Chapter 5
Mrs. Blackwood canceled an international conference call when she heard I was coming.
The moment she saw me, her eyes went red.
“You’re wasting away…”
“I heard about your engagement to the Montgomerys. God, sweetheart, I hate to see you go.”
I handed her my mother’s bank card.
“I’ll visit you, Mrs. B. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me all these years.”
Her tears spilled over.
“Now you’re acting like we’re strangers.”
“It’s my fault. I buried myself in work when I should have been looking after you.”
“I always dreamed you’d be my daughter–in–law someday. But they don’t deserve you, do they?”
“Consider this my contribution to your wedding. I can’t make it to the ceremony, but I want nothing but happiness for you.”
hugged her, fighting back tears.
All these years with the Blackwoods, she’d treated me like her own daughter.
But you can’t force someone’s heart, can you?
Mrs. Blackwood clutched my hand, giving me last–minute advice, reluctant to let go.
Right in the middle of my sentence when Marcus and company walked in.
Both brothers‘ faces darkened when they spotted me.
“What marriage? Rose, what lies are you feeding my mother now?”
“Marcus! How dare you speak to her like that?” Mrs. Blackwood snapped.
17:21
Nathan immediately sidled up to his mother.
“Mom, don’t let Rose play you like that. When we proposed to Amber, it was just to make her happy for a moment.”
Amber cowered behind Marcus, fake–blushing.
Marcus smoothly took over.
“Amber may come from nothing, but she’s a self–made woman. She wouldn’t accept a proposal just to get her hands on the Blackwood fortune.”
“I’ve spoiled Rose. She throws her weight around and can’t handle anyone else getting attention.”
Mrs. Blackwood, who’d been confused, slammed her cup down so hard it shattered.
“No wonder Rose is leaving… You monsters! Take this woman and get out of my sight!”
After they left, I spent half an hour calming Mrs. Blackwood down.
She was too embarrassed to ask me to stay any longer.
She just hugged me with tear–filled eyes and wished me a safe journey.
I left with this one small kindness to hold onto.
My mind a tangled mess.
As I was going down the front steps, something caught my foot and I went flying.
Through the pain, I looked up to see Nathan smirking at me.
“Rose, why can’t you leave me alone? Running to Mom with your sob stories? Are you trying to ruin my life?”
Marcus’s face was scarily dark–like he was about to explode.
Nathan dragged me in front of Amber.
“Apologize. Now.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was already leaving, and they still couldn’t let me go.
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Slapped Today. Crowned TomorTOW
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Chapter 5
Something inside me snapped.
“I’ve done NOTHING wrong!”
I’d barely gotten the words out when Nathan slammed his foot down on my injured ankle.
The pain was blinding. I felt like my bones were literally cracking apart.
“Remember this, Rose. This is what happens when you mess with Amber. Unlike my brother, I’m not
about to baby you like my brother does.”
I folded in on myself on the cold ground.
As I started blacking out, everything going fuzzy at the edges, one thought cut through like a knife:
“We’re even now.”
Eighteen years of shelter, eighteen years of friendship.
Now, we’re done here.
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