CHAPTER 54

YOU'RE MINE...

Abigail hadn’t expected the call.

It came two days after the club meeting, in the quiet hour just before lunch. She’d been curled up on the sofa with a book, enjoying the rare silence, when her phone lit up with an unknown number.

“Abigail Vandell?” The voice was smooth, cultured.

“Yes,” she said cautiously.

“This is Carmen Lois Cruz. I thought it was time you and I spoke… outside of the club.”

Abigail straightened in her seat. “I… appreciate you calling. May I ask why?”

“Because,” Carmen replied without hesitation, “if you’re going to last in that room, you’ll need more than polite smiles and perfect posture. And I think you already know that.”

Abigail exhaled slowly. “Are you offering advice?”

“I’m offering perspective,” Carmen said. “Over lunch. Tomorrow. There’s a place I like private, discreet. I’ll send you the details.”

And with that, the call ended.

Luke didn’t seem surprised when Abigail mentioned it that evening.

“She called you?” His brow lifted, but his voice stayed calm.

“Yes. Invited me to lunch.”

Luke took his time with his response, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “You’re going.”

Abigail hesitated. “What if it’s… not exactly a friendly gesture?”

“That’s exactly why you’re going,” he said simply. “Carmen doesn’t waste time. If she’s making the effort, she has a reason. I want to know what it is.”

Abigail frowned. “You make it sound like an assignment.”

Luke’s gaze was steady. “In a way, it is. Let’s not make it seem complicated”

There was no point in arguing Luke had already decided.

The next day, Abigail arrived at the restaurant Carmen had named. It was understated from the outside, the kind of place you could pass without noticing, but inside it was a world apart dark polished wood, muted lighting, and a quiet hum of wealth that didn’t need to announce itself. It was empty she wondered why but gave herself the answer right away.

Carmen was already there, seated at a corner table. She rose as Abigail approached, offering a small, deliberate smile.

“Mrs. Vandell,” Carmen said, her voice like silk. “You’re even prettier in daylight.”

Abigail returned the smile, careful to keep it neutral. “Carmen. Thank you for inviting me.”

They sat, menus untouched.

“I’ll be direct,” Carmen began, resting her hands lightly on the table. “At the club, appearances are everything. They will test you. They will measure your worth by how little they can make you flinch.”

Abigail held her gaze. “I noticed.”

Carmen’s lips curved faintly. “Good. Then you also noticed I didn’t step in to rescue you. Not really. I simply… shifted the air in the room.”

“Yes,” Abigail said slowly. “And I wondered why.”

Carmen leaned back, studying her. “Because I wanted to see if you’d ask me that question. Most women in your position would simply be grateful and leave it at that.”

Abigail didn’t answer immediately. She wasn’t sure if Carmen was complimenting her or baiting her.

“I’m not in the habit of taking sides for strangers,” Carmen continued. “But Obetta” She paused, eyes glinting. “Obetta is tiresome. She’s been circling those rooms for years, desperate for relevance. Watching her try to rattle you was… predictable.”

“And you don’t like predictable?”

“I don’t like wasting my time,” Carmen corrected. “If you’re going to be in that room, I’d rather see someone with potential than another interchangeable ornament.”

Abigail frowned. “Potential for what?”

Carmen’s smile deepened. “That depends on what you decide to do with your place there. The club may not be about business on the surface, but influence is currency. And influence… is very easy to spend if you know how. In that room being competitive isn't what they spell out, it's something everyone carries st the sole back of their minds. It's already written. it's like something everyone already or rather should know, it doesn't really have to be spelt out.”

There was something almost dangerous in the way she said it, as if she were offering more than just social advice.

Abigail kept her voice steady. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Do more than that,” Carmen said softly. “Use it.”

The rest of lunch was polite, but layered every question Carmen asked seemed to measure Abigail’s reactions, every story she told carried an undercurrent of meaning.

By the time they parted, Abigail felt as if she’d passed some kind of invisible test… though she wasn’t entirely sure what the prize was.

What Abigail didn’t know was that somewhere else, Obetta was already planning her next move.

She sat in her penthouse suite, the city skyline glittering behind her, phone in hand.

“She went to lunch with Carmen?” she said to the voice on the other end.

“Yes,” the caller confirmed.

Obetta’s lips curved in a smile that was anything but warm. “Perfect. Carmen will grow bored of her soon enough. They always do. And when that happens, I’ll be there to remind Abigail exactly where she stands.”

Her gaze drifted to the glass of champagne in her hand. “Luke may have chosen her, but the club… the club will never truly be hers.”

She hung up, her smile sharpening. The game was far from over and in as long as Abigail was still in the game sure isn't going to end anytime soon.

***

That night, when Abigail told Luke about the lunch, his reaction was subtle too subtle.

“She tested you,” he said simply.

“Yes,” Abigail admitted. “I think I passed.”

Luke’s mouth twitched in that faint, unreadable smile of his. “You did. But remember Carmen doesn’t make allies. She makes investments.”

“Do you think I’m an investment?”

Luke’s eyes locked on hers. “You’re mine. That makes you everything.”

The way he said it left no room for argument.she was happy he acknowledged her.. unlike the beginning, she merely even had the right to act as his wife between themselves she sure doesn't know what the rest of the year Is going to be like but whatever it is she was ready.