Chapter 5

A week later, Keith still hadn't dealt with the divorce papers. He told himself he was too busy, that the timing was bad. The truth was, he was avoiding it. The note Eva had left still bothered him, a puzzle he didn' t have the energy to solve. He convinced himself it was a temporary spat. She would come back.

Holly, meanwhile, was ecstatic. Her fashion launch had been a massive success, thanks in no small part to Keith's legal maneuvering. The Atelier Noir dispute had vanished overnight after he used the exact legal argument Eva had written on the divorce papers. He'd taken the credit, of course, telling Holly it was a stroke of late-night genius.

"I need to buy your wife a thank-you gift," Holly announced one afternoon as they were having lunch. "For being so understanding while you were helping me."

Keith was surprised. "You don't have to do that."

"Of course, I do," Holly said, her smile dazzling. "It's the polite thing to do. And besides, it gives us an excuse to go shopping on Rodeo Drive."

Keith found himself agreeing. He felt a pang of guilt, but the thought of spending the afternoon with Holly quickly overshadowed it.

They went to a high-end jewelry store, the kind with plush carpets and hushed, reverent staff.

"What do you think Eva would like?" Holly asked, gesturing to a display of diamond earrings.

Keith had no idea. In three years, he had never once bought Eva jewelry. He bought her things he thought a wife should have-a new vacuum cleaner, a set of expensive pots and pans. He realized with a jolt that he didn't know her favorite color, let alone her taste in jewelry.

"Something... simple," he said vaguely.

Holly picked up a delicate diamond necklace. "This is beautiful. But I'm not sure if it's her style." She turned to the sales associate. "Do you have a model who can try this on for us? Someone with a similar... understated look to my friend's wife."

Before the associate could answer, Holly's eyes landed on Eva, who had just walked into the store.

Eva hadn' t planned on coming here. She was in LA for a single day, a final meeting to dissolve a shell corporation she' d set up years ago. She had been walking back to her hotel when she saw them through the window, laughing together. On a strange, self-destructive impulse, she had walked in.

"Eva!" Keith said, his face a mixture of surprise and relief. "What are you doing here?"

"Finishing up some business," she said, her voice cool.

Holly' s eyes lit up with a malicious glint. "Oh, perfect! Eva, you can help us. Keith is buying you a thank-you gift, but we're having trouble deciding."

She held up the necklace. "Could you try this on? I want to see how it looks."

It was a test. A power play. Eva knew it. She could see it in the triumphant smirk on Holly's face.

For a moment, Eva considered turning and walking out. But then she looked at Keith. He was watching her, an expectant look on his face, completely oblivious to the humiliation of the situation. He thought this was a normal, kind gesture.

Fine, she thought. Let them play their game.

She allowed the sales associate to fasten the necklace around her neck. It felt cold against her skin. She looked in the mirror. The diamonds sparkled against her simple black dress. She looked... expensive. Like a possession.

"It looks stunning on you," Holly said, but her eyes were fixed on Keith's reflection in the mirror. "What do you think, Keith?"

"It's... nice," he said, his gaze distant.

Holly then pointed to another necklace, a much larger, more ostentatious piece with a brilliant sapphire at its center. "What about that one? Let's 'test the look' with that one too."

Eva stood silently as they draped different pieces of jewelry on her, discussing her as if she were a mannequin. She was a prop in their romantic comedy.

Finally, Holly sighed dramatically. "I just can't decide. But this one..." She picked up the sapphire necklace again, the one she had clearly wanted from the start. "This one is special."

She looked at Keith, her eyes wide and pleading. "I know it's for Eva, but... it would be perfect for the Met Gala next month."

Keith's resolve crumbled in an instant. "We'll take it," he said to the sales associate, pulling out his credit card.

He turned to Eva, the necklace still around her neck. "Sorry," he said, not meeting her eyes. "I'll get you something else."

He didn't even notice when the sales associate removed the sapphire necklace from Eva's neck and placed it in a velvet box for Holly.

Eva didn't wait for him to pick out a consolation prize.

"You don't have to," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion. "I have everything I need."

She turned and walked out of the store, leaving them standing there amidst the glittering diamonds and their own casual cruelty. That was the last time she would ever let them use her as a mirror for their own desires.