Page 5

Entitled.

Non-contributing to society.

And Abagail had known for decades that this was exactly who Warren had been raised to be. He’d never been allowed to be any different, and unfortunately, she had played her role in that as well.

Abagail nodded to herself and looked between Chaya and Warren. Finally she focused on Estelle and bowed her head slightly. “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t stay for the party. I have some urgent work business.”

“Aunt Abagail, we’d really like it if you stayed,” Chaya said, her voice carrying to where Abagail stood only a few feet away.

Just the tone of her voice set Abagail off. She really didn’t want to be here listening to this or even witnessing this party. Were Chaya and Warren a better match? Probably. Neither one of them had ever really matured and they’d both had the world handed to them on a silver platter. Perhaps even a golden one. If anything had been clear about Nicola, she’d had to work her butt off to get where she was. But Abagail knew nothing about her other than that. She’d always kept her past close to her heart and never revealed too much about who she was.

Abagail looked to Estelle. “Thanks for the invitation.”

She started to walk away, but Warren followed her. “Aunt Abagail!”

She cringed as she reached the foyer to the front of the house. She stopped her forward motion and turned around to face him. “What is it?”

“Aren’t you happy for me?”

There was the little boy that she’d loved, the one who was always seeking her approval in everything he did and more. Why? Because he didn’t get it anywhere else. Abagail frowned, debating on the right tactic to take with this. Was she happy for him? No. She didn’t understand what he was doing or why he was doing it, and it wasn’t like he’d even told her that he had suddenly switched fiancées.

“Are you happy with Chaya?”

Warren nodded, his lips quirking slightly before the attempted smile faltered. “Yeah, I am.”

“Then I have no reason to be unhappy.” Abagail put her hand on the doorknob. “We’ll talk some other time, Warren.”

“Aunt Abagail…” Warren trailed off. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She had to talk to him again. It wasn’t only her responsibility, but now she was going to need to figure out how to get the damn engagement ring back and untangle the mess he’d made by promising Nicola fifty grand. She really didn’t want to step into that mess, but there wasn’t a way around it now, was there? “I’ll talk to you soon.”

By soon, she meant when she wanted to talk to him. Because she wasn’t about to have this conversation tomorrow, or even next week. She needed time to think and plot and rage in her own world before she stepped back into this one.

“Congratulations, Warren.” It burned her tongue to say those words, to even think that she could potentially be happy for him and Chaya and the way he was treating Nicola and the fact that he thought he had the right to do that. “Next time don’t be such a dick to someone you proclaimed to love only last week. All right?”

Warren’s jaw dropped.

Abagail smirked and walked out of the house. There. That had been exactly what she’d wanted to say, and she’d finally managed to get her point across.

Rule one in her life:Don’t be a dick.

three

“I need that ring back. Now.”

Nicola shuddered at the command in Warren’s tone—even through the phone, it still affected her. What had she ever seen in him? Had he ever been nice and sweet to her? She sighed inwardly. He had, at one point. But that had all gone out the window when she hadn’t met the standards he expected in their relationship.

She was almost surprised it had taken him so long to figure it out.

“I told you that I’ll give it back when you have a check for me.”

Warren snorted, and then had the audacity to guffaw. “You know I don’t control my trust fund. Everything has to go through Aunt Abagail.”

Nicola knew that. But she still thought it was weird as hell that Abagail was literally in charge of the family finances when she wasn’t really part of the family. Well, she was, but she wasn’t part of the immediate family. Gnawing on her lip, Nicola held her ground. She really needed that money. Her sister’s medical bills were piling up faster than she could keep up with. Or even think about keeping up with. Alanna had gone into thatrehabilitation facility six months ago and her quality of life had improved a vast amount. But Nicola also knew that affording it was impossible. She’d told Alanna she’d make it work, somehow. And this was now the somehow.

“You promised me fifty thousand dollars, and I need that money, Warren. You know I do.” Maybe if she pleaded with his good side, then she’d be able to convince him that this was the right decision to make.

Then again, this wasn’t the Warren she’d fallen in love with.