Chapter Four

  

  Friday evening came and Miriam couldn’t focus on anything. She sat in her room with her laptop open, pretending to work, but the numbers on the screen meant nothing. Ever since the board meeting, there had been this hollow feeling in her chest that wouldn’t go away.

  

  Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Emily’s name lit up the screen. Again. Miriam had ignored four calls already this week. She watched it ring, guilt twisting in her stomach, but she couldn’t pick up. What was she supposed to say? How could she explain any of this?

  

  The phone went silent. Then it immediately started ringing again.

  

  Emily wasn’t giving up.

  

  Miriam took a shaky breath and picked up. “Hello?”

  

  “Don’t you ‘hello’ me.” Emily’s voice came through sharp and furious. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve called you? How many messages have I left?”

  

  “Emi, I’m sorry…”

  

  “You’re sorry? Miriam, I’ve been going out of my mind! You disappear for weeks, don’t answer calls, don’t respond to texts, and all I get is ‘I’m sorry’?” Emily’s anger carried the faint British accent she had picked up during her time in London. “I thought something had happened to you. I was this close to calling your father to make sure you were still alive.”

  

  “I know. I know, and I’m really sorry. I’ve just been so busy with work, trying to get this promotion…”

  

  “Trying to get it?” Emily’s tone shifted from anger to concern. “What do you mean by trying? What happened?”

  

  “They gave it to Lucas,” Miriam said, her voice cracking. “After everything I did, all the work I put in, they just handed it to him as if he deserved it.”

  

  “That’s bullshit,” Emily said flatly. “Lucas couldn’t run a lemonade stand without screwing it up. And your dad just gave him a VP position?”

  

  “Margaret convinced him it was about succession planning. That Lucas needed the opportunity to grow into his role as the heir.” Miriam laughed bitterly. “Like I’m not his child too. Like I haven’t been proving myself while Lucas coasted on our father’s name his entire life.”

  

  “That woman has had your father wrapped around her finger since day one.”

  

  “I know. And the worst part is, Dad can’t even see it. Or maybe he can and he just doesn’t care.” Miriam felt tears building again, hot and angry. “She’s been treating me like garbage my whole life, Emi. Every accomplishment I’ve ever had, she’s found a way to diminish it. Every time I’ve needed my father to stand up for me, she’s manipulated him into taking her side. And now this.”

  

  “God, I hate her,” Emily said with feeling. “I’ve always hated her. The way she looks at you like you’re some kind of inconvenience in your own home.”

  

  “That’s exactly what I am to her. An inconvenience. A reminder that Dad had a wife before her, a wife he actually loved. And she’s spent twenty-three years making me pay for it.” Miriam wiped at her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder what my life would’ve been like if Mom had lived. If I had grown up with a mother who actually wanted me around.”

  

  Emily was quiet for a moment. “I’m so sorry, Miri. You deserve so much better than this.”

  

  “Do I though? Maybe Margaret’s right. Maybe I’m just not..”

  

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Emily interrupted fiercely. “Margaret is a miserable, manipulative witch who wouldn’t recognize talent if it bit her. You are brilliant and hardworking and you earned that promotion. The fact that they gave it to Lucas instead says everything about them and nothing about you.”

  

  Miriam felt some of the tightness in her chest ease. This was why she needed Emily. Her best friend had a way of cutting through the self-doubt that Margaret had spent years cultivating.

  

  “I’ve missed you,” Miriam said softly.

  

  “I’ve missed you too, which is why I have news.” Emily’s tone brightened. “I’m coming home.”

  

  “What? When?”

  

  “In a few days. Wednesday, actually. The London project wrapped up ahead of schedule, and I managed to convince them to transfer me back to the New York office.” Emily paused. “I was going to wait and surprise you, but honestly, after this conversation, I think you need something to look forward to.”

  

  “Oh my God, Emi, really?” For the first time in days, Miriam felt something like hope. “You’re serious?”

  

  “Dead serious. So clear your schedule for Wednesday evening because we’re getting drinks and catching up properly. And then we’re going to figure out how to handle this nightmare with your family.”

  

  “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

  

  “That’s what best friends are for. Now promise me you won’t ghost me again. I don’t care how busy you are, just send me a text. Even just an emoji. Let me know you’re alive and functioning.”

  

  “I promise.”

  

  After they hung up, Miriam felt lighter than she had in weeks. Emily was coming back. That meant she would have someone in her corner, someone who saw through Margaret’s manipulations and didn’t make excuses for Thomas’s weakness. Four more days and she will have her best friend back.

