He Treated Me As Her, I Cut Ties

Chapter 2 Outsider

The next day, the Gosling family hosted a business reception, and I had no choice but to attend.

I had barely stepped into the ballroom when I spotted Miles standing with Carey, the two of them laughing easily with a circle of business partners.

What stopped me cold was the diamond bracelet on Carey's wrist, the one Anne had worn every day for five years before she died.

I remembered packing it away myself the last time I sorted through Anne's belongings, tucking it beneath everything else at the bottom of her jewelry box.

Carey noticed me before I could look away. Her eyes lit up, and she lifted her wine glass as she crossed the room toward me.

She said, "Kate, you look gorgeous tonight."

She stopped in front of me, her gaze dropping to the pearl necklace at my throat.

She said, "That's the same pearl necklace Anne wore to the party, isn't it? She told me once that she was saving it for the most special occasion."

Before I could respond, her wrist twisted, and the entire glass of red wine splashed down the front of my dress.

Every conversation around us stopped at once. A dozen eyes turned in our direction.

Carey's eyes welled up immediately, and she reached for my dress to dab at the stain.

Her voice trembled on the edge of tears as she said, "Kate, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to... Anne used to spill coffee on your dress all the time, remember? And you'd always laugh it off. You're not mad at me, right?"

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

When Anne had spilled that coffee, she had nearly cried over it herself. She had knelt on the floor and spent the next several minutes frantically trying to clean it up.

But the smugness in Carey's eyes was impossible to miss.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Miles was already striding over.

He pulled Carey behind him in one swift motion and turned his back to me, shielding her completely.

He snapped, "Kate, are you done making a scene? Carey already apologized. What more do you want?"

I stared at the broad wall of his back, and something squeezed tight in my chest.

I shot back, "Can't you see she did it on purpose? She wanted to humiliate me in front of everyone!"

Miles turned to face me, his eyes cold.

He said, "Carey is Anne's best friend. She'd never do something like that. Go upstairs and change into your spare dress, and stop making a fool of yourself. You're making Anne's friends uncomfortable."

Fragments of whispered conversation drifted over from the crowd.

"So she's the one who only survived because of Ms. Gosling."

"No wonder Mr. Gosling won't stick up for her. She's not even really family."

Behind Miles, Carey flashed me a small, triumphant smile.

I didn't argue. I turned and headed for the stairs, the wine stains on the hem of my gown leaving a trail of dark marks across the carpet.

I had barely reached the second-floor landing when I caught Carey's voice. She was speaking to the woman beside her, low enough to seem private but clear enough to carry every word.

She said, "Miles doesn't care about her. He told me himself, I'm the one who was closest to Anne. Kate's nothing but an outsider walking around with Anne's organs, and she actually thinks she's a Gosling." A small laugh slipped out of her. "Give it time. I'll make sure she knows whose family this really is."

I gripped the banister, and my fingertips went cold.

I remembered how Anne used to say, "Kate, you're such a good person. My brother's going to love you." But I understood now that it had been nothing more than wishful thinking on both our parts.

When I came downstairs in a different dress, Miles was beside Carey, working the room with a group of executives.

He noticed me and said, flat and perfunctory, "Don't start things with Carey again. People will say I'm pushing you around."

I looked at him, and the absurdity of it nearly made me laugh.

I said, "Miles, what am I to you? An outsider you keep around out of pity, or a prop to show off how generous your family is?"

He blinked, then frowned and said, "Stop overthinking it. Keep your head down and you'll be fine."

He turned and walked back to Carey without another word. A server passed too close, and he reached out to steer the man aside, shielding her with a motion so effortless it looked like something he had done a thousand times.

I stood where he had left me, watching the two of them disappear into the crowd.

My fingers found the pearl necklace in my pocket, and Anne's voice surfaced from somewhere deep in my memory.

She had told me the day before her surgery, "Kate, if anyone ever gives you a hard time, you tell me. I'll have your back."

But the person who would have fought for me was gone.

And the one I had believed I could count on had become the one who hurt me the most.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and pulled me back.

It was a text from my best friend, Gianna Johnson. Gianna: Kate, I looked into Anne's death report. Something doesn't add up.