Chapter 5 - THE CRUMBLING MASK
Paisley tried to recover her composure,
stepping forward and trying to look unimpressed.
“So, you’re a Harrell,”
she sneered,
though her voice was trembling.
“Does that mean you think you can just show up and ruin Spencer’s night?”
“You’re still the same woman who was wearing a worn-out dress three hours ago.”
I looked at her,
feeling a strange sense of pity.
“The dress was worn, Paisley,
because I was busy building a life while you were busy trying to steal one.”
“And as for ruining the night,”
“I’m not the one who brought a mistress to a corporate gala.”
The crowd gasped.
Spencer grabbed my arm,
his grip tight and desperate.
“Phoebe, stop this. You’re making a scene.”
My father’s hand shot out,
gripping Spencer’s wrist with a strength that made him flinch.
“Remove your hand from my daughter,”
Raymond growled.
“Or I will have security remove you from this building.”
Spencer let go as if he had been burned.
“Your daughter?”
“Phoebe is your daughter?”
“Why didn't you tell me, Phoebe?”
“Because I wanted you to love me for who I was, Spencer,”
I said,
feeling the last of the pain leave my heart.
“But you didn't even know who I was.”
“You only saw what I could do for you.”
“And when you thought I had nothing left to give,
you replaced me.”
The guests were now openly recording the interaction on their phones.
Marcus Thorne looked at Spencer with a newfound disgust.
“Spencer, I think it’s best if you and your guest leave.”
“This is a Harrell-sponsored event, after all.”
Spencer looked around the room,
realizing that his reputation was disintegrating in real-time.
The investors he had been courting were turning their backs.
The politicians were suddenly interested in the buffet.
He was a pariah in the world he had fought so hard to join.
Paisley looked at the Harrell Heart around my neck,
her eyes filled with a greedy,
hopeless longing.
“That necklace... it’s real?”
“Everything about me is real, Paisley,”
I said.
“Which is why I don't belong with a man like Spencer.”
“He prefers things that are cheap and easy to replace.”
Spencer tried one last time to salvage the situation.
“Phoebe, please. I love you. This was all a mistake.”
I looked at him,
and for the first time,
I saw him for what he really was.
He wasn't a titan.
He wasn't a genius.
He was just a small man in a gray suit,
terrified of being ordinary.
“It wasn't a mistake, Spencer.”
“It was a choice.”
“And tonight, I’m making mine.”
I turned to my father.
“I’d like a glass of champagne, Dad.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
May you like
We walked away,
leaving Spencer and Paisley standing in the wreckage of their ambition.
