She flinched like I’d slapped her.
“Get out, Layla.”
So I did.
I don’t remember the drive home. I remember sitting in my car outside my apartment, hearing her voice over and over.
That kind of person.
“I need the security,” I muttered.
That kind of person.
Three weeks later, I married her grandfather.
The wedding was small, private, and expensive enough to make my skin itch. The flowers probably cost more than my rent.
I stood beside Rick and kept my shoulders straight. There was a fifty-year age gap between us, and it wasn’t for love.
From the second row, Violet stared at the program in her lap. She never looked at me.
No one came for me. There was no one left to ask.
Three weeks later, I married her grandfather.
At the reception, I was reaching for a glass of champagne when a woman in pale blue stepped into my path. It was Angela, Rick’s other daughter.
She touched my elbow with two fingers and smiled without warmth.
“You’ve moved very quickly,” she said. “My father has always enjoyed rescuing strays.”
I took a sip of champagne. “Then I hope this family is finally house-trained.”
She looked shocked. “Excuse me?”
Rick appeared beside me before I could answer.
“Angela,” he said. “If you can’t manage decency for one evening, please be silent.”
“Excuse me?”
Her face tightened. “I was only welcoming her.”
“No,” he said. “You were auditioning for my disappointment. As usual.”
She let out a breath through her nose and walked off.
We drove to his estate after dark. I barely spoke. Rick didn’t push.
In the bedroom, I stood before a mirror and stared at myself in that dress. I didn’t look beautiful. I looked arranged, expensive… and temporary.
The door opened behind me.
“I was only welcoming her.”
Rick stepped in, closed it softly, and the room went quiet.
Then he said, “Layla, now that you’re my wife… I can finally tell you the truth. It’s too late to walk away.”
My hands went cold.
“Rick, what does that mean?”
He looked at me. “It means you were wrong about why I asked you.”
