Chapter 3
My driver, Pete, had been waiting at the school gates for over half an hour. When I never showed up, he got worried and came looking for me.
With the janitor’s help, they used a spare key to unlock the bathroom door.
I got in the car with a face like thunder, not saying a word the entire ride home.
My excitement about celebrating with my friends had been completely destroyed.
The first thing I did when I got home was have the housekeeper get me a new phone.
I’d just logged into WhatsApp when I saw a friend request notification—Celeste Hartwell.
Her profile picture was that same pitiful face.
I accepted the request, and before I could even say anything, her new Status popped up in my face.
The caption read: [Thank you for understanding my pain and giving me this unique gift! u/Archer Sterling]
In the video, she was twirling around in a shimmering dress inside Crystal Lounge’s opulent private room, beaming at the camera.
That dress?!
That was my ‘Moonlight Mermaid’—custom-made by an Italian designer specifically for my coming-of-age ceremony, taking three whole months to complete!
There was only one in the entire world!
And now it was on Celeste’s body!
My blood pressure shot through the roof on the spot, and I immediately called home to ask the housekeeper what the hell had happened.
“Miss Daphne, Archer came by and said you’d asked him to pick up the dress for you, so I… I gave it to him…”
I swallowed my murderous rage and reassured her before hanging up.
My temples were pounding like jackhammers.
This wasn’t just stealing my thunder—this was straight-up theft!
I opened my chat with Celeste, pulled up the payment receipt from when I’d commissioned the dress, and sent it over with a message:
[That dress cost $72,000. Celeste, better figure out how you’re going to pay me back.]
I could see “typing…” appear and disappear in our chat for ages, but she never sent a single word.
I let out a cold, bitter laugh.
Did she think playing dead would make this go away?
How fucking naive.
