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"Frozen?"
That card was Julian's. Before we left the penthouse he'd slipped it out of my clutch himself, smiling. "It's your birthday. Let me take care of tonight."
I'd been so touched. I remember thinking, standing in the elevator, that I'd actually married a decent man. A man who understood things.
Now he wasn't answering. I'd called dozens of times. Straight to voicemail every time.
If this card didn't go through, I was about to have a very bad night.
The manager's eyes had shifted from deferential to openly impatient.
"Ms. Mercer. Do you have another card, or not?"
"I'll be very clear. We don't do tabs here. You should remember that from last month."
I remembered. Last month was when Julian's assistant, Chloe, had taken my card on a spree in this very dining room and called me a useless trophy wife at the top of her voice.
A cold suspicion crawled up my spine. Was this Julian's idea of payback? A favor for his mistress?
Right on cue, heels clicked across the entryway. I turned. Julian walked in with his arm around Chloe Beaumont's waist, her face flushed with triumph, a pack of their so-called friends trailing behind them like jackals. Every single one of them looked at me the way people look at a car accident.
"Eve." Julian's voice carried across the silent room. "You love watching people get stuck with a bill they can't pay. Now it's your turn. Let's see how you handle it."
The room erupted.
"I heard she came from nothing. Small-town girl. Just hit the jackpot when Julian Harrington noticed her."
"And now the husband's walking in with the upgrade. Watching her squirm. I love it."
"That's the shelf life of a pretty face. The minute a man like him sees something younger, the Cinderella contract expires."
My hands curled slowly into fists. The humiliation burned in my chest like acid.
It was exactly what I'd feared. He'd set this up for her. A gift-wrapped revenge.
Julian led Chloe to the head of the table, pulled out her chair, and settled her in like she was the lady of the house.
"Chloe, sweetheart. Don't worry."
"Whatever she did to you that day, I'll do to her tonight. Twice over."
Chloe's whole face lit up. She leaned across the table and kissed him on the mouth right in front of me.
"Thank you, Julian."
Then she turned to me, eyes glittering.
"Eve. You're nothing but a pretty face. Where'd you find the nerve to cancel my card?"
She grabbed one of the Lafite bottles and hurled it at my feet.
Glass exploded. Red wine splattered up my shins, across my gown.
"Look at her. The useless little ornament. I've got Julian picking up the tab now. I can smash every bottle in here and he'll just reorder. But you? You're done."
Julian's smile was lazy, cruel. "Don't give me that look, Eve. If you've got money of your own, by all means, pay up and walk out."
Someone at the back table laughed out loud. "She doesn't have a dime of her own. That whole spread, those opened bottles, she couldn't cover a third of it."
"She's been living off his card since day one. Take Julian away and she's nothing."