Chapter 4 - The Woman in Silver
“Don't post those,” I told Tessa. “Not yet.”
Her eyes widened. “You think they planned it?”
“I think we should stop telling ourselves people are harmless because they wear expensive clothes.”
Rosa took Tessa to copy the files. Vivian opened the door without knocking.
“Anna, darling.” She looked at my hair and winced in a way that seemed practiced. “Terrible misunderstanding.”
“You sent a message,” I said.
Her smile barely shifted. “What message?”
“The one that said, ‘Do it now.’”
Vivian examined the room, counting witnesses. “If you plan to accuse me, I suggest you consult someone who understands defamation.”
Nick stood. “You need to leave.”
“I helped fund this wedding,” she snapped. “And I kept your mother afloat when the bank wouldn't. You don't know what you're saying.”
“So you paid for the humiliation?” he asked.
“I paid for everything you were too proud to ask for.” Vivian opened her purse and withdrew a cream envelope. “This could still end quietly. Anna keeps the gifts. You two announce an amicable separation tomorrow. People will understand the stress.”
My chair scraped backward. “We're married, Vivian. This isn't a reservation you cancel.”
Vivian looked at me as if I'd spoken out of turn in school. “Marriage is a contract. Contracts can be unwound.”
Nick moved to my side. “Not ours.”
Vivian placed the envelope on the table anyway. “Call me when you've calmed down.”
After she left, I opened it. Inside was a settlement proposal offering me one hundred thousand dollars in exchange for a divorce, a nondisclosure agreement, and a promise not to contact the Hale family.
May you like
Dated two days before the wedding.
There was one more page: a draft announcement about Nick's future engagement to Vivian's daughter, Sloane.
