Glitter Ain't Gold 2022 Novels & Stories

"Aria. You won the Gold. That’s huge. TechCrunch even mentioned it this morning. Please tell me you at least called your family? Did they send flowers? Champagne?" I looked away, focusing on a dead pixel on my second monitor. "Sienna got engaged last night." There was a pause. A long, heavy silence where I could practically hear Lily processing the information. "Oh," Lily said, her voice dropping. "Oh, hell no. Let me guess. The Golden Child’s ring is blinding, her fiancé is rich, and your award is currently serving as a paperweight?" "It's a really nice paperweight," I joked weakly.

The gala hall glittered with golden light, the sound of champagne glasses clinking echoing like soft music beneath the hum of conversations. Laughter and polite applause moved around like waves, every corner filled with business elites and media eyes watching for the smallest crack in perfection. Lily stood still, near Jacob, her expression serene, almost unshakable. Inside, her chest burned like fire, but she didn't let a flicker of it show. Her hand slowly lifted, fingers brushing against the ring. Tonight, she had dared to place it back on her finger for the first time since the wedding.

The ballroom glittered with a thousand golden lights, each crystal chandelier reflecting the wealth and power of the people beneath them. Cassandra Blake smoothed the silver satin of her gown, the fabric soft against her palm, a reminder to keep her mask in place. In this room, a smile was currency, and hers had been perfected through years of necessity.

Fallon sounded as if he were chewing gravel. “Prismatic silver is not an easy currency to convert, let alone explain,” she said tersely.

Was my life, like that pendant, already shattered beyond repair? A sharp crack echoed through the silence—the final breaking point. Splintered, scattered, and lost, never to be whole again. "No." The twenty-two-year-old Elaine smiled at me, her radiance brighter than the sun. "You’ve done so well." She spoke as if reassuring me, but also as if convincing herself. "You walked this long road alone, and that’s something incredible. "Thank you. You’ve worked so hard." Then, slowly and clearly, as if each word carried weight, she asked, "Do you remember who saved you that night? When you fell from the cliff?

As I stared down at the glimmering diamond ring, I could only think about how ironic this entire thing was. "You have a horrible memory, Dean. This ring is filthy." I walked over and grabbed the ring. Dean grinned with glee, foolishly assuming that I'd changed my mind. "Eve, you..." However, his face soon went stiff, frozen in place. I raised my hand and threw the priceless diamond ring down to the patch of grass at the bottom of the building. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gazed down in dejection, clinging to the railing.

SPARKLE! Gold coins rolled across the bedsheets! Deep red ruby necklaces caught the light from the glass window, sparkling like bright red fire! Silver rings with large clear diamonds glittered right next to Emily’s hands! Emily’s dark eyes went wide with pure greed! Her breath caught in her throat as she reached out her fingers, sliding them through the pile of warm gold and heavy jewels! "Oh, Xavier!" Emily gasped out, pulling a long gold necklace with a huge red ruby right up to her neck. "It is all so beautiful!"

Grips. The gold doesn't waver.

She was a woman who could ruin reputations with a single whisper, who could elevate or destroy with little more than a flick of her wrist. She would be a valuable ally in the game Elara was about to play. “I’ll do my best, Lady Arkwright,” Elara said, her tone teasing. “But I’m afraid I’m not much of a gossip.” Beatrice waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, nonsense, my dear. Everyone gossips, whether they admit it or not. But enough about that—tell me, are you enjoying the gala?” Elara nodded, her expression thoughtful. “It’s a lovely event,” she said, her eyes scanning the room once more. “The hosts have done a wonderful job.”

I expected him to respond to my question, but it was a deafening silence. “Liam?” I called him again, wanting to hear an answer. He didn’t answer me and acted as if he heard no one. I simply picked up my phone again when I thought of something to do. I opened it and went directly to the internet to keep up with what was going on in the world. I felt as if I wanted to cry because of what I saw. On my social media, the hashtag #GoldDiggerCrystal is trending. Even though that term seemed to rend and stab my heart, it seemed as though someone dragged me to go to that hashtag and see what people were saying.