had a p
, she ha
s that the event-styling course she wanted to take was more expensive than she had expected. The third was that Mar
tor open on her phone, trying to decide
er calle
na answered, "I know abo
to you too,
pite herself. "Go
t trip. Serena answered everything except the question about money. She hated worrying her mother
towards the bill tomo
urself. Just sen
hed. She could afford the deposit if she stopped spending on unnecessary things for a while. Unfortunately, she had alr
hone
Friday morning. D
ealing with r
e a house with people who thin
as a welcome distraction. She imagined the sea, the music, and Marcus attempting to
generous
g that being rich did not make his
come," Olivia told
. "I promised to attend your
to spend time wit
what my schedu
dult langua
t her. "You'
rew a nap
kfast as they had done for years. Olivia had always been the more impulsive one, while Damian
ple who could challenge him wit
ng where everyone wants something from you," Olivia s
ne no
ing food you didn't pay a chef to prepare.
lau
ple, us
rned to his
ward. "You're com
y people who treated every inconvenience as a personal tragedy held little appeal. However, Olivia
d the ne
I'll
suspiciously. "That w
ke me rec
had an early meeting on Monday, several outstanding decisions to make, and a family dinner on Sunday eveni
efore he could f
s Vic
tten about Satu
ned. "What'
parents. We discu
ad agreed to lunch out of courtesy. He checked his calendar, then remembered t
" he told her. "I'm goi
s a brie
h wh
and some
epeated, sounding amu
, Victoria. Not a
hear the disappointment beneath i
umed they would eventually become something more. They had never made any promises to each other, but neither had properly discussed wha
was too early in the morning for
the beach group chat
sked whether they could bring a karaoke machine. Someone had suggested a co
I being volunte
ve the personality of
ve the maturity of
k you. I wor
t six laug
up. Serena, meanwhile, was packing her swimsuit beside a small not
dealing with beyond the obvious: money, pride, an
would be sharing a car
do with it, they would be shar
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