A Contract Paid in Marriage

Back when the boys in our exclusive enclave were still running around in diapers, I, the only girl, was inside, quietly studying.

In the blink of an eye, we all inherited our family businesses. They still got together to shoot the shit and screw around.

I, however, was already running an empire.

My entire life, I was the moon everyone orbited around.

Until my fianc brought a girl home.

Suddenly, all the men in our circle were tripping over themselves to praise her and put me down.

The girl, spoiled rotten, had the audacity to scream at me.

"You idiots! Have you really been pampering this two-faced tomboy for all these years?"

The moment I heard that, I slapped her across the face. My fianc jumped in to protect her, so I grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it over his head.

Then I looked down at the adulterous pair huddled together and sneered, "Who the hell do you think you are, barking at me?"

The day of the big get-together, I heard a woman's voice just as I was pushing open the door to the private room.

Her tone was shrill and arrogant.

"I'm telling you, Victoria Langdon is a total fake. She pretends to be one of the guys, but she's the biggest snake of all!"

"I'm a woman. I know how other women think!"

"You guys are just too naive. You actually treat that manipulative bitch like she's some kind of treasure!"

"Preston, you can't let her fool you!"

The waiter who led me here knew who I was. Hearing this, he shot me a terrified look.

A smirk played on my lips as I shoved the door open.

The room was filled with the usual crowd, including my childhood friend and fianc, Preston Rhodes.

And the girl who had been speaking was the newcomer to our circle, Cassie Leigh.

The second he saw me, Prestons face went pale. He stood up with a guilty grin.

"Tori, what are you doing here?"

I shoved him aside and slapped Cassie clean across the face.

Cassie shrieked, clutching her cheek as her head snapped to the side.

The next second, I grabbed a bottle from the table and brought it down squarely on Prestons head.

Expensive liquor and shards of glass exploded everywhere. The paid hostesses screamed and dove into the arms of the other young masters, a picture of delicate, calculated fear.

Cassie was the first to recover. Still holding her face, she pointed a finger at me and screeched, "Victoria Langdon, you hit me? Do you have any idea who my father is?"

I maintained my polite, society-girl smile and slapped her again.

I work out. A lot. Those two slaps were enough to knock her freshly done nose completely crooked.

Seeing her pathetic state, my smile widened. "I don't give a damn who your father is."

"Even if your dad was the goddamn President, if you insult me to my face, you're the first one I'm going to hit."

With that, I kicked her in the stomach, sending her sprawling onto the sofa.

Having dealt with the little bitch, I turned to the cause of all this: my fianc, the eldest son of the Rhodes family, Preston.

He was glaring at me, his face contorted with rage. "Victoria, don't you go too far! We're just friends! Do you have to be such a vicious bitch about everything?"

I let out a cold laugh and swung my designer bag off the table, smashing it into his face.

Then, I jabbed a finger at his nose. "Your so-called 'friend' is insulting your fiance right in front of you, and not only do you say nothing, you practically applaud her?"

"If you don't respect me and don't want this merger, fine. Go renounce your inheritance. Let your younger brother take over. The Langdons will be thrilled to form an alliance with him, and I promise I'll never bother you again!"

"But no, you can't give up the Rhodes fortune, yet you still want to run around chasing 'true love.' Dream on!"

I smashed the bag into his face again. The metal letters of the logo left two distinct impressions on his cheek: "D.B."

With a flick of my hair, I shot a meaningful glance at the other heirs lounging on the sofa. "The Feds are cracking down lately. Be careful you don't end up in their crosshairs. We all grew up together, so I'm just giving you a friendly warning. Don't be the one who sticks their neck out."

I wiped a smear of wine and blood off my bag and turned to leave. At the door, I casually snapped a picture of the scion of the Davies family. In the photo, his arms were wrapped around a girl whose dress was slipping off her shoulder, his face and collarbone smeared with bright red lipstick.

