Chapter 226
Then the sharp click of high heels cut across the pavement. A car door slammed.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the reject squad,” a voice sliced through the air like a serrated knife.
Aspen Schneider stood at the edge of the courtyard, Fiona and Chad flanking her. She was wearing white — a white lace cocktail dress that looked suspiciously bridal.
“What are you doing? Crying over old graffiti?” Aspen sneered.
“Just admiring the architecture,” Jocelyn said, turning around without flinching.
Aspen raised her left hand. A massive diamond ring glittered in the moonlight — big, gaudy, and looking almost heavy enough to be a burden.
“Kieran proposed. Officially. We’re getting married next month,” Aspen announced. She waited for the devastation. She waited for Jocelyn to crumble.
“Congrats,” Jocelyn said dryly. “He’s your problem now. No returns or exchanges.”
Aspen’s smile faltered. “You’re just jealous. You’ll die alone, Jocelyn. Everyone knows it.”
𝗬о𝗎𝗋 ոe𝘹𝗍 𝖿𝗮𝘷ori𝘁𝘦 𝘳e𝘢𝖽 іѕ 𝘰𝗇 ga𝘭𝘯o𝘃e𝘭𝗌.𝗰оm
“Actually,” Jocelyn said, stepping forward. The green dress caught the moonlight, making her look like something dangerous and luminous.
“I can’t be jealous,” she said, her voice clear and steady in the small courtyard. “Because I’m already married.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Fiona dropped her plastic cup. It hit the ground with a wet thwack.
“Married? You?” Chad forced a laugh. It sounded brittle, like breaking glass. “To who? The waiter? Did you meet him while you were busing tables?”
“To a man who knows how to treat a woman,” Jocelyn said, crossing her arms.
“Show us the ring, then,” Chad demanded, stepping forward. “If you’re married to some big shot, where’s the rock?”
Jocelyn hesitated for a fraction of a second — a flicker of regret that she had listened to Gaston’s advice. Then she smiled slowly.
“I don’t need a ring to prove my status,” she said, her voice cool with condescension. “But since you asked so nicely…”
She reached into her gold clutch. When her hand emerged, the Collins engagement ring was on her finger. It wasn’t just a stone — it was a meteor. A flawless, cushion-cut diamond that seemed to absorb the moonlight and refract it into a thousand blinding stars. She had slipped it on in the car on the way over.
Aspen’s jaw went slack. The diamond on her own hand, which had seemed so impressive just moments before, now looked like a cloudy piece of glass.
“Ha! It’s a fake!” Chad crowed, his voice shrill with desperation. He turned to Fiona. “Write this down: ‘Jocelyn Wolfe buys a cubic zirconia to cope with rejection.’”
“I bet she rented it online,” Fiona giggled, though her eyes were fixed on the impossible fire of the stone.
Bella stepped between Jocelyn and the group. “She is married. And her husband is richer than Kieran will ever be. He could buy Kieran’s entire company with pocket change.”
“Richer than a Douglas? Please,” Fiona rolled her eyes. “Who is he? Name him.”
“Yeah, name him,” Chad echoed.
.