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When he had sent a stylist to the apartment he had rented for her when she had agreed to help him, she had refused all of the clothes he had chosen. The stylist had called Desmond to tell on her, and he had tried to talk her into accepting them. When she hadn’t been persuaded, he had told her they would talk about it later then hung up on her. The stylist had then suggested they have lunch and go to the stores afterward, letting her choose a new wardrobe for herself.

Agreeing, they had gone out, and Haley had been surprised to find she had enjoyed shopping with the woman who reminded her a little of Nadia. Going back to the apartment with Paige, Haley had gone into the bedroom to change into a more comfortable outfit and discovered all of her clothes had disappeared, down to every last sock and underwear. Furious, she had called Desmond, only for him to hang up on her again when she had started her tirade. Since then, whenever she brought the subject up, he would hang up or leave the room. With Desmond, it was either his way or no way at all.

“Had them dropping the subject like a hot potato, didn’t it?”

Escorting her away from the luncheon tables that had been situated around the massive professionally-designed backyard, Desmond was unfazed by her anger.

Unable to argue the fact, Haley gave him a fulminating glare as they bypassed several groups who had stopped to take pictures together.

“Would you like to join in?”

“Do you hear any of them asking me? Being ignored at lunch was bad enough. My sisters and brother didn’t say two words to me.”

“You made the same token effort, from my viewpoint.”

Hearing the censure that he made no effort to hide, Haley chose a small group with her mother, father, and Amelia. At least it didn’t hurt so badly when she disappointed them.

“Fine,” she snapped. “My mother is the one who I need to concentrate on. She keeps track of every skeleton in the closet, and every dime in the bank so she can try her best to outdo them.” Frigidly walking away from him, she put herself in their vicinity where it would be rude if they ignored her.

“Your dress brings out your complexion. If you stand sideways between Dad and George, the photographer can fit the pool behind you.”

“You’re right.” Her mother switched places with her father, making sure she stood far enough away not to get in the picture but close enough that she could talk to her mother as her relatives shifted to different groups for the photos that would be posted to their social media accounts, to pretend they lived normal lives.

Admiring the way Amelia slipped in and out of the groups, Haley wanted to gag at the effusive friendliness she portrayed to everyone. If she hadn’t borne the brunt of her bullying so much when she had been younger, Haley would have been taken in, also.

Bracing herself when she saw Amelia moving closer, refusing to reach for her inhaler, Haley made herself remember the old saying that Nadia had repeated to her whenever she would use her shoulder to cry on. It had happened so often that they had shortened it to three simple words.

“Sticks and stones.”

“Their words do hurt,” she had insisted time and time again. Each time, Nadia would counter with the exact same rejoinder.

“Their words will only hurt you if you give them the power to. Don’t give them that power.”

“How do I do that?”

“Do you know, if you hold a lit firecracker lightly, it’ll sting, but if you close it in a fist, it’ll blow your hand off? Don’t let the ones saying words that hurt you get close enough to blow you away.”

With Nadia not being there, Haley replayed her words in her head.

She promised herself that she would never give Amelia the power to hurt her ever again.

“You’re not joining in?” Amelia reached out to brush a swatch of hair from the side of her face.

Flinching at the feel of Amelia’s touch, Haley wrapped her hand around her inhaler inside her pocket. The pleased smiled on her cousin’s lips proved she had made a tactical error.

“I see you’re still the same jellyfish—afraid of someone stepping on you.”

“Be careful, Amelia. Jellyfish sting,” Haley warned without a thought.

Amelia’s rosebud mouth twisted in anger before she could stop herself, unprepared for the comeback.

Berating herself before the last word had come out, Haley knew she had made yet another mistake.

Derisively sweeping her vicious gaze over her, Amelia made a pretense of pulling the sleeve of her dress higher on her shoulder. “We need to get together for a shopping trip. The dress you’re wearing makes you look like a slut. Everyone is laughing at you behind your back.”