Chapter 222
“Of course she organized this,” Bella said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her own tag. “She probably gave herself a superlative award too. ‘Most Likely to Marry for Money.’”
They entered the ballroom. The DJ was playing a remix of a song that had been popular ten years ago. The room smelled of expensive perfume and cheap desperation.
A group of men stood by the open bar. Chad — the former quarterback who had once put gum in Jocelyn’s hair — was loudly recounting a football story, gesturing with a beer bottle. He was wearing a varsity jacket over his dress shirt.
“And then I threw the Hail Mary,” Chad bellowed.
He spotted Jocelyn. He stopped mid-sentence and nudged his friend Frank, who looked over and stared — at the green dress, at the way it moved, at the diamonds in her ears.
Chad sauntered over, a smirk already in place.
“Wolfe. Didn’t think you’d show.”
“Chad,” Jocelyn said coolly. She didn’t smile. “Still wearing the varsity jacket? It’s been ten years. Did the moths spare it?”
Chad flushed a deep, ugly red. “It’s vintage. So, what are you doing now? Still fetching coffee for Kieran?”
𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺
The group behind him laughed. It was a cruel, airless sound — a relic from another era. They didn’t know. They didn’t know she had left. They didn’t know she was free.
“I haven’t worked for Kieran in months,” Jocelyn said. Her voice was steady, clearer than she felt.
“Oh? Fired? That’s tough,” Chad sneered, taking a swig of his beer. “Market is rough for assistants.”
“Resigned,” she corrected, louder this time.
“Sure, honey,” Chad said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Jocelyn gripped her clutch until her knuckles turned white. Don’t engage, she told herself. Wait for the moment.
But the anger was a hot coal in her stomach. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell them she owned a hotel. She wanted to tell them she was married to a Collins.
But her left hand felt bare. She had left the massive diamond at home on Gaston’s advice about greedy classmates — and now she regretted it. Without proof, she knew exactly what they would say.
Liar.
A crowd began to gather. They could smell the conflict like blood in the water. Fiona — the girl who used to run the gossip blog — sidled up beside Chad, martini in hand, her eyes fixed on Jocelyn with predatory calculation.
“So, if you aren’t with Kieran, who pays your rent?” Fiona asked sweetly. “Manhattan is so expensive for… unemployed singles.”
“I pay my own rent, Fiona,” Jocelyn said.
“Doing what? Waitressing?” Chad laughed. “Or maybe you started an OnlyFans?”
“I work in hospitality,” Jocelyn said. She hated how defensive she sounded.
“Hospitality! Like a maid?” Chad howled, slapping his knee. “Wolfe is changing sheets!”
Bella stepped forward with the energy of someone who had been waiting for this moment all evening.
“She owns a hotel, you moron,” Bella snapped.
The laughter cut off. It was like someone had pulled a plug.
Chad blinked. “Owns? Yeah, right. Maybe a Motel 6 in Jersey.”
.