Prologue
JANUARY
I wason top of the world. Untouchable, with everything I ever wanted at my fingertips. But the thing about reaching such great heights is there’s only one way to go—down. And when I fell, I didn’t stumble. I crashed. A true fall from grace.
The doorbell buzzed, and I groaned. I wasn’t ready for Grant and his antics just yet.
Glancing down at my body, I realized how undressed I was, clad in just my underwear, so I threw on my silk nightgown and robe before I headed toward the foyer.
“Grant, I thought I told you—” I started, but as I opened the door fully, my expression morphed from one of annoyance to one of surprise. It was like I had seen a ghost, and in some ways, I had.
Icy droplets of rain pelted me, the wind gusting and pulling in the frozen air, chilling me to the bone. I wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to stop the shivers at the sudden change in temperature.
“Julia,” I gasped.
It had been months since I’d seen her, and the ache in my chest grew at the sight of my sister. Based on our last conversation, I assumed she was lying on a beach somewhere, so this visit was definitely a surprise. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she stood before me. When I stepped forward to hug her, she shrugged me away, putting out her lit cigarette.
“Let me in,” she grumbled. “It’s fucking freezing out here, and I’m getting drenched.”
The band T-shirt she wore was plastered to her chest, her jeans having turned a shade darker than their once light blue color. Dark circles stood out prominently underneath her eyes, a stark contrast to her otherwise pale, too thin face. As I studied her, I couldn’t help but think that she’d aged in just a few months’ time.
Julia wasn’t much older than me, but she was slumped over and her movements were sluggish, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
I moved aside but not without muttering, “Please take off your shoes.” I’d just gotten the floors redone, along with adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls. My mother insisted on a heathered gray stain for a classier look.
Julia flicked the butt off the stoop and pushed her way inside, mumbling some profanities as she slipped off her beaten-up sneakers.
Silence surrounded us as we stood in the doorway, our eyes connected in a battle of wills, neither of us seeming to want to be the first to look away. Her brown irises held a hard glint to them, and I searched her features desperately for some resemblance of the Julia who was like my other half at one point. I don’t know what it was like for her, but for me, it was as if I were staring into the face of a stranger. When did my sister become unrecognizable to me?
After a moment or two, I let my gaze drop, not having the energy to continue this standoff. I turned and started for the stairs, needing to finish getting presentable before the company I was expecting shortly arrived. Grant may not have shown up early like I had thought, but he’d be here soon to escort me to the celebratory gala being hosted in my honor. The celebration was for my partnership with a world-renowned fashion house, Beaute.
“Where are you going, Grace?” Julia demanded, huffing as she climbed the stairs after me.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was comical that she was asking me where I was going since she hadn’t been around in months, and before that brief pop-in, it had been at least a year. She hadn’t done me the courtesy of sharing her whereabouts with me then, but suddenly she was expecting to know all my comings and goings. Although, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Julia ran away when it suited her. Without fail, when the going got tough, she couldn’t be bothered to stay and deal with the wreckage.
I had texted Julia about this brand deal since it was the biggest one I had ever signed. Even though she hated this stuff, I expected her to acknowledge how much of an accomplishment this was, to tell me how she was proud of me. She didn’t even message me back until a week later. A simple “congrats” text was all I got.
“To get ready. The creative director of Beaute is co-hosting an announcement party for me tonight.” I sighed, stopping midway up the staircase.
Julia laughed with no humor. “Still following Jacqueline’s orders, huh?”
I frowned at the mention of our mother’s name. I could make decisions on my own without Jacqueline Harrington pulling thestrings. Even if shehadbeen the one to introduce me to the head designer.
“It’s a multimillion-dollar endorsement campaign. For the exposure alone, I should be paying them,” I defended, tightening the belt of my robe.
She completely ignored my accomplishment. “And you’re going with Grant Abernathy?” Julia scoffed. Her look of disgust was unmistakable. She shook her head and looked more like our mother than she would care to admit. “I don’t know why you even hang around with him.”
Maybe because I can’t hang around with you.I was so lonely I could talk to the freshly painted walls.
I looked at her, willing her to see me. Help me. Just to show up for me, like she used to.
“He’s a friend,” I finally said, defeated.
Yeah, a friend who you do drugs with and sometimes fuck.
“Oh my fucking God, Grace! You’re insufferable. Everything I’ve tried to teach you has gone right out the window, hasn’t it?!” Julia yelled. She threw her hands up dramatically, almost hitting the vase on the console table.
“Just like Mom,” she spat.