  

  She slept in late than usual. The exhaustion from the entire week had finally caught up with her. She threw on a pair of pants and a soft sweater and headed downstairs. Weekends were the only time she looked forward to anymore just her and Susan in the kitchen, cooking and talking, pretending everything was normal.

  

  But when she got to the bottom of the staircase, she heard voices in the living room. Men talking. Lucas and someone else. Miriam frowned and walked toward the sound.

  

  Damien Rhodes sat on the leather sofa like he belonged there, dressed casually in dark jeans and an expensive-looking sweater. Lucas perched on the edge of the armchair across from him, looking uncomfortable in a way that immediately put Miriam on edge.

  

  “What’s going on?” Miriam asked from the doorway.

  

  Both men turned. Lucas jumped slightly, guilt flashing across his face. Damien’s expression transformed into that smooth, charming smile that never quite reached her eyes.

  

  “Miriam,” Damien said, standing. “Good morning. You look lovely.”

  

  She was wearing old pants and her Columbia sweatshirt. “What are you doing here?”

  

  “Just visiting Lucas. Catching up.” Damien’s eyes traveled over her in a way that made her skin crawl. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

  

  “On a Saturday morning?” Miriam looked at Lucas. “Since when do your friends just show up on weekends?”

  

  “Damien was in the neighborhood,” Lucas said quickly. Too quickly. “Thought he would stop by.”

  

  Miriam didn’t believe that for a second. Something was going on. She could feel it, Lucas couldn't even look her in the eyes, and the calculating look Damien was giving her, and the tension that filled the room.

  

  “Right,” she said slowly. “Well, don’t let me interrupt.”

  

  She turned to leave, but Damien’s voice stopped her. “Actually, I was hoping we might grab coffee sometime. Get to know each other better.”

  

  Miriam looked back at him. “I’m busy.”

  

  “I’m sure we could find a time that works. Lunch? Dinner?”

  

  “Still busy.” She didn’t bother hiding her irritation. “Excuse me.”

  

  This time she didn’t wait for a response. She walked quickly toward the kitchen, her heart pounding. There was something about Damien Rhodes that set off every alarm bell in her head. The way he looked at her, like she was something he wanted to acquire. The way he kept showing up, persistent in a way that felt less like interest and more like hunting.

  

  Susan was already in the kitchen, flour dusting her hands as she worked on bread dough. She took one look at Miriam’s face and frowned.

  

  “What’s the matter?” Susan asked, noticing Miriam’s expression as she walked in.

  

  “Good morning, Susan.” Miriam moved to the sink, washing her hands just to have something to do. “That guy, Damien Rhodes, He keeps showing up. He was at the office this week bothering Lucas, and now he’s in our living room.”

  

  Susan shrugged. “Could be some business thing they’re working on. You know how these corporate men are, always making deals.”

  

  “Yeah, maybe.” Miriam pulled out vegetables from the refrigerator. “But he makes me uncomfortable. There’s just something about him I don’t like.”

  

  “Could be nothing sweetheart” Susan said.

  

  They fell into their comfortable weekend rhythm, chopping vegetables and preparing ingredients for lunch. This was Miriam’s safe space, the only place in the house where she felt truly at ease. Susan never judged her, never dismissed her feelings, never made her feel like she was too much or not enough.

  

  “How are you holding up?” Susan asked after a while. “After everything with the promotion?”

  

  “I’m managing,” Miriam said, though they both knew it was a lie. “Emi’s coming back Wednesday. That’ll help.”

  

  “Emily’s a good friend. You need people like that in your corner.” Susan paused in her kneading. “Your father made a mistake, giving that position to Lucas. He knows it too, even if he won’t admit it.”

  

  “Does he though? Because it seems like Margaret can convince him into anything.” Miriam’s knife moved faster through the carrots. “I’m his daughter. I’ve worked my entire life to prove I’m worthy of being a Wellington, of having a place in that company. And it still wasn’t enough. It’s never going to be enough, is it?”

  

  “Not for them,” Susan said gently. “But that’s their failing, not yours.”

  

  Miriam wanted to believe that. She really did.

  

  Later that afternoon, Thomas called Lucas into his study. Miriam saw her brother heading down the hallway, his shoulders tense, his expression conflicted. She wondered what that was about but didn’t have the energy to care. Lucas had made his choice when he had accepted that promotion. Whatever guilt he felt now didn’t change anything.

  

  What she didn’t know was that behind that closed door, Thomas was telling Lucas he would consider it. The deal with Damien Rhodes was significant. He needed time to think it through properly. Lucas should let his friend know they will get back to him.

  

  Lucas stood there, torn between relief that the business deal his family desperately wanted would finally happen and horror at what it meant for his sister. In the end, he nodded and left, his stomach churning with guilt and dread.