6
I watched the dramatic scene unfolding before me, listening to all those insincere compliments.
The more I listened, the hollower and more absurd it all sounded.
Just then, a sharp, sour voice cut through the room, dripping with jealousy and spite.
It was Kenzie.
“So what if you’ve become some hotshot designer now?
“Ivory, your leech of a family is infamous! Back then, they made a huge scene and embarrassed the whole school! Now that you’ve made it big, do you really think they’ll leave you alone? I bet they’ve already sniffed out your success and come crawling back!
“No matter how much money you make, it’ll never fill those two
bottomless pits! I wonder how long you’ll even keep that fancy designer title!”
Her words landed like poison–tipped darts, hitting the one place Пeast wanted exposed.
I picked up my water glass and took a slow sip.
“No matter how dysfunctional my family is, that’s a past I never got to choose.
“But my life–I built it myself, step by step. Every dollar I’ve earned, every path I’ve walked, I did it with integrity and a clear conscience. Whether I can keep my position or not, that’s none of your concern.”
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Setting down my glass, I rose to my feet.
This reunion, thick with hypocrisy, snobbery, and malice, was utterly
tedious.
“Sorry, I have somewhere to be. I’ll be leaving now.”
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With that, I grabbed my coat from the back of my chair and headed for the door.
“Wait! Ivory!”
A tall figure suddenly blocked my path, radiating a familiar presence.
Carlos.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me aside at the landing of the stairs, his eyes fixed intently on mine.
“Why did you just disappear back then without a word?
“Why did you block me on everything?”
The look on his face–like I’d abandoned him almost made me laugh.
I let a small, wry smile curl my lips, my tone as calm as if I were stating a simple fact.
“The assignment was over. There was no reason to stay in touch.”
“Assignment?”
Carlos frowned, either not understanding or refusing to.
He stepped closer, his voice edged with a desperate certainty.
“Ivory, stop pretending!
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“You left because I started dating Leia, didn’t you? You must have been really hurt, that’s why you ran away, right?”
He searched my face for even a flicker of pain, but found nothing.
Suddenly, he grew serious.
“Honestly, I looked for you for a long time. You always mattered to me.
“I…”
He trailed off, but the emotion in his eyes was almost overwhelming.
Truthfully, there had been moments–like when he’d furrow his brow, listening to me explain something, or the awkward silence when I patched him up after a fight–when my heart had fluttered, just a little.
But those fleeting feelings were crushed, time and again by him and his buddies joking about me being a “doormat,” by how he took my help for granted, and how he dismissed me as “uptight.”
I looked him straight in the eye, my gaze cool and clear, and spoke each word with deliberate precision.
“Carlos, my leaving had absolutely nothing to do with who you were dating.
“And I want you to know, very clearly–I only ever got close to you because of your family’s money.”
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