Emily’s expression was hard to read—somewhere between pleased and disappointed. “The university probably did it for your sake. They’re worried we might cause a scene, so they gave my sister a place in the graduate program. But the thesis? That’s gone for good.”
The whole point of that thesis was to help her get into grad school. Now that she had a guaranteed spot, the paper didn’t matter anymore. On the surface, everyone won. Still, the outcome left a bitter taste that wouldn’t go away.
Amelia knew it—she’d lost.
Lost to Violet.
That night, Grace called her.
“There’s a charity gala tomorrow. Your dress is ready; make sure you show up on time.”
“Charity gala?” Amelia hadn’t heard a word about it. Then it dawned on her—maybe Daniel had tried to tell her, but she’d been ignoring his calls for days.
“What’s going on with you two? Can’t even get a simple message across. Don’t tell me you’re living separately?”
To be honest, Grace had hit pretty close to the mark.
Amelia, still stewing over the thesis fiasco, couldn’t help herself—she blurted out a half-truth, half-lie: “Daniel’s been seeing a doctor about... men’s health issues. The doctor prescribed some medication and said we needed to abstain for a while. I figured it’d be easier if I just stayed at the campus dorms.”
There was a long pause—ten seconds, maybe more—before Grace quietly hung up.
Amelia felt a little better after that, but not by much.
The next day, the Campbell family’s driver brought over the dress.
Once she’d changed, she threw on a coat and drove herself to the hotel.
Grace was waiting at the entrance to the banquet hall. From a distance, her eyes lit up with satisfaction.
Amelia didn’t have much of a family name, but her looks and grace could hold their own against any debutante. Paired with the champagne-colored gown Grace had chosen, she could easily outshine everyone in the room.
When Amelia reached her, she greeted her with a soft, “Mom.”
Grace, still gracious despite their last spat, smiled. “Mrs. Johnson keeps asking about you. She’s hosting tonight’s gala—make sure you spend some time talking with her.”
“That’s right. We let them have their fun in the small things, but children are serious business. There’s only a short window for women—wait too long, and it’ll be too late.”
The chatter droned on, a chorus of nagging voices. Amelia tuned them out, pretending to be engrossed in the mini cakes at the dessert table. She shut out the noise, refusing to let it get to her.
Grace wasn’t so lucky. With each comment, her shoulders sagged a little more, shrinking under the weight of their expectations. By the end, she looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.
Whenever Grace caught Amelia’s eye, her glare said it all: This is your fault. If you’d just given the family a child, I wouldn’t have to put up with this.
“Mrs. Campbell, why so quiet? Don’t act like you don’t care—we all know how much this matters to you.”
Amelia had had enough. “If you love talking about my family so much, maybe next time you’d like to take the stage at my house and put on a little show?”
The interruption came from a man’s voice—lazy, almost teasing, yet with a bite to it.
Amelia turned. Daniel was striding toward them, his gaze lingering on her, unreadable as ever.
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