Chapter 5

“If she’s Sage, then I’m the king of the world,” Grace said, rolling her eyes so hard it was almost comical.

Sasha didn’t bother explaining. She simply nodded politely to the others. “I’m done eating. I’m going upstairs to rest.”

Grace stared at her retreating figure and didn’t even bother lowering her voice. “Good. The sooner she’s out of sight, the better. She looks so pathetic it kills my appetite.”

Gabriel pushed back his chair. “I’ll go talk to her.”

“Sit down.” Marianne stopped him at once. “You need to spend less time alone with her.”

The words landed like someone had ripped away the last layer of pretense.

The whole room went quiet.

After a long pause, Grace finally spoke. “Then send her out. Why bring her back at all?”

Marianne actually seemed to consider it. She turned to Gabriel. “Maybe you should buy her a condo and let her live on her own.”

“No.” Jason’s voice came down hard, carrying the force of habit and authority. “Her father died saving Gabriel. The Quinn family does not repay that kind of sacrifice with ingratitude. But she’s grown now. It’s time we found her a suitable match.”

“Dad, are you saying we should marry her into another family?” Grace brightened instantly. With a face like Sasha’s, that really was the best use of her.

She had already started running through candidates in her head.

Jason looked at Gabriel. “What do you think?”

Gabriel had always intended to find Sasha a good marriage one day. But hearing his family talk about trading her future like it was a business arrangement left a bad taste in his mouth.

Then again...

If the man was exceptional enough, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

…

Sasha had no idea her marriage was already being plotted out downstairs.

She stood by the window, staring at the swing in the garden.

She used to love that swing.

Gabriel would stand behind her and push, while Marianne sat at the stone table nearby, sipping tea and watching them, occasionally reminding them not to go too fast.

When Sasha got tired, she would hop off, and Marianne would wipe the sweat from her face while Gabriel set out fresh fruit and cake for her...

Those memories had once been warm and golden.

Now, cast under the shadow of seven years of exile, they felt so unreal they made her want to cry.

Knock. Knock.

Someone tapped on the door.

Sasha pulled herself together quickly and went to open it.

Chloe stood there with a look of complete sincerity. “Sasha, all your old things got moved into storage. I can take you to look through them.”

When Sasha had left back then, she’d been in too much of a rush to take much with her.

She didn’t want anything the Quinn family had given her.

But the things her parents left behind... those she had to take.

Still, was Chloe really being this kind?

Of course not.

The moment the storage room door opened, Chloe stepped inside first.

“Most of this has been sitting here for years. It’s all covered in dust. Grandma told me to clear it out, so anything worth money, I sold online. As for your clothes…” She smiled sweetly. “A bunch of guys were practically fighting over them. No idea what they wanted them for.”

The implication was disgusting.

Deliberate.

The old insecure Sasha would’ve snapped on the spot.

But now?

She only stood there, watching Chloe perform.

When Chloe saw how calm she was, her brows drew together.

Then anger flared in her eyes.

She grabbed a glass trophy off the shelf and slammed it hard onto the floor.

Sasha’s pupils shrank.

That was exactly what she had come looking for.

The trophy from a kindergarten parent-child event her family had won together.

There was a photo of the three of them printed on it.

As her so-called best friend for years, Chloe really did know exactly how to make her lose control.

Sasha walked over and picked it up.

The glass wasn’t strong. A single hard hit had split it with a long crack straight down the middle.

Right through the family photo.

Separating her from her parents.

Chloe looked up at her with an innocent expression. “Oops. Sorry. My hand slipped. But maybe it’s for the best. Your parents are dead anyway. Keeping photos of dead people around all the time is kind of creepy, don’t you think?”

Sasha slowly raised her eyes.

They were bloodshot now, locked on Chloe.

“What are you looking at?” Chloe shot back. “If you’ve got the nerve, hit me.”

Then she gave a strange little smile, dropped to the floor, and suddenly screamed, “Ah! That hurts!”

Hearing footsteps rushing closer from down the hall, Sasha understood instantly what Chloe was trying to do.

“You set me up?”

Chloe’s smile turned smug. “You had it coming. Who told you to come back... ah!”

Before she could finish, Sasha grabbed her by the hair and smashed her head against the floor.

Once.

A payment toward the debt she owed Sasha’s parents.

Chloe had never expected her to go this far. She froze in shock.

Only when she heard the footsteps at the door did she snap back to herself.

She opened her mouth, ready to burst into tears.

But Sasha suddenly pointed to the shelving unit beside them.

There, hidden in plain sight, was a security camera.

Its red light was on.

Chloe’s face went white.

Her hands clenched into fists.

By then, Gabriel had already stepped into the room.

The first thing he saw was Sasha standing there, looking down from above.

And Chloe on the floor, hair disheveled, a mess.

Gabriel strode over and shoved Sasha aside.

“Sasha Lane, you’ve really disappointed me.”

He had thought she’d accepted the room change without a fuss.

He hadn’t expected her to come after Chloe behind his back.

Sasha’s lower back slammed against the edge of the table.

Pain shot through her, and her face instantly went pale.

Gabriel’s tall frame stiffened.

Chloe was secretly thrilled, but her face stayed obedient and innocent.

“Uncle Gabriel, you’ve got it wrong. I fell on my own. This wasn’t Sasha’s fault.”

Gabriel’s gaze landed on Sasha, cold and sharp. He let out a mocking breath.

“Chloe, you don’t need to explain. I know exactly what kind of person Sasha Lane is.”

It wasn’t that Gabriel felt nothing for Sasha.

But the prejudice formed seven years ago ran too deep.

He hadn’t taken the diary seriously.

What he hadn’t expected was for her to drug him and climb into his bed...

If Chloe hadn’t told Grace, and if they hadn’t gotten the two of them out while they were both unconscious from the overdose, he would’ve been caught in bed with her by his political enemies.

If that had happened, not just him, but the entire Quinn family, would’ve been ruined.

Sasha rubbed her aching back, her lowered eyes full of ridicule.

“Chloe,” she said, glancing sideways at the security camera, “what kind of person am I?”

Chloe’s eyes flickered. Gritting her teeth, she admitted, “Uncle Gabriel, really, don’t blame Sasha. I fell by myself.”

As she spoke, she pointed at the trophy in Sasha’s hands.

“And I accidentally broke Sasha’s precious keepsake too.”

Only then did Gabriel notice the long crack running through the photo on the trophy.

Something tightened sharply in his chest.

He didn’t dare look straight at Sasha’s father’s eyes in the picture.

His tone softened. “That was my fault just now. I’m sorry. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it up to you.”

Sasha wiped the dust off the trophy with her sleeve, a faint curve lifting her lips.

“Anything?”

Gabriel was full of guilt. “Of course.”