Chapter 6 Lily Vance

The invitation had arrived via a hand-delivered cream-colored card, stamped with the gold crest of the Vance family. It wasn't a request; it was a summoning. The Oaktown Elite Club sat on a rocky cliff overlooking the grey-blue stretch of the bay, a fortress of old money where the membership fees alone could have put all five of my siblings through private university.

As I stepped out of the car, the valet's eyes swept over my tailored, yet clearly off-the-rack, beige dress with a practiced condescension. I didn't let it bother me. I adjusted my shoulders, smoothed the silk dress, and walked in like I owned the air I breathed.

I found the despicable Lily Vance seated at the most desired table in the glass-walled dining room, framed by a panoramic view of the coastline. Lily was a masterpiece of cold, calculated luxury. She wore a bespoke Chanel suit in a shade of eggshell that looked like it cost more than a mid-sized sedan. Around her neck was a stack of South Sea pearls, each one perfectly matched, glowing with a dull, expensive luster. Her silver-blonde hair was arranged into a sharp bob that didn't dare move even in the ocean breeze.

Lily didn't stand. She simply lowered her designer sunglasses, her sharp, hawk-like eyes dissecting my appearance with the efficiency of a surgeon. "You're three minutes early," Lily said in her voice like velvet wrapped around a blade. "Punctuality is the virtue of the desperate. Sit, Serena."

I pulled back the heavy velvet chair and sat, meeting Lily's eyes directly. "In my world, Lily, being early means you respect people's time. But I suppose when you own the world, time waits for you."

Lily's lips moved, not a smile, but an expression of irritation. She signaled a waiter without looking at him. Within seconds, a bottle of sparkling water was opened with a silent hiss.

"I don't believe in small talk with people I don't intend to keep in my life. Let's look at the menu, though I doubt you'll recognize half of it. The foie gras was flown in this morning from France."

"I'll have the lobster bisque and sweet red wine," I said to the waiter, ignoring the French delicacies. I turned back to Lily. "I recognize enough to know that a high price tag doesn't always mean good taste. Sometimes it just means you're overpaying for a distraction."

Lily set her glass down, the diamonds on her fingers catching the light. Her charisma was suffocating; she commanded the room without raising her voice, every movement carefully planned to remind everyone of her status.

"You have a sharp tongue, Serena. It's what drew Edward to you, I imagine. He's always had a passion for projects. He thinks he can polish a rough stone into a diamond. But a stone is just a stone. Eventually, it cracks under the pressure of a real jeweler."

"Edward didn't marry a project, Lily. He married a partner," I responded, my voice calm and steady. "And if I'm a stone, I'm the kind that breaks the hammer."

Lily laughed, a dry, melodic sound. "A partner? Don't be fooled. Julian is the heir to a century of prestige. He is the sun around which our entire estate revolves. You? You are a shadow. A temporary eclipse. I've seen women like you come and go, women who think a marriage certificate is a permanent seat at the table. It's just a piece of paper, dear. And papers can be shredded."

The air between us turned cold. Lily reached into her Hermès bag and pulled out a slim, leather-bound checkbook. She took a fountain pen, gold-nibbed and heavy, and wrote with a graceful, practiced hand. She slid the slip of paper across the white linen tablecloth.

I didn't pick it up. I didn't have to. The zeros were visible from where I sat. Ten million dollars.

"That," Lily whispered, leaning in so close I could smell her expensive, floral-scented perfume, "is the exit fee for your little performance. It is enough to move your parents out of that dumpster. Enough to put your five siblings through any school in the world. Enough to ensure you never have to be with a man that obviously doesn’t love you. A man who will eventually grow bored of you anyway."

I looked at the check. For a split second, the images of my brothers' worn-out shoes and my mother's tired eyes flashed before me. This was the miracle I had dreamed of. This was the jailbreak Aunt May had promised, but on a scale I had never imagined.

"Why?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Because my son is at a crossroads," Lily said, her eyes flashing with a terrifying intensity. "He is the future of Vance & Associates. He needs a wife who can navigate a boardroom, who brings a dowry of influence, not a suitcase full of trauma and poverty. Eleanor was a mistake, but she was a mistake of our own class. You... you are a lowlife gold digger trying to reap where you didn’t sow."

Lily tapped the check with a manicured nail. "Take it. Walk away today. I've already prepared the annulment papers. You'll tell him you realized you weren't cut out for this life. You'll tell him you missed the chaos of your old home. He'll be hurt for a while, that’s if he even cares, and then he'll be back where he belongs. And you? You'll be the savior of your little poor family."

I felt the weight of the offer. It wasn't just money; it was a moral test. If I took it, I was exactly what Eleanor thought I was, a transactional girl with a price tag. If I stayed, I was gambling my family's future on the heart of a man who I wasn’t sure belonged to me.

I picked up the check. I felt Lily's smug satisfaction radiating across the table. "It's a lot of money," I said, turning the paper over in my fingers.

"It's more than you'll see in ten lifetimes," Lily replied. "Make the smart choice, Serena. For once in your life, think like a Vance. Think about the kind of life you could have."

I looked up, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face, the same smile Edward had started to fall for. "You know, Lily, you're right about one thing. I should think about the kind of life I could have."

Suddenly, my phone vibrated on the table. It was a text from Edward. 'Coming home early. I'm craving that pancake you made. See you in a bit.'

I looked from the text to the ten-million-dollar check, then back to the woman who thought she could buy the soul of a Blake. "I'll give you my answer in 24 hours, Lily," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. "But not here. I think Edward should be the one to hear it first."

I stood up, taking the check; I unzipped my bag and slid it in. "Wait," Lily snapped, her mask of luxury finally slipping to reveal the desperation beneath. "If you walk out that door without giving me an answer, I will make sure Edward loses everything. I will dismantle his inheritance piece by piece. Is your love worth his empire?"

I paused at the edge of the table, looking down at the woman who had spent sixty years confusing power with happiness. "You don't get it, do you? Edward doesn't need an empire, Lily. He needs a home. And that's the one thing you can't buy with money."

As I walked out of the club, my heart was racing. I knew I had just declared war. But as I reached the parking lot, a wave of nausea hit me, strong and sudden. I leaned against a pillar, holding my stomach, holding myself from throwing up.

I'm in a state of dilemma, thinking if I should accept the check or not. I have to hurry back home before Edward gets back from work. He had no idea I was meeting up with his mum, and I plan to keep it that way until I make up my mind on what to do.