Chapter 5

The next morning, I was heading out of the hotel when I ran into Adelard in the lobby. He looked flustered.

"Arah, thank God I caught you," he said, stopping me. "Listen, I know you had a spa day booked, but Aurore is feeling really down. Do you think you could let her have your slot? It would really cheer her up."

My eyes drifted over his shoulder. Aurore was standing a few feet away, talking to one of her friends. She was already wearing the spa's plush white robe.

The audacity of it was almost breathtaking. He wasn't asking. He was telling me.

"Of course," I said with a serene smile. "Anything for Aurore's well-being."

I was done fighting. Done caring. It was liberating.

He looked relieved, but also a little unsettled by my easy compliance. "Great. Thanks, Arah. I knew you'd understand."

As he turned to go back to Aurore, my phone rang. It was my sister, Hazelle.

"Hey," she said, her voice warm. "Just wanted to let you know, the Barber family has been notified. They're fine with the... substitution. The wedding is set for the day after tomorrow."

"Good," I said, a sense of grim determination settling in. "Thank you, Hazelle."

I ended the call and walked out of the hotel, heading for the beach. The salty air felt clean, washing away the stale atmosphere of the hotel. I needed to think.

I wasn't on the sand for more than ten minutes before a shadow fell over me.

"I know you know."

It was Aurore. She had a towel wrapped around her, her hair still damp from whatever five-star treatment she'd stolen from me.

"I'm not sick, Arah," she said, dropping the fragile act entirely. Her eyes were hard and cold. "And I'm not leaving him. I can't live without him."

"What do you want, Aurore?" I asked tiredly.

"I want you to leave," she said, her voice a low hiss. "He's mine. He's always been mine."

I just looked at her. The sad, desperate woman in front of me. "You can have him," I said, my voice empty of emotion. "Congratulations. I wish you all the best."

She stared at me, disbelief warring with suspicion on her face. "You're just going to give up? Just like that? After all this time?"

"There's nothing to give up," I said.

"Don't lie to me!" she suddenly shrieked, her composure cracking. "He's Adelard Kim! His company is about to go public! You think I believe you'd just walk away from all that money?"

She took a step closer, her face contorted with rage. "There can only be one of us, Arah. And it's going to be me."

She lunged, her hands outstretched to push me.

It was a clumsy, telegraphed move. I simply sidestepped.

Her momentum carried her forward into the empty space where I had been. With a shriek of surprise, she tumbled over the small ledge bordering the walkway and splashed into the shallow waves of the ocean.