Chapter 15 You Are Just a Substitute
Sloane's POV
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a pale golden glow on her crystal necklace.
"That's a beautiful necklace." I stirred the coffee in front of me, breaking the silence first.
Keira lowered her head to touch the delicate petals, a sweet yet shy smile playing on her lips. "Jared gave it to me. He said this necklace represents 'pure love' and suits me perfectly."
As she spoke, she looked up at me, her seemingly innocent eyes carrying undisguised showing off and provocation.
"Sloane, I know you might feel uncomfortable." Keira set down her coffee cup, her tone sounding incredibly sincere. "Actually, Jared and I grew up together. We've always been meant for each other. If I hadn't gotten sick three years ago and had to go abroad for treatment, I would be the one sitting in Mrs. Montclair's position right now."
She paused, as if recalling some beautiful past, her voice tinged with grievance and resentment. "I left in such a hurry back then. He was heartbroken, and Grandma was pushing so hard, so... that's why he let you temporarily take my place."
I listened quietly to her twisted version of events, sneering inwardly.
So without my knowledge, my three-year marriage had been nothing but a joke of "temporary replacement."
This bitch was making her escape from the wedding because Jared went bankrupt sound so noble.
"Now I'm back, and I'm better." Keira's gaze finally settled on my face, her meaning crystal clear. "Sloane, I know you're a smart person. You should know when to read the room. Jared's heart isn't with you, so why insist on holding onto that position? It would be better for all three of us if you left sooner."
"Oh?" I looked up, smiling but not quite smiling. "So we're done pretending?"
The gentle expression on Keira's face froze. Then, as if I'd exposed her disguise, she simply stopped hiding it.
"Pretending?" She laughed mockingly, as if she'd heard the biggest joke. "Sloane, you don't actually think I wanted to be sisters with someone like you, do you? Every time I get close to you and smell that country dirt on you, I feel sick. If it weren't for Jared, I wouldn't even bother looking at you."
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, examining me from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze, her tone dripping with contempt. "You're just a substitute the Winslow family found, a mistress, and you actually think you're the lady of the house?"
My fingers tightened slightly around the coffee cup, my knuckles turning white.
Anger surged in my chest, and I almost couldn't control the urge to splash the coffee in my hand onto her nasty face.
But I knew she wanted to provoke me, wanted to see me lose control.
Idiot. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
I took a deep breath, suppressed my anger, and smiled instead. "Keira, you seem to have gotten something wrong. Jared and I are legally married, protected by law. And you," my gaze lingered on her for a moment, "a woman who keeps pestering a married man—who's really the mistress here?"
"You!" Keira was completely enraged by my words, her face flushing red.
She pulled a check from her bag and shoved it in front of me, her voice shrill. "Here's fifty million. Take this money, sign the divorce papers, and get the hell out of our world! And never show your face again!"
I glanced down at the numbers on the check and laughed softly. "Fifty million? Miss Keira, is that all your love is worth?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Jared just gave me an unlimited black card last night and told me to spend however I want." I leisurely took a sip of coffee, enjoying her instantly ugly expression, deliberately softening my voice. "And you know, when he's drunk, he keeps saying my name. When he holds me, it's like he wants to melt me into his bones. He says I smell good, that it makes him feel safe..."
"Shut up!" Keira finally lost control. She jumped to her feet, her voice cracking from agitation. "Impossible! Jared loves me, he wouldn't even touch you!"
"Really?" I looked up at her, smiling even more innocently. "But we've been married for three years, and everything we should and shouldn't have done, we've done more than once. Especially in bed, he..."
"Sloane! You bitch!"
Before I could finish, Keira hysterically cut me off.
She was shaking with rage, grabbed the glass of ice water from the table, and without thinking, splashed it at my face.
Cold water droplets fell from my hair, sliding awkwardly down my cheeks.
Scattered glances from around the coffee shop turned toward us. I looked at Keira's face, twisted with anger and triumph, and was about to stand up when a sharp female voice rang out faster than I could move.
"How dare you touch her!"
A striking figure rushed over like a whirlwind, and before anyone could react, grabbed Keira's carefully styled long hair and yanked it backward hard.
Keira let out a piercing scream, her whole body forced backward, and the necklace around her neck snapped with a "crack" and fell to the ground.