Chapter 2

The dining room goes completely silent.

Catherine forces a smile and starts to stand, but Preston is still staring at me.

I lean back in my chair.

“You heard me. Take your papers and get out.”

Preston’s face darkens.

“Of course. The DeLucas really did raise you to be this kind of woman.”

“Remember what you said today, Tessa. I would never marry you.”

I don’t even bother looking at him again.

Preston turns and storms out.

Sloane immediately follows him.

“Preston, don’t be angry. Tessa has a temper, but she didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“She grew up in a very different environment. There are things no one ever taught her. Please don’t hold that against her.”

“She can’t even compare to you.”

I calmly take another sip of water.

Julian slams his palm against the table.

“Look what you’ve done!”

“You’ve been home for one day. First Sloane gets hurt, and now you’ve destroyed the engagement with the Hayes family.”

“Do you have to humiliate this family every chance you get?”

I laugh.

“Is the Moreland name so worthless that you need to marry off a daughter to the Hayes family to protect it?”

“If I embarrass you that much, send me back to the DeLucas.”

“If you can’t do that, shut your mouth.”

Julian stares at me, too angry to answer, before finally turning and walking away.

That night, I go back to my room and unpack the rest of my things.

When I open my bag, a folded note slips out from between my clothes.

I recognize Vincent’s handwriting immediately.

There is only one line.

Tessa, if the Morelands give you any trouble, come home. If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.

I stare at the words for a few seconds before a smile touches my lips.

I fold the note carefully and slip it into my pocket, then run my fingers over the knife beside my bed.

Not that he’ll get much chance to protect me.

No one has ever made me take an insult lying down, and the Morelands won’t be the first.

At dawn the next morning, I’m already training out back.

I raise my handgun, aim at the paper target, and empty the magazine.

After the last shot, I pull off my ear protection. Nearly every hole is clustered around the bull’s-eye.

Footsteps sound behind me.

Sloane approaches with several members of the household staff.

Her wrist is wrapped in fresh bandages, and she still looks pale.

“Tessa, could you please stop doing this around the house?”

She glances at the gun in my hand as if it frightens her.

“You’re scaring the staff. What if you accidentally hurt someone? Mom will only worry.”

I drop the magazine, set the gun aside, and walk straight toward her.

“Who’s scared?”

Sloane pauses.

I stop in front of her.

“Have them step forward. I’ll apologize myself.”

The staff behind her exchange glances.

No one speaks.

“Well?” I ask. “I thought they were terrified of me.”

Sloane’s cheeks begin to flush.

“They obviously wouldn’t say it in front of you.”

“Then you made it up.”

Her expression freezes.

I glance at the staff behind her.

“Yesterday it was you. Today it’s them?”

I look back at Sloane.

“Do you always need someone else to back up your lies?”

“I never said that!”

“Good.”

I turn toward the staff behind her.

“If I’ve threatened any of you, or if any of you think I’m going to hurt someone, step forward.”

Silence.

Sloane takes a step back.

I take one forward.

“Not one?”

She backs up again until she hits the wall.

“I was only trying to help!”

Footsteps come from the side.

Catherine is passing through the corridor and has seen the entire exchange.

She stops.

Her brows pull together slightly.

For once, she isn’t looking at me.

She’s looking at Sloane.

Sloane immediately goes pale.

“I was only worried she might hurt someone,” she says, her voice breaking. “Why does Tessa have to corner me like this?”

She covers her face and runs off.

I watch her go and let out a quiet laugh.

It’s only my second day here.

Already, her act is getting harder to maintain.

But apparently, she isn’t ready to stop.

That afternoon, I cross the garden on my way back to the main house.

Near the terrace, I hear Sloane speaking in a low voice.

“You saw her yesterday, Preston. She grew up around the DeLucas.”

“She doesn’t understand our world at all.”

I stop walking.

Sloane continues.

“She doesn’t even know what to wear to a formal dinner. Imagine taking her to a charity gala or any event that matters. She’d embarrass the Hayes family the moment she walked in.”

She pauses, her voice turning softer.

“I just feel sorry for you.”

Preston answers almost immediately.

“Don’t compare yourself to her.”

“One look at a woman like that makes me sick. At least you know how to behave. She—”

I step out into the open.

“Having fun talking about me?”

They both turn.

The smile disappears from Sloane’s face.