Chapter 3: What Have I Actually Gotten?

The moment Grant finished speaking, Sloane pressed a hand to her chest and began to gasp.

“It’s too quiet in here… everyone’s looking at me. I can’t breathe.”

Grant turned at once, shrugging off his suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders.

“Sloane, look at me. Breathe slowly.”

The man who had just been reassuring me now had eyes only for her.

I glanced at the sapphire bracelet on her wrist.

“If you feel that awful, why accept something that was never yours to begin with?”

Sloane’s breathing grew more ragged.

Eli stepped in front of her, his voice heavy with weary patience.

“Mara, she’s just a kid.”

“She’s twenty-six. A twenty-six-year-old kid who knows exactly how to steal someone else’s prize—and when to cry.”

Grant’s expression went glacial.

“Mara Bennett. That’s enough.”

I said nothing.

The party broke up quickly.

Grant helped Sloane back to the hotel without a backward glance.

Eli stayed behind to take me home.

Outside, the sea wind was cold.

He came up behind me, took off his cashmere scarf, and wrapped it around my neck, tucking it in carefully.

“You’ll catch a chill.”

The soft cashmere felt warm against my skin for only a moment.

He was always like this.

First, he helped them humiliate me, then he came back to comfort me.

Sure enough, as we walked down the steps, he said quietly, “Grant’s just worried about Sloane. He’s looked after her since they were kids. He was harsh, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

I kept my eyes fixed ahead and said nothing.

Eli tried again.

“Don’t hold it against Sloane. She’s not as strong as you are, not as secure. Besides, Grant is going to city hall with you tomorrow. After the wedding, you’re still the one who’ll be Mrs. Mercer.”

As if the title of Mrs. Mercer made up for everything that had been taken from me.

I stopped walking and turned to him.

“Eli, you always say that in the end, I’m the one who gets Grant.”

He gave me a strained smile.

I asked him quietly, “But what have I actually gotten all these years?”

Eli froze.

His lips moved, but no words came out.