Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Tabby scoffed. “Unfortunately.”
I bit my lip as hard as I could, stifling the urge to point out that Sylvia Hall had just passed the bar after graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown. Her head had more to offer the world than an overpriced haircut.
But I wasn’t in a position to say anything.
One, because the Ballantine women hated my guts, and everything I said would be used against me.
And two, because I was quite literally not in a position to speak—nestled in the trunk, balled into a fetal position, breathing as shallowly as possible to keep my presence unknown.
The SUV rolled past Potomac’s manicured lawns. Outside, the air had thickened with blooming flowers. All I smelled was Tabby’s riding boots. A mixture of manure, hay, and whatever stable boy she’d wrapped her legs around this week.
“Are we almost there?” Reggie smacked her lips, snapping something shut. “I’m low-key excited, you know? I’ve never been to Zach Sun’s house.”
“Take a picture, because this’ll be your first and last time.” Tabby snorted. “I don’t even know why you’re making us go, Mom. Everyone knows Constance Sun would carve out a kidney if it meant her son will marry whomever she chooses.”
“Zachary Sun has a mind of his own. If he decides he wants one of you ladies for a bride, no one will stop him.”
If nothing else, I admired Vera Ballantine’s eternal optimism. Tabby and Reggie were about as desirable as chronic wasting disease. A lethal combination of high maintenance and low IQ.
“Besides…” Vera switched the station to classical, even though she didn’t know Yo-Yo Ma from Yo Gabba Gabba. “There’ll be other rich, influential men there, ready to be bagged. There’s that duke… Oliver something?”
“Von Bismarck.” Tabby gagged. “The man is a certified skirt chaser. He’ll probably give me an STD if he breathes in my direction.”
Reggie snorted. “It’s cute how you pretend you’re not interested.”
“Pulling out my Uno reverse card, sissy.”
“For your information, he once invited me to his mansion on the Amalfi Coast.”
“Only you and every other woman with a pulse.” Tabby clucked her tongue. “Wow. If I were you, I’d start designing those wedding invitations right away.”
I tightened my arms around my knees, mentally sifting through months of research.
My plan was bulletproof.
Go in. Take back what’s mine. Slip out unnoticed, cloaked by the night and a designer gown I’d commandeered from Reggie.
It wasn’t my first hustle, and it wouldn’t be my last.
I’d been a survivor since birth. From the moment my no-show egg donor placed me in a Costco cardboard box outside Dad’s door with the note:
All yours.
Should’ve answered my calls, asshole.
An abortion doesn’t cost as much as a kid.
— Tammy
By that time, Dad had already married Vera after a whirlwind romance. According to Tabby, Vera urged Dad to “get rid of the thing.”
How can you even know she’s truly yours? she huffed throughout my childhood, knowing full well I heard her.
But I didn’t need a DNA test.
Mother Nature vouched for me.
I shared Dad’s arctic-blue eyes. The golden hair that curled in thick waves, framing our faces and ears. The same delicate bone structure, long-limbed body, and even the same beauty spot just under our right eyes.
Vera sighed. “It’s a shame Romeo Costa is off the market.”
“As if we ever had a chance.”
Reggie yawned. “As if we wanted a chance. I heard he’s a sociopath.”
“Really?” Tabby’s hair swung over the headrest. “I heard he donated a new maternity ward to Johns Hopkins as soon as his wife got pregnant.”
“Probably because they’ll need to bulldoze the entrance to wheel her in on delivery day. My facial girl told me Dallas Costa ate her way through half the bottom layer of a three-tiered cake at the White House dinner yesterday, and the entire thing collapsed on some oil baron.”
Things 1 and 2 disintegrated into a fit of giggles.
“Does anyone else smell bleach?” Reggie sniffed. “I swear, the scent of Farrow clings to my nostrils these days. You have to kick her out, Mom. She stinks up the whole place.”
“And where would I put her, exactly?” Vera cranked the A/C up to max. “We need the rent money for all the shitholes your father left behind. People are already starting to talk. When I signed the lease on this car, I didn’t even opt for the AMG.” She paused. “I suppose we could stuff her in the pool house…”
“Not the pool house.” Tabby jerked forward, by the way the entire vehicle bounced. “I’m converting it into a second closet.”
I couldn’t believe I intended to plow through hundreds of people as self-obsessed and superficial as my stepsisters for the next hour.
But I had no choice.
Zachary Sun possessed something of mine.
The jade pendant should’ve never ended up inside the sprawling Sun château. Naturally, this had the telltale fingerprints of Vera’s greed all over it.
When Dad passed, she’d auctioned off his belongings, biding her time until the insurance money kicked in. Apparently, Zach Sun bid three times higher than the closest offer.