“That’s a matter of opinion, but I’m only a bitch to people who deserve it,” I said, overcoming my initial jerk of surprise to offer a cool smile. “For example, people who show up uninvited to my workplace and attack my character before I’ve even had my second coffee.”

Georgia came to a stop in front of my desk. Red splotches mottled her flawless skin, and a muscle twitched beneath her eye. I’d never seen her so upset, not even when our grandmother left her vintage Chanel collection to me instead of Georgia in her will.

“Bentley told me what you did,” she snapped.

“Really?” This was going to be good. “Please, what did I do? Enlighten me.”

“You tried to fuck him. You called him, pretended you had something important he needed to know, and asked him to meet you at the same time as the Windsor Rose Society’s annual post-Thanksgiving ladies’ brunch because you knew I’d be occupied that day.” Her blue eyes flashed with animosity. “Trying to seduce your pregnant sister’s husband? That’s low even for you.”

“Not any lower than fucking your sister’s fiancé in their living room on New Year’s Eve.”

Georgia’s mouth thinned. “Oh, please. That was years ago, and Bentley had a good—”

“Spare me your bullshit, Georgie.” She hated when people called her that, which was why I did it as often as possible. “I’m not rehashing the same conversation we’ve had multiple times in the past, but I’ll tell you this: we’re not the same people we were back then, and I wouldn’t touch Bentley again if you paid me a million dollars.” I returned to my computer. “You want him so bad? You can keep him.”

“You’re many things, Sloane, but I didn’t think you were a liar.” Georgia tossed her phone on my desk. “You met up with him on Sunday. Don’t deny it.”

I glanced down. Motherfucker. Bentley had somehow snapped a photo of me at the bar when I was ordering my drink and distracted. His hand was also in the frame, displaying his favorite Rolex.

I didn’t know what had possessed him to do that—insurance, maybe, or blackmail—but the man was truly dumber than a box of rocks. The photo was more damning for him than it was for me. “I did meet up with him—after he called me and said he wanted to talk.” I slid the phone back across the desk. “He’s the one who propositioned me, Georgie.” I didn’t go into detail about what he’d said—yet.

It happened so fast I almost missed it. A flicker crossed Georgia’s face, just long enough to make me think there’d been trouble in paradise before Bentley and I ever met up.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I lying about the Lalique vase you threw at his head?” She went deathly still.

The vase was a small, specific detail that I would’ve never come up with on my own unless Bentley told me—Georgia hadn’t made a habit of throwing expensive housewares growing up.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said, her complexion several shades paler than when she’d entered. “It could’ve just come up during your conversation.”

“Believe me, don’t believe me. It’s not my job to convince you of your husband’s infidelity.” My voice cooled another degree. “But there’s an old saying, Georgie: if he cheats with you, he can cheat on you.” I paused, letting pettiness take the wheel. “There’s also another saying: karma’s a bitch.”

The splotches from earlier made a glorious return, spreading across Georgia’s face and neck and blanketing her skin with a mask of bright red.

“This is why no one wants to be around you, Sloane,” she hissed. Whenever she felt threatened, her claws came out, and right now they gleamed sharp and deadly beneath the lights. “You’re a coldhearted snake; you always have been. You didn’t even cry when Mom died. What kind of sick, heartless monster doesn’t shed a single tear when their mother’s gone?”

Ice rushed to fill my veins, freezing me from the inside out.

I could handle anything she said about us, Bentley, or the estrangement, but in true Georgia fashion, she’d zeroed in on the one weakness I had left—the idea that there was something wrong with me, that I was broken somehow because I didn’t feel the way “normal” people should feel. The fear that I was a monster in human clothing, devoid of compassion and unable to form genuine connections.

I knew that wasn’t totally true. After all, I loved my friends and Pen, and I connected with Xavier more than I had any man in the past, including Bentley. But fear often overrode fact, and Georgia had ripped the stitches off my wounds with alarming alacrity.

I stood, taking comfort in the way I towered over her. My sister had an uncanny ability to make me feel small, but I would rather die before I let her see it.

