Harper
The moment Alexander Hall slid the diamond onto my ring finger, I almost let myself believe I was about to become Mrs. Hall.
We had been together for five years. He knew perfectly well that I was a gold digger through and through, that I loved anything shiny and expensive. But he also remembered my chronic stomach problems. He had once put the keys to a Manhattan apartment in my hand and told me that from then on, that was where I would be safe. Just a week earlier, he had measured my ring size himself and teased me, telling me to guess what the diamond was worth. I laughed and told him he knew me too well, but in private, I carefully circled the date on my calendar.
At 18, I'd been beaten black and blue by my stepfather over a box of sanitary pads. That was when I stopped pretending money didn't matter. I loved money. I loved beautiful clothes that fit like a dream. But more than anything, I loved being able to buy what I wanted without having to answer to anyone.
In New York's high society, I had a reputation for knowing exactly how to keep Alexander happy. They also said I was the one woman he couldn't bring himself to let go.
The ring sat snugly on my finger. He waited until every eye in the room was on us, then spoke slowly, his voice perfectly flat. "This is a thank-you, Irene. We're done."
The ballroom doors opened, and in walked Lydia Grant, dressed in a flowing cream-colored gown.
Alexander presented her to the guests as his fiancée. Lydia gave me a timid glance, as though she were the one who'd just had five years of her life stolen. Then she actually had the nerve to come over and offer me comfort.
Everyone there was waiting for me to fall apart. Plenty of them had settled in for the show, expecting me to make a scene over the apartment, the jewelry, or an engagement that had never been real.
Instead, I slid the diamond off my finger and placed it gently in Alexander's palm.
As for the money he'd given me to walk away? I wasn't returning a penny.
"Save the ring for the woman who wants to marry you." I smiled. "But the money? That's mine."
For the first time, Alexander's mask of composure slipped. Even now, he couldn't seem to wrap his head around it.
How could a woman who loved money as much as I did walk away from a diamond worth a fortune?