Page 61 of Money Reigns
When she finishes, she gently tilts my chin so I’m facing the mirror she placed on my kitchen island.
Then she reaches for a sleek velvet box sitting quietly on the counter. I hadn’t noticed it before.
She opens it slowly, like she’s unveiling something dramatic.
A delicate emerald bracelet sparkles inside, paired with a matching necklace and drop earrings set in white gold. Understated. But not cheap.
Definitely not cheap.
They glitter like promises.
And I don’t know if I’m supposed to wear them… or return them with my soul.
I stare.
“That’s… that’s for me?” I ask softly.
I’ve never owned anything this beautiful. Not even close.
Let alone had it picked out just for me.
She smiles at me in the mirror. “It’s all part of the look,cariña.”
“I-I can’t accept this,” I breathe, even as she lifts the bracelet and clasps it around my wrist.
“You have to look the part,” she says, her voice gentle now. “He chose them to match the dress. And your skin.”
My skin.
When did he start studying me like this?
How long has he been planning this moment?
I don’t respond.
Because I can’t.
I’m afraid if I say anything, I’ll cry. Or laugh. Or both.
Then, as if it’s nothing, she pulls out a sleek shoebox and opens the lid to reveal a pair of emerald green stilettos with delicate straps and a pointed toe. They look like something out of a dream.
“Oh,” I whisper. “Those are… wow.”
“He said you wear a seven and a half,” she says, kneeling to help me slip them on. “He was right.”
How the hell did he know?
They fit perfectly.
Isabella hands me a silver clutch and I stare at myself.
The woman in the mirror doesn’t look like me.
She looks powerful. Soft and sharp all at once.
And she looks like shebelongsbeside Warren Beaumont.
Which is the most dangerous lie I’m starting to believe.
