When I opened the door to grab the mail, Ashton was already standing there with a coffee tray and a paper bag.
I blinked. ‘Uh, morning.’
It ca out awkward.
Couldn’t help it.
Last night I’d sohow agreed to marry the man, and my brain was still buffering.
‘Morning,’ he said smoothly. ‘I brought breakfast.’
Of course he had.
‘Thanks. Co in. You look... nice.’
Understatent of the damn year.
He was wearing a three-piece charcoal grey suit.
Not the stiff Wall Street kind, but sothing sharp and clearly custom.
The lapels were narrow, the trousers tailored within an inch of their life, and the stitching at the cuffs were subtle hand-embroidered initials—AL.
Jesus. Even his tie looked smug.
People complinted well-dressed n by saying they looked like a million bucks.
For Ashton, I’d have to add three more zeros, and that still felt like lowballing it.
We ate in the living room, though neither of us touched much.
My croissant sat there flaking quietly while my brain looped through the phrase ‘I’m getting married today’ like a bad ringtone.
After about fifteen minutes of poking at the pastries, I glanced at the clock.
Still early.
The City Clerk’s Office wouldn’t be open for another hour and half.
‘Would you mind making a detour first?’ I asked, not quite eting his eyes.
‘Not at all,’ he said, instantly. ‘As long as we’re not late.’
He drove.
In silence, mostly, because there were only so many ways to fill the air between ‘want to get married?’ and ‘sure.’
He pulled up outside the Vance residence.
I unbuckled. ‘Thanks. I won’t be long.’
‘Do you want to co with you?’
I hesitated. Then shook my head. ‘No. I can handle it.’
I grabbed the door handle, then paused.
Fine. He deserved context.
‘I’ve been thinking about what you said. About Aunt Louisa. You were right—I shouldn’t let guilt steer my decisions just because she’s been... decent to .’ I sighed. ‘Marriage should be about and the person I’m actually marrying. Not how charming his mum might be.’
He didn’t say anything.
Just gave a slight nod.
‘I gave Rhys the ring back ages ago. But there’s sothing else I forgot to return to the Grangers.’
There’d been an exchange of gifts when our families arranged the engagent.
My dad gave the Grangers an heirloom gold ring.
Louisa had it now.
The Grangers’ gift had been a vintage brooch.
According to the family lore, it once belonged to Louisa’s great-great-great-grandmother, who probably wore it while judging people in oil paintings.
My parents had kept it locked away in a safe sowhere.
When I stepped inside the house, only Caroline was there.
She was on the sofa, sipping coffee.
‘Well, well. Look who finally showed her face,’ she sneered, without looking away from her mug. ‘You sounded real tough on the phone the other day. And now you’ve co crawling back? After slapping Catherine and Serenna in front of half the city? Unless you’re here to apologise, save your breath.’
‘I’ve got nothing to apologise for. If anything, Catherine should be apologising for sleeping with my fiancé, and Serenna for trying to steal hers.’
Her coffee cup hit the table so hard I thought the glass would crack.
‘Unbelievable! I raised you. I fed you, clothed you, paid for your bloody orthodontist. And now you think you can just cut us off?’
Here we go. Again.
‘Don’t start with the Greatest Hits,’ I cut her off fast. ‘I didn’t co here for a lecture. I ca for the brooch the Grangers gave us.’
She frowned like I’d asked for her kidneys.
Took her a full five seconds to even rember what I was talking about.
Then her eyes narrowed.
‘Why do you want that brooch?’
‘I don’t see how that’s your business. It was given to . It belongs to .’ My patience was already on a three-second fuse.
‘Absolutely not,’ she snapped, all tight-jawed fury. ‘You’re planning to return it, aren’t you? To the Grangers?’
‘So what if I am? Louisa gave it to . I can do with it whatever I like.’
I checked my watch.
I’d stupidly thought this would be quick.
In, out, done. Five minutes, max.
But no, Caroline was digging her heels in.
‘I’m your mother. I have every right to hold on to it for safekeeping.’
‘Exactly, safekeeping. As in, you’re just the storage unit. And newsflash, when sothing’s mine, I can take it back whenever the hell I want. Like... now.’
‘Absolutely not. It’s way too valuable to just hand over.’
I narrowed my eyes. ‘You giving it to or not?’
She sniffed, mouth curling into that nasty little smirk she probably practised in the mirror. ‘Even if I did give it away, it wouldn’t be to you. If Rhys gets engaged to Catherine, she should have it.’
‘Then wait till they’re engaged. Until then, it’s still mine.’
If I didn’t hand that brooch back to Louisa myself, she’d keep thinking there was still sothing between and Rhys. Which... ew.
‘Still no.’ Caroline’s eyes darted.
She knew damn well if Louisa had the final say, she’d never let that heirloom piece land on Catherine’s backstabbing chest.
I raised a brow. ‘Oh, I see. You’re scared Louisa and the Grangers won’t accept Catherine, right? Scared that even if Rhys does propose, Louisa’s gonna pretend she doesn’t see her? So you’re just gonna hoard the brooch like so paranoid dragon and hope no one notices? That’s delusional, even for you.’
That hit a nerve.
Her nostrils flared so wide I thought she might actually combust.
‘How I handle things is my business,’ she hissed. ‘And mind your bloody tone. I’m your mother, not soone you get to lecture.’
‘Cool. Then you’ll love this.’
I whipped out my phone and started dialling.
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