Chapter 4

04

As the car pulled away, Delilah, always so composed, ran a couple of steps after it.

Her face had gone as ugly as I'd ever seen it, and she said something.

But the car was too well insulated. I didn't hear a word.

The whole way back, Deborah kept threatening to crack open a bottle of red wine to celebrate, then queued up that cheerful kids' song we used to love as children and broke into a ridiculous dance.

Thanks to all her clowning around, I didn't even feel that broken up about it.

Not until the car turned in through the gate I knew so well, and I saw my parents rise from where they sat in the courtyard and walk toward me, smiling.

Only then did a film of water finally rise in my eyes.

When they heard Delilah and I had broken up, my parents were surprised, but they stayed calm enough.

They'd both weathered plenty of storms, and they knew I wouldn't let myself sink into it.

I just needed a little time.

My mother and I were still talking when Deborah, all mysterious, pulled my father off to the study for a quiet word.

On her way out, she even winked at me.

I thought it was a little odd, but I didn't dwell on it.

That night I went to bed early.

Knowing Delilah as I did, she wouldn't be reaching out to me anytime soon.

But the instant my phone buzzed, my heart still skipped a beat before I could stop it.

Only when I saw it was a friend back home did I open it.

"Ed, is this you?"

Then he sent a screenshot of a social media feed.

I opened it for a look and couldn't help thinking what a small world it was. The person posting turned out to be Val.

Of the nine photos in the grid, three were his own selfies, three were suggestive shots of him and Delilah.

The last three were all of my back.

Out of the sprawling wall of text underneath, I picked out the important parts.

"...Since when did fakes learn to fake this hard? Carrying a knockoff bag, playing the rich young heir, hating on other men, keeping a girlfriend on the side while reeling in an heiress. Impressive stuff..."

"I just feel awful for my Lila. Three years together before she saw through him. Still, if one slap I took woke her up, I'd say it was worth it."

People really do laugh when they're pushed past the point of words.

I stared at the screen for a while, then finally started typing.

"That's me. She's my ex-girlfriend's guy best friend. How do you know her?"

A whole string of messages came back at once.

Turned out Val used to be a clerk at some luxury brand.

He got himself fired after he spread it around that some rich guy's girlfriend worked as an escort, and when the guy found out and confronted him to his face, that was the end of the job.

The whole thing had blown up in those circles at the time, and I'd caught wind of it.

Never imagined the star of that story had been right beside me the whole time.

My friend said he'd get even for me, but honestly I wasn't all that angry.

Still, the guy had come bouncing right up to my door, so I thought about it and saw no reason to stop him.

What did surprise me was that the next afternoon, Delilah got in touch.

First she sent a report about Val being fired, then rapid-fired off several screenshots of customer complaints.

Then came the accusation, straight at my head.

"Did you have this done?"

"Just because Val's my friend, you hit him and now you're getting your revenge. Ruining someone's whole life, what do you even get out of..."

The voice message was forty-five seconds. I got that far, then hit stop.

Then I typed, and sent.

"Has he deleted the things he posted about me?"

The other end went quiet, only the little "typing..." above flickering on and off.

I let out a short laugh and dropped her into my blocked list.

Before bed, my parents called me into the study.

The moment I stepped in, I saw the marriage contracts from various families stacked up on the desk like a little mountain.

I pulled the one off the top and flipped it open.

Deborah's pretty face was there, staring up at me from the page.

Seeing me freeze, my father leaned his head in and suddenly broke into laughter.

"That girl's got nerve, I'll give her that. She showed up with the Simmons family's whole net worth and this contract and worked on me for half an hour."

"Her father even called today to apologize, said no matter what foolish, in-over-her-head thing Deborah had done, I should bear with her."

My mother laughed too, hand over her mouth.

"An arranged match is only ever icing on the cake. Our Ed doesn't have to settle for anyone."

"We called you in because we wanted to talk it over with you. If none of them interest you, we'll just find a way to turn them all down, and spare ourselves the families who haven't even sent their proposals yet but are itching to."

I ran my fingers over the old-style gilt pattern embossed on the contract, then spoke up.

"Turn down the rest. Keep Deborah's."

-

The moment word got out that the Masons and the Simmonses were engaged, it nearly set the whole circle on fire.

From that day on, Deborah came bounding over to the Mason house every single day, teeth bared in a grin.

But apart from settling the wedding details, I mostly didn't have the time to pay her much attention.

Attending banquets, running the company.

My life was busy and full.

That day I'd just finished a TV station interview, and on the drive home my phone rang with a number I didn't recognize.

I'd met plenty of the industry's new money lately, so after a moment's thought I answered.

The aged voice that came through froze me on the spot.

"Hello? Is that my precious grandson-in-law? It's Grandma, dear. When are you coming to see me—"

It wasn't until an awkward woman's voice came on the line that I remembered.

Delilah had a grandmother with Alzheimer's, and to keep her happy Delilah had mentioned me to her before.

The old woman had come to assume we were already married.

I just didn't know how she'd gotten my number.

After some noise and shuffling, Delilah's voice came through, unusually clear in the quiet.

"It's been a lot of days now with no contact. Have you calmed down?"

I didn't answer. There was only the faint hum of static in the air.

She let out a heavy sigh, like someone conceding defeat.

"My grandmother's very ill. The doctor says she only has a few days. She wants to see you."

"This weekend, let me take you to buy a few outfits first, then bring you to my place to see her. All right?"

By the end she was almost coaxing me.

I knew this was as far as she ever gave ground.

But my eyes settled on the understated, lavish invitation lying by my hand, and I suddenly smiled.

"Sorry. I'm getting married that day. No time."