“Get out of my office.” The quiet command lashed out once in warning.

Georgia ignored it.

“Thank God we got rid of Rhea.” When she sniffed weakness, she was like a shark hunting blood. “She was a terrible nanny anyway, and I would hate for Penny to grow up with a lying traitor in the house. How much money did you bribe her with?”

“Get. Out. Of. My. Office.”

“Speaking of getting rid of people, you know Xavier’s going to leave you.” Georgia pivoted to another soft spot with unerring accuracy. “I’m sure dating you is a novelty in the beginning. Everyone wants to melt the so-called ice queen; Bentley says that’s the only reason he proposed. He liked knowing he was the one who tamed you, but he quickly realized his mistake, didn’t he?” She tilted her head, her beautiful face vicious. “Now let’s take Xavier. Rich, gorgeous, used to having fun. How long do you think a guy like that will stay with someone like you before he gets bored? He doesn’t—”

“Ever since we saw you at the hospital, she’s gotten more paranoid. She accused me of checking you out and said I still had feelings for you.” Bentley’s voice played from the recording on my phone. Georgia froze, her smirk withering at the sound of her husband’s words. “She said she was my second choice and that I’m always comparing her to you. The thing is…she’s not wrong.” I didn’t take my eyes off my sister’s rapidly paling face as the replay of my conversation with Bentley continued. There was a reason I hadn’t sent her the audio right after I left the bar; I’d wanted to see her reaction, and it was as glorious as I’d imagined.

For once, Georgia was speechless.

Part of me had considered keeping the audio to myself, but that was before she stormed into my office, flung accusations in my direction, and ignored my requests to leave.

If she wanted to stay so badly, then she could do so on my fucking terms.

Her earlier words still hurt, but the satisfaction at seeing her tremble with outrage was enough to temporarily numb those wounds.

“Worry less about my relationship with Xavier and more about your own marriage,” I said, my voice cold and calm. “It took one chance encounter for Bentley to try and come crawling back to me. I don’t want him anymore, of course, nor will I ever want him again. Unlike other people, I prefer partners who understand the concept of loyalty, but I can easily walk away and never give that man another thought. You, on the other hand, are stuck with him.” I offered a casual shrug. “Perhaps try marriage counseling or therapy. I imagine being someone’s second choice is difficult, but you should be used to that by now. You seem to want only the things I’ve had first.”

Georgia’s skin grew increasingly mottled the more I spoke. This was the worst-case scenario for her—not only hearing the shit Bentley had been saying behind her back but knowing I, specifically, was privy to her humiliation. She hated losing face in front of her “competition,” and as much as she and her friends tried to one-up each other on a regular basis, I’d always been her biggest competitor in her mind.

If there was one thing Georgia Kensington did not tolerate, it was coming in second place.

“Now, if there’s nothing else, I have work to do.” I leaned back in my chair. “Xavier and I have dinner plans at Monarch, and I don’t want to miss them.”

Monarch was one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city.

Even my father had issues getting a reservation.

“Whatever,” Georgia snapped. “Monarch is over anyway. No one eats there anymore.”

It was as weak a comeback as I’d ever heard from my sister, and I merely looked at her until she spun on her heels and stormed out without another word.

I waited until the door closed and several beats had passed before I let the disdain slide off my face.

What kind of sick, heartless monster doesn’t shed a single tear when their mother’s gone?

Thank God we got rid of Rhea.

You know Xavier’s going to leave you.

In her absence, Georgia’s taunts rushed to fill the void, and without my pride to keep me upright, I was suddenly so, so tired.

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe through the rapid patter of my heart. I hated how I’d taken her bait before I cut her off with the Bentley recording. I hated how transparent I was to her, and how deeply her words cut when I should’ve been immune.

I’d known she was trying to hurt me, and I’d let her do it anyway.

My hands closed around the edge of my desk. It reminded me of Xavier, which reminded me of what Georgia had said.

Everyone wants to melt the so-called ice queen.