VANESSA BELMONT
Let's break up.
It's what I wanted, right? Fiona could have Nate and I could have freedom. So, why did I feel so disappointed?
In my other life, Nathan abandoned me over and over again. Why did I expect him to be different just because he'd given me a little attention and said some nice words?
"This is my problem," I told Henry as we cuddled on my bed. "I settle for crumbs when I deserve the whole cake."
Henry put his paw on my cheek and meowed. I took that as his agreement that yes, I was a whole-cake kind of girl.
The next morning, I woke up and then wished I hadn't. Henry had abandoned me, so it was just me and my morose thoughts.
My phone beeped, and I checked the screen.
Ollie: May I call you?
I sent a thumbs-up. The phone immediately rang.
"Hi, Ollie."
"There's a birthday party for my twin nieces. They're turning seven today. You want to come out and play?"
"It depends on the dress code."
"Shirt, shorts, and comfortable shoes. Also don't wear anything too nice. It's all outdoor activities, including a water-gun fight."
"It sounds fun. What time?"
"I'll pick you up in an hour."
***|***|***|***|***
VANESSA BELMONT
On the way to the King estate, my phone rang. Oh, look, Nathan. Well, sorta. Last night, I renamed him Asshat.
"You have the papers?" I asked.
"What papers?"
"Cancellation of our engagement and contract marriage."
"Are you seriously going to end our marital arrangement? Do you want our parents to die from anger?"
"You were the one who said we should break up!" I ended the call. "Asshat!"
"You're breaking up?" asked Ollie. "Why? It's just a business marriage."
"Not for me," I muttered. "I don't wanna talk about it," I said louder.
Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the family home of the Kings, which included a mansion, a pool, a pool house, stables with purebred horses, basketball court, tennis court, and everything else you could think of that would entertain people who could afford anything in the whole world. And all this splendor sat on acreage filled with verdant trees and rolling green hills.
Behind the house, the birthday party was in full swing. Well, it was more like a carnival with the amount of activities and people here. Oliver led me to a beverage booth and grabbed a cup of lemonade for me. "Drink this. You'll need to stay hydrated if you want to survive this afternoon."
I grinned at him. "You should take one, too."
Ollie looked over my shoulder. "Is that Kevin Jang?"
I turned and followed his gaze. Kevin Jang held two foot-long churros in his hands. His mouth was sugar-and-cinnamon crusted.
"Can you die from a gluten allergy?" I asked.
"I guess Kevin wants to find out."
"I really hope it's not a dead-body kind of afternoon," I said.
"I'll drink to that."
We downed our lemonades and tossed the plastic cups in a nearby trash can. I heard the trill of Ollie's cell phone. He took it out of the front pocket of his cargo shorts. "Hello? Yes. What?" He pointed at the phone to indicate he needed to take the call and walked toward the manse.
I was on my own. I wandered around the party zone. Bouncy houses. Pony rides. Carnival games. Ice cream carts. Entertainers. In other words, a blowout bash for Ollie's nieces.
I came upon a booth serving alcohol and got myself a strawberry margarita. I took my new sweet tequila friend with me to watch people play the carnival games.
"You're Vanessa Belmont."
Next to me was a beautiful blonde dressed in a sleeveless blouse, black shorts, and black sandals. She sipped some sort of fruity concoction with an umbrella in it.
"You're Grace Witherstone, which is akin to being a Rockefeller. I heard even Samsung kowtows to you."
"Only on the holidays," she said. "You're the daughter of the Belmonts." She studied me, her green eyes filled with curiosity. "Aren't you the fiancée of Nathan Jang?"
"Unfortunately."
I drank more of my margarita and felt deja vu echo through me. Suddenly, I remembered this day from my first life. Nathan had brought me and Fiona to this party. At the time, I didn't know that Ollie had been here, or that it was an event for his relatives. Fiona shoved me into the pool and jumped in after. Of course, Nathan rescued her first. I knew how to swim, so I rescued myself.
Fiona accused me of pushing her, shedding big, fat tears of innocence while Nathan and other partygoers glared at me in disapproval. People had already started to think of me as the villain. Poor, poor Nathan marrying me, the jealous harpy, instead of sweet, pitiful Fiona. How tragic.
"I mean ... do you want to marry him?"
"No."
"That's probably a good thing."
"Grace." I turned to face her. "You can be straight with me. I really hate double-sided small talk, so get to the point."
"Oh, I like you." Grace offered a genuine smile. "Isn't that your fiancé over there with little orphan Annie?" She pointed across the yard to a section of picnic tables. Fiona, in a white lace dress with her hair in a bouncy ponytail, sat next to Nathan. He handed her an ice cream cone, and she bumped his chin with it, laughing as she accidentally (yeah, right) got some vanilla swirl on his dimple.
"Yes, that's Nathan and Fiona." I sucked down half my margarita. "White moonlight and white knight having yet another nothing-going-on-here moment."
"Fiona strikes again," said Grace.
"You know her?"
"Since high school. She like poisoned candy to men. She's been after Nathan for a long time. After her dad screwed over half the world with his money schemes, she and her mother fled to Europe. It's been seven years, but everyone in our circle has a long memory. The only way she might get forgiveness is to marry into the Jang family." She bumped my hip. "If she gets pregnant with the first Jang heir, she'll have protection for life."
"So she has a goal," I said. "And six months to execute it." I blew a raspberry.
"What? You don't want to marry one of the gods of Wall Street?"
"It's a corporate marriage," I said. "Happy on the outside. Miserable on the inside. You should see the contract. It's insane."
"I have some experience with being offered as part of a property deal," said Grace. She wiggled her eyebrows. "Are you and Oliver…."
"You know he's gay, right?"
"I did not."
"We're friends for life. He's nice to me. Him and my cat, Henry. That's my team."
"I'll join Team Vanessa," said Grace. She clinked her glass with mine. "Let's get more drinks. Then I'll challenge you to carnival games. How are you with darts?"
"Terrible," I said. "I might injure people."
"Perfect."