Only then did I pull the door open and slam it shut behind me.

I was raised in the Enclave, the gilded cage of our citys elite.

I was the only girl in a sea of wild boys who were universally despised by their parents. While they were getting into fistfights and failing exams, I, the quiet, clever, top-of-my-class girl, became the neighborhood's golden child.

Even though those boys got an earful from their fathers every time they were punished"Why can't you be more like Victoria?"they never held it against me. Instead, they treated me like a queen.

After all, I was the only one who did my homework every day. They had to copy mine. And when the jocks from the private school next door got too rowdy, they needed me, their strategist, to plan their brawls. Otherwise, they'd lose.

We fought side-by-side from age eight to eighteen.

After that, we scatteredsome to college, some abroad. As the economy boomed, so did our family businesses. My old playmates put on suits and became polished, respectable members of society.

But among ourselves, things were supposed to be different.

Until Cassie Leigh showed up.

A top student from the National Arts Institute's painting department. More importantly, she needed things from them, so she flattered them endlessly. They soaked it up like frogs in warm water, completely at ease.

In contrast, I, the heiress with a fortune and background equal to their own, was gradually pushed to the side.

I couldn't have cared less.

She was a plaything, a fleeting distraction. Once they were bored, they'd toss her aside.

But now? Now Cassie Leigh dared to use me as conversational fodder to get closer to them? She dared to make me the punchline?

Then she couldn't blame me for getting physical.

There are no secrets in the Enclave.

The news that I had publicly assaulted Preston reached the Rhodes family by the next morning.

Mrs. Rhodes arrived at my door with gifts, ready to apologize.

Her younger son, Spencer, still in high school, stood behind her in his prep school uniform, holding several boxes of expensive tea, looking quiet and obedient.

Mrs. Rhodes took my hand, her face full of remorse. "My dear, you've been wronged. You must come over for dinner tonight. I won't be able to live with myself otherwise."

She held my hand tightly, and after a quick word with my mother, she whisked me away to the Rhodes' house.

A full spread was already on the table. Spencer got a pair of slippers for me from the cabinet and watched as I changed into them. I handed him my bag, and he put it away for me.

Watching his long, pale fingers, I spoke suddenly. "Spencer, how old are you this year?"

He flinched, surprised. "I'm nineteen."

I nodded and walked into the dining room.

Over the years, the Rhodes Corporation had grown, and like us, they had bought a villa in the city's most exclusive district. But everyone still preferred to live in the Enclave. It felt more like home.

At the table, Mrs. Rhodes held my hand, her voice thick with apology. "It's my fault. I didn't raise my son right, letting him stand by while some outsider insulted you! My dear, I promise I will make this right!"

I just smiled and shook my head. "Aunt Carol, I think Preston really likes Miss Leigh. Maybe we should just call it off. You can't force these things."

Hearing this, Mrs. Rhodes panicked. The Langdon and Rhodes corporations were in the middle of a massive joint venture. How could they let some girl from nowhere ruin everything?

Her voice rose. "That Cassie Leigh? What is she? Does she really think she's worthy of being a Rhodes daughter-in-law? In her dreams! I knew she was trouble the second I saw her, all flirty and fake!"

Just as she finished, the front door slammed open.

It was Preston and Cassie. They were carrying piles of gift boxes, and Cassie had swapped her usual halter tops and hot pants for a demure white "wifey" dress.

She must have heard Mrs. Rhodes' shouting, because her eyes were red. She dropped the gifts and ran out of the house, sobbing.

Preston started to go after her, but his mother's furious voice stopped him cold. "If you take one step out that door, you will never be welcome in this house again!"

Preston froze. After a long moment, he slowly turned to me, his eyes filled with a deep, unyielding hatred.

I sighed and looked at Mrs. Rhodes. "You see, Aunt Carol? It's not that I don't want to marry your son. There's just nothing left between us. The way he looks at me... it's like he wishes I were dead."

