Chapter 4: Small Town, Big Secrets

I hugged the edge of the quilt, rubbing my eyes. Caleb was already up, dressed and polished, the golden boy again. He looked at me coldly. “At the beginning of next month, when I’m less busy, you and I will marry.”

I nodded, clutching the blanket, not trusting myself to speak.

Suddenly, the door crashed open. The air snapped with tension as Melissa Johnson burst in, her anger filling the room. She glared at me, eyes blazing. “You really are something else, Anna. Guess you’ll do anything to get ahead.”

“You’re the one who drugged and seduced my cousin, aren’t you?” She spat the accusation, ready to turn this into front-page gossip.

“I didn’t, I wouldn’t dare,” I said, voice small but steady. “I wouldn’t even know how.”

I surprised myself with a comeback: “Melissa, the way you look at Caleb every day, like you want to eat him alive—you’re more likely to have drugged him.”

For once, I felt a flicker of pride. Maybe I wasn’t so helpless after all.

Melissa’s face turned red with rage. “You’re full of it!” She lunged at me, hand reaching for my hair. I jerked back just in time, her nails missing by inches.

Everyone knew the Johnsons wanted to set her up with Caleb. Now that he’d picked me, Melissa couldn’t stand it.

But I’d survived worse. A few slaps were nothing compared to my aunt’s sharp tongue back home.

Caleb stepped between us, his hand firm. “Who said you could talk to your future cousin-in-law like that?” His voice was ice, and even Melissa backed down.

Melissa glared. “Caleb, a woman like her—being a side piece is enough. Do you really want to marry her? She came here with nothing. People in this town still talk about what a girl brings to a marriage—money, a family name, something to brag about at the diner.”

Maybe she was too loud, because Caleb’s face darkened. “Leave.”

Melissa’s bravado crumbled. She wiped her eyes and stormed out, heels echoing down the hallway. For a second, I almost felt sorry for her.

Caleb turned to leave, but I grabbed his sleeve. “Caleb, can you help me get my inheritance back?”

I blurted it out, hope and desperation tangling in my voice.