Page 103 of Rivals

“I’m sorry! I was desperate. My father was going to lose his baronetcy and my parents told me I can’t go to college and I felt overwhelmed.” Daphne narrowed her eyes at Gabriella. “That’s why Nina and I teamed up against Gabriella. We just wanted her to stop attacking us!”

“Nina? How is she involved in any of this?” Jefferson cut in.

Daphne remembered that Nina’s scholarship had been reinstated, and she wondered, yet again, why Gabriella had done precisely what Nina asked, yet drawn out the big guns to destroy Daphne. A sticky, sickening suspicion began to coalesce in her chest, but she ignored it.

Nina wouldn’t betray her like that.

“Gabriella told her father to take away my family’s title, and she tried to get Nina kicked out of King’s College, soNina and I spied on her,” Daphne said urgently. Jefferson looked at Gabriella, who feigned shock.

“Those are outrageous accusations,” Gabriella said gravely. “Why would I do anything to hurt Nina? I hardly know thegirl.”

This was wrong, all wrong. Daphne realized she was babbling; she felt her credibility slipping away, felt Jefferson staring at her with mounting disapproval.

“We caught Gabriella doing cocaine!” Daphne fumbled to pull up the video on her phone, then shoved it toward Jefferson.

None of them said anything as he watched. Daphne was certain more people were staring at them, but for once, she didn’t care about public opinion. She was far too worried about Jefferson’s opinion.

When the video finished, he slid the phone back across the table, then shook his head at Gabriella. “Honestly, Gabriella, you need to cool it with that stuff. You’re not in France anymore.”

There was a momentary flash of irritation on Gabriella’s face, so lightning-fast that only Daphne noticed it; then her features melted into a mask of contrition. “I know, you’re right,” she simpered. “Actually, I almost never get high anymore, but Daphne asked me if I had any. She was trying to trap me!”

“Becauseyouwere trying to trapme!”

Gabriella turned toward Jefferson. “Daphne got some upsetting news tonight, and I’m afraid she hasn’t taken it well. Her father’s baronetcy was taken away because he engaged in someungentlemanly behavior.”

Gabriella’s concern was false—Daphne could see straight through it, all the way to her false, lying core—but she couldn’t deny what had happened.

“It’s true. I’m not noble anymore.” She held her breath, waiting, tormented and anxious.

And Jefferson shrugged.

“So?” he asked. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“She’s a commoner, Jeff!” Gabriella saidcommoneras if it were an especially nasty disease.

“Gabriella, can you give us a moment alone?” Jefferson asked quietly.

“Of course,” Gabriella purred. She flounced off in a tossing of hair and swishing of skirts, practically crackling with self-satisfaction.

Daphne’s heart was thudding as Jefferson turned back to her, his voice heavy with disappointment.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he said carefully, “but, Daphne, when has someone’s title ever mattered to me? You know I couldn’t care less about that.”

Some part of Daphne had known this, hadn’t she? Jefferson wouldn’t have broken up with her because of her family’s loss in status. If she’d been honest with him from the beginning, he would have stood by her—and his support would have protected her, until everyone had forgotten the scandal and moved on.

“I don’t care about titles,” Jefferson went on, “but Idocare that you’ve been colluding with the press, selling photos and secrets. Why would you do something like that?”

“I needed money,” Daphne whispered. She was past the point of lying anymore; as if, now that she’d started telling Jefferson the truth, it was a faucet she couldn’t turn off.

“So you sold photos of our private moments, in order to…what? Buy a few new dresses?”

You don’t get it!she wanted to cry out in helpless frustration. Jefferson would never understand how it felt to worry about money, or his position, or, as frivolous as it might seem, what he should wear. He could show up in the same suit to everything, and it wouldn’t matter! Whereas Daphne facedan army of fashion bloggers who scrutinized her every outfit piece by piece, down to speculation on herunderwear.

She’d just wanted to look the part of a princess, as everyone expected her to. She hadn’t meant it to come at the expense of Jefferson’s feelings.

“I know I messed up. I just…I didn’t want you to be ashamed of me,” she said hoarsely.

“I’m ashamed of you now.”