FIFTY-TWO
ADELAIDE
She saton the other side of me. Her short black bob grew long enough to put into a ponytail, but not long enough for a bun. The face that used to be full of makeup was now bare. She didn’t look like herself—didn’t seem like the woman I used to love.
Eda picked up the phone first, leaning nonchalantly back in her chair.
“They have an option for a fruit platter,” she said. “Wasn’t the greatest, but good enough.”
“You killed my parents,” my voice hitched.
She went cold, slightly sucking her cheeks. “You’re going straight for the kill, Addie.”
“For years,” I croaked. “I trusted no one more than you. But all along, it was you I shouldn’t have trusted.”
“You should at least hear my side?—”
“What side?” My face burned with anger. “The one where you threw a check at Eunbin to get an abortion? The one where you paid Harry Samuels to make sure my parent’s—yourbest friends’ plane crash? The one where you tried tofuckingeradicate my whole family to take care over Starlight? Or perhaps the one where you threw money at young interns to stay quiet and how you did it through my name?”
She chuckled.
Fuckinglaughed.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you riled up,” she raised her hands in defense. “Forgive me, it’s amusing.”
Heat burned in my ears. “How could you do this to us—tome?”
“You think I gave a fuck about you?” She sobered.
“You used me.”
“To get what I wanted,” she sneered. “You and your perfect family had it all. I helped with Starlight, I was a shareholder, but your daddy didn’t give a shit.”
“He named you interim CEO?—”
“But nottheCEO. In his will he statedyou.” One side of her nose scrunched. “You were all but a child, and he still wrote that you’d be in charge as soon as you turned eighteen.”
My mouth opened. “You didn’t hand Starlight to me until?—”
“Until recently,” she shook her head with annoyance dripping. Not a single remnant of remorse on her face. “Because their fucking lawyer came after me. The will stated you had to take the role for a year to decide.”
“In the meantime, you planned to imprison me.”
She shrugged. “It was the only choice I had.”
“You could’ve told me,” I broke with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t want Starlight. I would have given it to you.”
“I killed your parents, Adelaide.” She straightened. “I fought for that spot, and it would’ve been my loss if you handed it to me when I worked my ass off.”
She was the reason why my parents didn’t get to see me grow. They didn’t see the day I made my first ring, or when I graduated. They missed the pivotal moment of my life—falling in love with Christian.
She stole my chance with them.
“You deserve to rot in hell,Eda.”
For a split second, her face dropped before she recomposed herself with a smirk. “It’s because of me.”
She didn’t wait for me to respond. “You never would have spoken your mind if it wasn’t for me.”
