Over breakfast preparations, Nielle confided to Samantha that Zephyr thought Rietta needed a friend. Samantha snorted and shook her head.
“That girl can put on the best act around the males and they buy it every time, hook, line and sinker! I can just imagine the tale she spun for Zephyr. ‘I was just trying to be friendly. Everyone misunderstands me. And I’m still so broken up over Raphael.’ Bull! She’s just mad because Raphael lost the challenge and now she isn’t lady of the house.” Samantha was getting rather worked up and beating the scrambled eggs faster and faster as she spoke, the sticky mixture threatening to fly over the edge of the bowl. “Zephyr, of course, won’t hear anything against her. He’s still too caught up in misplaced guilt over her father—which was not his fault, no mat
