Ethan's disappointed stare met hers, but Vesper felt only scorn. What a joke. A man who swore love yet always put another woman first. His affection was as flimsy as a cheap promise.
"Luna is my sister and yours. You should care for her like I do."
Vesper rolled her eyes. "If this is just another Luna lecture, save it. Get out." Every word from him was pure garbage.
As she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist. "Vesper, you are the only one who matters. Even with Luna at the Grant Villa, nothing changes between us. I will always be there, in sickness and in health. I swear."
His phone blared, Luna's name flashing on the screen. Drunk and abandoned at some bar after losing her dream role.
Vesper's lips curled. "So much for no interference." How perfectly timed.
Ethan did not even blink before jumping up. "I meant what I said, but she's vulnerable there. Wait for me."
Watching him rush off, Vesper glanced down. A bead of blood welled up where a thorn from those wretched yellow roses had pricked her. She flung the bouquet into the trash.
"Burn them. And no roses ever in this house again." She had hated their thorns since childhood. That obsession belonged to Luna.
Rain peppered the windows as the butler hurried in. "Miss Lynd, a delivery from the north from Mr. Sterling."
"Vesper," the card read in his familiar script, "happy birthday."
Inside the velvet-lined box, a sunflower hairpin gleamed. Even in plain daylight, its crystals caught the light, throwing off sparks like tiny stars.
One glance was all it took to know this piece was worth a small fortune.
And they were sunflowers, her absolute favorite.
Right on cue, her phone chimed twice with a message from Conrad. "Family matters kept me from your coming of age ceremony. I will make it up to you next time. Happy birthday, Vesper."
Her gaze flicked to the thorny roses in the trash, then back to the delicate box in her palm. A spontaneous laugh escaped her lips.
'How could I have been so blind? All this time overlooking the one who truly mattered. A man like Conrad, that was who I should have chosen from the start.'
"Word is Mr. Sterling spent a fortune bidding against everyone at the auction to win this hairpin." The butler remarked. "He clearly went all out for you, miss."
Vesper clipped the accessory into her hair with a grin. "Well, Rick? How do I look?"
"Gorgeous. You could make a burlap sack look good, miss."
"Actually." She twirled a lock of hair, her eyes glinting with wicked amusement. "Let's not waste these roses after all. Have them delivered to Luna. Tell her they are from Ethan as her birthday gift."
If memory served, the self-righteous Luna's birthday was in two days. Oh, the priceless look on her face when those cheap roses arrived. Vesper bit back a smirk.
Aksara