Chapter 4

Tara's POV

"Tara, don't be difficult." His tone shifted, taking on that particular weight he used when he expected compliance. "The story is spreading fast. If you don't get ahead of it now, the school is going to take real damage. I've already talked to Mandy. She's deleted the post. All you have to do is take the high road, and this goes away."

He made it sound so simple.

To protect whatever was left of Mandy's feelings, he was asking the person who had been wronged to bow her head to the person who had done the wronging.

My knuckles went white around the phone, but my voice stayed even. "And if I don't?"

"Tara." He exhaled, and something cold threaded through his words. "The fire safety inspections at the school have been non-compliant for a while now. I'd hate to see the place get shut down over it."

My breath stopped.

He was threatening me.

Using the school I had put everything into. Using children who had done nothing wrong. Using them to force me to surrender.

"You're disgusting," I said. Then I hung up.

Thirty minutes later, fire inspectors arrived at the school. They cited ongoing safety violations and issued a mandatory three-day closure notice.

I stood in the doorway and watched the children leave in their backpacks, their parents collecting them with expressions ranging from confused to outraged. My chest felt like something inside it was being cut apart.

I stood alone in the empty classroom, looking at the drawings the children had taped to the walls, all those small, joyful faces, and made the call.

"I'll apologize."

That afternoon, I posted a statement on the school's account. I acknowledged that my emotions had gotten the better of me at the auction and expressed regret for any distress I had caused Ms. Lynn.

The backlash dissolved almost immediately.

That evening, Gordon came home.

He walked in carrying a glossy shopping bag, stopped in front of me, and spoke in the soothing voice he used when he thought he was fixing things. "You had a rough day. This is for you, the pink diamond necklace you mentioned a while back. I had it flown in from overseas."

I looked at the necklace glittering against the velvet. I didn't even blink.

"Just set it down."

Gordon frowned slightly. He could feel the distance in me. He pulled me into his arms with careful patience. "Still upset? I was protecting you and the school. I've already made it very clear to Mandy that this kind of thing is not acceptable. She won't cause trouble for you again."

I let him hold me. My body was rigid as a plank of wood.

"Gordon," I said quietly. "Do you love me?"

He pressed his lips to my forehead without a moment's hesitation. "Of course I do. You're the only one."

I closed my eyes to hide what was behind them.

The only one.

He loved me so completely that he had built our entire relationship on a lie. He had taken what I made with my own hands and used it to comfort another woman. He had leveraged the thing I cared most about to make me swallow every humiliation without a word.

His love was cheap and terrifying in equal measure.

A few days later, Mandy hosted a private party on her yacht and invited a large portion of New York's social circle. I had no interest in going, but Gordon insisted, claiming the sea air would do me good.

On the deck, Mandy was at the center of everything in a white bikini, surrounded by guests.

When she spotted me, she drifted over with a glass of champagne, her smile perfectly innocent. "Tara, I feel terrible about everything that happened. Let's drink to a fresh start."

I met her gaze without warmth. "I'll pass. I have a sensitivity to alcohol."

Mandy's smile flickered. Something calculated moved behind her eyes.

Then her ankle gave way.

She lurched sideways and went straight over the railing.

"Ah!"

The scream split the air. Mandy hit the water.

The deck erupted into chaos.

"Someone's in the water!"

"Tara pushed her. I saw it! I was standing right there!" Mandy's friend was already pointing at me, voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

I hadn't had time to react before a shape shot past me and went over the side without hesitation.

Gordon.

He reached Mandy in the water, got his arm under her, and held her up until they were pulled back onto the deck. She was shaking with cold and had both arms locked around his neck.

Gordon draped his jacket over her shoulders and turned to look at me. His eyes were ice.