Zeke furrowed his brow. “Why would Edmond Hardy give you anything? Trish, I think you might be running a fever.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that? I forgot to mention: Edmond’s my fiancé.”
The moment the words left my mouth, both of them burst into laughter.
“Trish, come on. Get a grip. Edmond Hardy? The heir to Maltimum Enterprises? You think he’d buy you a gift?”
“Trish, cut it out with the childish acts. Lying isn’t cute. This moonstone hair clip–it’s probably a knockoff.”
I felt a rush of disgust as they kept belittling me and elevating Vivian.
Just then, Vivian’s eyes landed on a collection of luxurious jewelry on my vanity. These high–end pieces were far beyond anything she’d ever seen.
She approached carefully. “Trish, you have so many beautiful pieces here. Would it be alright if I tried them on?”
Before I could say anything, Zeke spoke, “Why bother trying them on? Trish is kind–hearted. Just take what you like, Vivian. It’s all yours!”
“Over my dead body!” I snapped, trying to step forward and stop Vivian from rifling through my things. But Zeke and Hendrick pulled me back to the sofa outside my bedroom.
Zeke pushed me down onto the sofa. “Trish, just be the bigger person. Vivian’s always thought of you as her sister.
Hendrick nodded in agreement, then asked, “So, you’re getting married? We didn’t hear anything about it.”
Of course, they hadn’t. I hadn’t shared the news. The engagement was supposed to be a private affair, and I had invited only the most prestigious guests. The Bensons and the Peays weren’t even on the guest list.
But at that moment, I didn’t feel like engaging with them any further.
Seeing the tension, Hendrick pulled out a box of cookies. “Trish, stop being upset. Try some of these cookies Vivian baked for you.”
I turned my head away. “I’m not eating them.”
Zeke handed me a cookie. “Come on. Just eat it, and we’ll be good. Stop throwing a tantrum, and cut it out with the nonsense about your wedding.”
I immediately smelled the faintest hint of mango in the cookie and quickly tossed it aside. “This is mango- flavored. Are you trying to kill me?”
Zeke’s expression darkened. “Trish, what are you doing? Vivian made these cookies herself. We’ve checked, and there’s no mango in it. Stop being paranoid!”
The mango flavor was very subtle. If I wasn’t extremely allergic to mango, I never would’ve noticed. But Zeke and Hendrick didn’t believe me. Instead, they both tried to force the cookie into my mouth.
“We can’t let Vivian’s efforts go to waste! Eat it, Trish!”
