A Little Too Knowing

The girls giggled, sipping her macha and talking about all the random things that happened during the day.

The Star lounge café was bathed in afternoon sunlight, each crystal chandelier scattering light across polished tables. The café was one of those places that screamed exclusivity; only members of Zean’s upper class came here.

“I can't believe Carson thinks your family and his are in the same social class.” Yolanda mocked.

Camilia, eager to please Yolanda, gives a nervous laugh. “It's unbelievable I tell you!” She chimed in.

“You can't have yourself play in the mud with someone like him. He is way out of your league and dating someone like him would be nothing short of embarrassing to say the least.”

Camilla laughed again, nervously, "I know right?” She said, flipping her phone screen face down on the center table.

The last thing she wanted was for Yolanda to see who and what her screensaver was. Her eyes flickered over to Yumi who glanced from her to Yolanda in silence before returning her attention back to her nails.

“Oh my gosh!”

Across the table, Seraphine, sleek, dark-hair in designer shoes, shrieked as she stared at her phone screen in horror.

“There's no way!” She adds.

Camilla and Yolanda turned towards Seraphina, confused. “Whats going on?”

Seraphine glances up, too stunned for wives. “Runes was engaged to Thea right? And then ended things because she cheated?”

Yolanda leans back, folding her arms on hearing Thea's name. “Are you trying to ruin my mood? Why did you mention that slut's name?”

“She's married to Seth Blackwood. The owner of Mayqueen.”

“What?!” Yolanda snapped, in disbelief. There's no fucking way.

“The Mayqueen?!” Camilla asked and Seraphina nodded.

“It's all over WeTalk!”

Yolanda sat there, frozen as Camila and Yumi picked up their phones and started researching. There's no way, Yolanda chuckled. The Seth Blackwood? Marry Thea? No fucking way..

Her phone buzzed again, and her eyes snapped to the screen. Another headline. Another photograph. Another article.

“Thea Balmero, Seth Blackwood's Secret Wife.”

There it was, splashed across every gossip column and newsfeed: Thea Balmero, draped in elegance, standing beside Seth Blackwood as though she had been born to that place. The flashbulbs adored her, capturing her as if she were royalty.

The worst part was the announcement made by Seth Blackwood about the Sterling Empire. How he had announced that their partnership would not be happening and the speech that followed right after the announcement. People were starting to question integrity.

And Runes was at the forefront of this scandal and ruthless backlash.

Yolanda’s pulse spiked. She slammed the phone down onto the table, the sharp sound startling her circle of friends.

“This is unbelievable,” she spat, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. “That..that woman..standing there like she deserves it? Married to Seth Blackwood? Do you know what people are saying about my family now? About my brother?”

Camilla leaned forward, her hands fluttering as though to calm Yolanda. “Yo, please. People just love scandal. It’ll blow over…”

“Blow over?” Yolanda snapped, her eyes glittering with fury. “Do you even know what this means? Thea ruined Runes once already, and now she’s back, smiling in every photo like the bloody witch she is! The Blackwoods chose her over us! They discarded the Sterlings like garbage. And now my brother looks like some pathetic, unwanted castoff.”

Seraphine nodded. “Honestly, Yolanda, you’re right. Everyone knows she cheated on him. Everyone knows she destroyed the engagement. And still people defend her? It’s disgusting.”

“Yes!” Yolanda said, seizing on the agreement like oxygen. Her voice grew louder, sharper, drawing glances from nearby tables. “She’s vile. She’s always been vile. And now, thanks to her, our name is being dragged through every tabloid. Do you know what people are writing on socials? That the Sterlings are irrelevant. That the Blackwoods don’t need us anymore. That our influence is gone.”

Her voice cracked, high with humiliation, but she forced it steady. “My brother gave her everything. She was nothing before Runes. No one. Just another Balmero brat clawing for scraps. And how did she repay him? By spreading her legs for some nobody. That’s who she really is! A cheat..”

The bitterness in her tone silenced the table. Camilla’s face flushed red; Seraphine reached for her iced tea, sipping nervously.

Only Yumi didn’t move. She sat poised, expression calm, stirring the foam of her cappuccino with the edge of a silver spoon. Her silence thickened the air.

Yolanda noticed. She always noticed.

She turned abruptly. “Yumi. You’re awfully quiet.”

Yumi looked up slowly, meeting Yolanda’s glare with calm, unreadable eyes. “What do you want me to say?”

“Anything,” Yolanda snapped. “Or do you agree with them? Do you think Thea deserves Seth Blackwood? Do you think Runes deserved to be humiliated?”

For a heartbeat, Yumi said nothing. The tiniest flicker crossed her face, quickly hidden. Then she shook her head. “Of course not. I just think… giving her this much attention only makes her look more powerful. That’s all.”

Yolanda scoffed, tossing her hair back. “So you think I should just shut up while she tramples everything? While she makes a fool out of my brother and drags our family name through mud? No, Yumi. I will not.”

Her voice was rising again, carrying through the lounge. A pair of older women at the next table leaned closer, pretending not to listen while their eyes gleamed with interest. Yolanda’s fury was a spectacle, and she despised being a spectacle for them.

Still, she couldn’t stop.

She picked up her phone and shoved it toward the group. “Look at this! Look what they’re saying.”

On the screen, a gossip blog headline screamed: “From Castoff to Queen: Thea Balmero’s Strategic Leap Into Blackwood Legacy.”

Yolanda read aloud, each word soaked in venom. “Thea’s transformation from Sterling’s fiancée to Blackwood’s bride is nothing short of remarkable, cementing her return as Zean’s most enviable woman.’”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Enviable? As if she’s not a traitor. As if she didn’t stab Runes in the back. Twice.”

Camilla, desperate to soothe, reached for her arm again. “Yo, your brother is still respected. People know he’s powerful. This doesn’t erase that.”

“Doesn't it erase it?” Yolanda’s laugh was sharp. “Do you know what they’re whispering behind closed doors? That he wasn’t enough for her. That she traded up. That he was disposable.” Her voice cracked again, but she pressed on. “My brother is everything. Strong. Brilliant. Worthy. And she turned him into a laughingstock.”

Her words lingered, hanging heavy in the room.

Seraphine leaned forward, lowering her voice like she was sharing a sacred truth. “You’re right, Yo. Thea will slip. Women like her always do. And when she does, everyone will see what you and Runes already know. She’s nothing.”

Yolanda’s eyes softened slightly, gratified. She inhaled deeply, letting the validation settle. “Yes. That’s exactly it. She’s nothing. She was nothing before us, and she’ll be nothing again.”

But her phone buzzed once more. Another headline. Another photo of Thea glowing beside Seth, the two of them walking into some gala, the world eating it up.

Yolanda’s stomach twisted. She felt heat crawling up her throat. She snatched up her phone, scrolling furiously, her pulse pounding with every article praising Thea’s “resilience,” her “return,” her “brilliance.”

It was unbearable.

Her friends murmured soft comforts, but they were background noise now.

Yolanda had never been ignored. She had never been humiliated. And she would not start now.

She clenched her phone so tightly her nails dug crescents into her palm.

“You’ll see,” she whispered, more to herself than to them. Then louder: “Thea Balmero thinks she’s untouchable now, just because she has Blackwood at her side. But people like her always show their true colors. And when she falls, it won’t just be Runes laughing. It’ll be me. It’ll be all of us.”

Her friends shifted uneasily, but no one argued.

And in the silence that followed, only Yumi’s gaze lingered on Yolanda. Quiet, steady, and just a little too knowing.