Page 55 of Take the Wheel

‘Nancy, I get that you’re Ari’s little protector or whatever, but honestly—’ Paris shook her head with a pitying smile. ‘You don’t know what she’s like. You think you do, but she’s always been like this. Jealous. Petty. Toxic.’

Nancy’s fists curled at her sides, rage creeping up her spine.

Ari might be a lot of things—reckless, infuriating, a complete pain in the arse—but she wasn’t the villain Paris was making her out to be. And shecertainlywasn’t some heartbroken, jealous ex trying to sabotage Ari’s wedding.

‘Where are they taking her?’ she demanded.

Paris’s father appeared. ‘We have a room,’ he said, barely glancing at her. ‘The police have been called.’

Thepolice. Nancy felt a sickening lurch. Nancy barely had a second to process it before Paris’s voice cut through again, sharp and dismissive.

‘You should go.’

Nancy frowned. ‘What?’

Paris tilted her head. ‘You’re her guest. And I don’t wantherguests atmywedding.’ Paris took a step closer, lowering her voice just enough so the words were only for Nancy. ‘You can go quietly, or I can have security escort you out as well. Your choice.’

Nancy’s pulse pounded. She wanted to fight. Wanted toshovepast Paris and go after Ari, to fix this, to stop it from spiralling into something even worse.

But she couldn’t. Not in a room full of people eating up every word Paris was feeding them.

So instead, she did the only thing shecoulddo. She turned on her heel and walked away.

***

Outside, the night air hit her like a shock.

The sounds of the party still rose right back up from inside—music, laughter, the clinking of glasses, like nothing had happened. Like a guest hadn’t just been dragged off in disgrace and another discarded.

Nancy moved on autopilot, her feet carrying her to the young valet. ‘Mines the silver Maybach.’ He nodded and ran off.

He drove up a moment later, and Nancy got in and drove off the grounds of the manor.

She didn’t get far, only a few hundred metres down the public road. Then she parked up on a dirt layby and got out of the car. She stood there, hands braced against the side of the vehicle, breathing hard.

She should leave. She’d been told to leave. But Ari was still in there. And as much as she’d created this entire situation, Nancy still couldn’t bring herself to leave her.

Forty-Four

Ari paced the length of the small, shabby room, her hands clenched into tight fists. It was little more than a storage closet, piled high with forgotten junk, broken furniture, and the remnants of things no one cared to fix. Security had shoved her inside, confiscated her phone, and left her there with nothing but the echo of her thoughts.

‘Wait for the police,’ they had told her ominously. As if she could do anything else.

She could hear the wedding carrying on without her from a floor above. The low thrum of music coming from the DJ she’d arranged pulsed and feet bumped in rhythm. Nothing had stopped. Nothing had changed.

Except for the fact that she waslocked in a bloody room. Wasn’t this illegal? False imprisoning, that kind of thing? She knew she wasn’t in Fritzl’s basement or anything, but still.

She spun, glaring at the locked door. She’d tried the handle already, but it wasn’t budging. She’d spent all day trying to get into a locked room and now she wanted out of one. It would have been hilarious if it wasn’t happening to her.

Nothing was funny anymore. Particularly not the thought of Paris standing in that reception hall, spinning her little lies to a rapt audience.

And Nancy…

The last thing she’d seen before being dragged off was Nancy standing there, watching it all unfold, her face tight with anger. Ari had thought for a brief, stupid moment that maybe she was angryforher. That maybe she’d say something, step in.

But as she was dragged off, Nancy didn’t say a word.

She had a limit, and Ari had been given a lot of space inside that limit. But she couldn’t help herself. She had to go too far. It had always been a problem. Only now it had cost her Nancy’s respect.

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