Ariana’s face flushed. “Don’t be ridiculous! These are my friend’s family. They were kind enough to give


    me a ride home, so I invited them to the wedding. It’s not what you think!”


    The woman in red justughed. “Sneaky, sneaky! Who offers a casual friend a ride home and then gets


    invited to a family wedding? They’ve never even met the bride! All this fancy treatment for a random


    friend? Doesn’t add up, does it? Don’t insult my intelligence. Who brings a random person home? Let


    alone to a family thing like a wedding?”


    Just then, Damien was in the car, hung up on Jacob, and stepped out.


    Shawbury wasn’t exactly known for luxury cars or morous people. So, when Damien walked out in


    his khakis and sweater, looking like a million bucks, everyone stopped and stared.


    The woman in red who’d been grilling Ariana practically had her jaw on the floor. After a stunned


    silence, she squeezed Ariana’s hand way too hard.


    Dressed in a vibrant red dress, the woman’s eyes lingered covetously on Damien as she leaned in to


    whisper to Ariana. “Age ain’t nothing but a number, honey! Look at him… I can practically smell the


    money bags! Come on, spill the beans. How’d you snag him? Check out the car, the clothes, the whole


    package! This guy has gotta be at least a department manager, right?”


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    Cherise, catching wind of her covetous tone, couldn’t suppress a smirk. “Oh, you have no idea you’re


    selling him short.”


    “Really?” The woman in the red dress instinctively turned towards the voice.


    Only then did she notice another woman standing behind Ariana. Her eyes widened in surprise, and


    she called out Cherise’s name in a stunt.


    “Do you know me?” Cherise was surprised that this stranger knew her name.


    “Of course! We went to high school together!” The woman in the red dress pursed her lips. “I used to


    pick on you back then… I mean, we even sat in front of each other! I’m Ste Page. Hey, don’t you


    remember me?” Ste frowned.


    Cherise’s mind was nk, but she yed along. “Yeah, yeah, of course I remember,” she mumbled.


    Ste kept rambling, lost in her own world. “The couple getting married today- Savannah and Steve


    were ssmates with us back in high school! Remember graduation? Considering how deeply they


    were in love, everyone assumed the gorgeous Savannah would marry the ss heartthrob.


    She paused and then ruefully shook her head, “But who knew the prettiest girl in our ss would end


    up-marrying the biggest dork? Money talks, I guess.”


    Ste snapped out of her nostalgic rant and turned back to Ariana, still holding her hand. “Speaking of


    money, how loaded is this new boyfriend of yours?”


    Ariana fumbled, her face flushing. “Wait, no! Not my boyfriend’s car! Don’t jump to conclusions! It’s


    actually her husband’s,” she exined, gesturing to Cherise.


    Ste’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, what? Your husband’s?”


    At this point, Cherise couldn’t keep up the pretense of stay out of the drama any longer. She gave


    Ste a sheepish smile. “Yep, he’s my husband.”


    Hearing this, Ste’s admiration for Damien quickly soured into disdain. “Well, that exins the shy


    car. It’s probably rented and for show. Seems like he’s just putting on airs with his supposed wealth and


    sophistication, huh?”


    Adding insult to injury, she continued, ‘Who would’ve thought a in Jane like you would end up with


    such a vain man for a husband. Quite the surprise. But I guess you twoplement each other.’


    ncing towards the hotel entrance where a wealthy rtive had just arrived, Ste nudged Ariana.


    “I’ll go say hi to Granduncle. Since they’re your guests, why not show her in? Today’s Savannah’s


    wedding, and there’s a bunch of our old high school buddies around. You know the drill. See if you can


    slot her in with the gang.”