"Five minutes," Vivian said, her cold blue eyes locking onto mine with a strange, flat quietness that had zero venom left in it. "Just listen. Then you can go back to pretending everything is solid."
I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at the stone bench by the rose garden. "Make it fast. I don't do secret meetings."
Vivian sighed, a sharp, tired sound that made her look ten years older than her high-society gloss. She looked down at her manicured nails for a second before meeting my eyes. "I used to think I would marry him. Our parents shook hands on it before we even finished high school. It was supposed to be neat. Clean. Dynasty meets dynasty."
"And instead he married an event planner who tracks electrical budgets in gel pen," I said flatly.
"Instead, he walked away," Vivian c