I met Preston's gaze. He probably didn't understand the meaning behind my look. He was still glaring at me like I was the evil queen from a fairy tale.

I just chuckled. "Instead of forcing this, why don't we both take a step back? Our families' business partnership continues, and he and I go our separate ways."

I smiled at Mrs. Rhodes. "And you will still be my godmother. From now on, I'm still your daughter."

I left it at that, stood up, grabbed my coat from the sofa, and walked to the entryway. Preston watched me, his expression a complicated mess.

As if I'd just remembered something, I turned back to him. "As for you, Preston, I have something for you."

The next second, I slapped him across the face.

Looking at his handsome, pathetic face, I sneered. "That was for breaking your promise and cheating on me."

I slapped him again.

"And that was for letting Cassie Leigh humiliate me in front of our entire circle. From now on, I wish you and Cassie a lifetime of happiness. We are done."

With that, I grabbed my bag and walked out without a backward glance.

Whether Preston and I were married or not, our families' business ties were unbreakable.

On the day of his wedding, I arrived as expected.

I was on my brother's arm, wearing an understated black cocktail dresselegant, but not attention-grabbing.

My best friend was surprised to see me. "I can't believe you actually came."

I picked up a glass of champagne, my smile calm and collected. "Langdon and Rhodes are business partners. I'm the future head of the Langdon Corporation. Why wouldn't I be here? Besides, I'm Aunt Carol's goddaughter. It's my duty to be here to celebrate."

My friend nodded, then gestured toward a woman with frizzy hair across the room. "See her? That's Cassie Leigh's mother. You know why the Rhodes family let Cassie marry in so easily? Because she got pregnant. Her mother showed up and threatened to go to the press if they didn't marry her daughter. With the Feds breathing down everyone's necks lately, the Rhodes family can't afford a scandal."

I looked over at the triumphant Mrs. Leigh, a smile playing on my lips. "Well, she's quite the character herself. Pulled out all the stops to get her daughter into this family."

My friend nodded, about to say more, when a Rhodes family servant approached and asked me to go backstage to offer my good wishes to the bride.

I agreed cheerfully. As Aunt Carol's goddaughter, it was only proper.

The servant led me to a small, out-of-the-way dressing room.

Seeing Cassie inside, I raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I never thought you'd want to see me, your husband's 'ex-fiance,' on your big day."

The servant quietly closed the door, leaving us alone.

Cassie laughed, lifting the skirt of her wedding gown. "I called you here to gloat. You looked down on me, didn't you? Well, look at me now. I'm the eldest daughter-in-law of the Rhodes family. Preston's wife!"

She looked up at me, her eyes full of defiance. "You call yourself the queen of the Enclave, Victoria, but when it came down to it, not a single person stood up for you! All your 'good friends' stayed silent when I called you a manipulative bitch! Even your fianc... I just had to crook my finger and he came running. You think you're so special, but to them, you're just a joke! I'm the one Preston worships!"

She puffed out her chest, convinced she was the victor.

I met her gaze in silence, then suddenly smiled. "If that's what you want to believe, then I have nothing more to say."

I turned to leave, but Cassie grabbed my arm. "You're not going anywhere!"

I flung her hand off. She stumbled, tripped on the hem of her own dress, and fell to the floor with a shriek.

As she screamed, a pool of blood began to seep through the white fabric of her gown.

The dressing room door was thrown open. It was Cassie's parents.

Behind them were the Rhodes family, alerted by the commotion.

Seeing her parents, Cassie burst into tears. "Mom! Victoria pushed me! Get me to a hospital!"

The wedding descended into chaos.

Servants scattered, spreading the story: the Langdon heiress, bitter about not marrying Preston, had attacked Cassie in her dressing room. Cassie, pregnant with the Rhodes heir, had been punched in the stomach and was probably having a miscarriage.

The rumors, a mix of truth and lies, spread like wildfire.