Chapter 27
A stack of chips sat next to Cynthia, towering even more than the pile in front of Jasmine, the real winner. Anyone not in the know might think Cynthia was the top dog at the table.
“Thanks, Darian Cynthia said with a hint of sadness for the money but stayed polite and thankful
The card game’s second act started up. Cynthia seemed to get the hang of it after an hour and didn’t slip up as much as before she was holding her ground.
Overseas, Liam was swamped with the big move of Sullivan Group’s HQ back home.
2 million
in dollar purchase on the credit card he’d given Cynthia.
Out of nowhere, Liam’s phone lit up with a notification for a hefty charge–a solid 2
He squinted at the message, completely confused. Cynthia never wanted to use a penny from him, always playing it cool with him. What was going on with her?
Motioning for Ziv and the rest to give him some space, Liam punched in Cynthia’s digits. The moment she answered, he was blasted with the sounds of a noisy room
“Hit me.”
“Hit me.”
Jackpot, I’ve got a flush!”
“Cynthia’s totally lost it today.”
His ears were flooded with the jumbled noise, but through it all, a disheartened sigh came through crystal clear.
Cynthia pushed her chips forward, upset.
“You’re playing cards” Liam asked, a teasing smirk creeping onto his face. His girl never ceased to amaze him, they had been apart for barely a day. and here she was diving into the world of card games
Another round was about to begin
Cynthia, still a greenhorn, found splitting her attention between the game and the call nearly impossible. The stakes were high, and she decided to leave Liam on the sidelines for the moment.
“Can’t talk–swamped right now. Catch you later tonight,” she said, ending the call in a rush.
+
Liam stared at the dimmed screen, his smile growing even wider.
He recognized Jasmine’s voice in the background during the call–no question about it, Cynthia had lost to her
The card game wrapped up at six in the evening. The other ladies left with full pockets and nothing but good things to say about Cynthia, who seemed as downcast as a kid who’d just lost her allowance.
Cynthia had always been self–suficient. When she married Liam, she promised herself she wouldn’t lean on his wealth, She’d leave on her own terms when the time was right, but now, stuck with a debt, she was bent on making the money back herself.
Dinner was over at the Sullivan residence with Jasmine and David. The table was buzzing, especially since Jasmine’s plan had worked like a charm. She kept piling more servings onto Cynthia’s plate, pleased as punch. David, however, was upset. He had been eager to see Cynthia all day but ended up sidelined by her card game antics.
“David, here, try some of this, Cynthia said, offering David some food, hoping to cheer him up.
“Okay, but you owe me a boxing match next time,” he joked with a pointed look..
Cynthia agreed, a secret laugh hiding behind her smile at how the old man got such a kick out of the kids‘ petty arguments. Post–dinner, under a starry sky. Jasmine wouldn’t hear of Gynthia walking home alone, insisting she spend the night for safety. They set her up in Liam’s old bedroom, which still looked straight out of his childhood, thanks to the daily dusting and tidying even with his years‘ absence.
Cynihu, not one to pry, skipped straight to the shower. Afterward, she slipped into one of Liam’s big old shirts, which hung on her like a tent= Liam was 6 feet 3 inches, after all.
With the day winding down,
1, she remembered Liam’s call and figured it was time to ring him back.
As soon as Cynthia grabbed her phone, it started ringing Mason’s name flashed on the screen. Given their rocky history, Cynthis hit the ‘decline! button without a second thought
But Mason wasn’t giving up today. He kept calling back, just as determined each time.
Annoyed, Cynthia finally answered, “What do you want?”
“What takes you so long to answer? Tell n
me about Roseanne! Why’s she in trouble!”
Cynthia said, “Well, talk to her then
“How can I She’s locked up right now.” Mason spit out, sounding completely frazzled.
Mason had been counting on Roseanne to score a marriage into the wealthy Sullivan clan, and a scandal was the last thing he wanted. Since the mess started, he’d been at the police station non–stop trying to smooth things over. He thought he could fix it easily, but even with Jeffrey Sullivan getting involved, the other side wasn’t budging
“Roseanne must apologize to Cynthia, or we do this the hard way.”
This sounded simple enough, but getting Roseanne to say sorry to some nobody was pretty much impossible. No way Mason’d let his prize daughter be humiliated, so he tried to push Cynthia to ease up,
“Head to the station and bail your sister out. Just say it was a sisterly spat.”
“A spat!” Cynthia couldn’t help but laugh. “Some spat. If I hadn’t been sharp, I’d be the one in jail. Would you come to my rescue in that “You’re fine, aren’t you? Quit fussing and get over there. Mason said impatiently.
“I’m not going” Cynthia said flatly
Tm done with you! Where are you! I’ll come there myself and set you straight. You’ve never been grateful for anything. You’ve got your sister locked up! I wish I’d never have brought you to this world!” Mason said in a rage.
Cynthia sneered. “Don’t get high and mighty. My mom was the one who brought me to this world. You couldn’t even be a decent husband or dad, and then you had the nerve to go have other kids. Don’t start preaching to me about parenthood now
Then she hung up, tossing her phone onto the bed. Her temper was still flaring. Some folks really had no shame,
Her phone rang again. This time, it was Liam.
“What’s up?” Her tone was still frosty,
Liam knew
something was up. “What’s got you so worked up?”
“It’s nothing.” Cynthia replied, not wanting to dive into her messy history. The more time she spent with Liam, the more she admired him and wanted to keep her past at a distance.
Because of her silence. Liar guessed, “Upset about losing to Grandma today?”
Im not that petty. And hey, it was your card. But don’t sweat it, I’ll pay you back, she promised,
But Liam wasn’t having it “Cynthia, we’re married now. It’s okay for you to use my money. I don’t ever want to hear about paying you back again.”
COMMENT
BEND GET