"You must be so pleased with yourself. After you vanished, Jasper tore this city apart looking for you like a man possessed. He even risked offending my parents just to postpone the wedding!" Her voice cracked, sharp and jagged. "You ruined my entire life!"
Hilda stared at the woman in front of her, baffled by the sheer absurdity of it all.
"Vivienne," she said, "six months ago I was lying in the ICU waiting to die. I wasn't nearly as busy as you seem to think."
Vivienne froze.
Hilda held her gaze, reading the hostility burning there, and almost laughed at how ridiculous it was.
"You know what I kept thinking back then? If I died, who would even care?"
"Not Jasper. He was too busy playing house with you. My grandmother was already gone. My friends had no idea where I was. It seemed like there wasn't a single person on this earth who'd shed one tear for me."
"But now?"
"Now I have a father. He has money. He has connections. And if he wanted to, he could make life very, very difficult for the Fairmonts and the Blakes. Maybe not bring them to their knees, but enough to cause a world of trouble."
The color drained from Vivienne's face.