Mara
The flight attendant approached with a flawless smile, looking as though he’d stepped straight out of a training video.
Then he recognised me, and his eyes widened. ‘Ms Marchetti?’
I blinked and pressed a finger to my lips, silently telling him to keep quiet.
He went pale anyway. Of course he did. My grandfather owned the airline, and all it would take was one snap of his fingers to ground the entire fleet. But for the past three years, I’d been living as Mara Miller, using my father’s surname. I wasn’t Margaret Marchetti, the heiress who could buy an entire city.
And I didn’t want Reid finding out from the tabloids before I’d had a chance to tell my fiancé who I really was.
‘Ms Miller...’ He straightened, suddenly deferential. ‘I’m afraid economy is oversold. I’m terribly sorry, but we’d be delighted to upgrade you to first class, free of charge.’
‘That’s wonderful.’ I stood and picked up my battered suitcase. ‘Thank you. That’s so sweet of you.’
Mara Miller didn’t belong in first class. She lived in a Brooklyn studio barely big enough for a bed. She was a survivalist, a clearance-rack connoisseur, a woman who could make three dollars last all day. But that identity was about to expire.
First class smelled exactly as I remembered: perfume, leather and that expensive hush.
I took a seat on the left. The attendant brought me champagne, fruit and cheese. I took a sip and thought, Not a bad start.
Across the aisle, the curtain around the seat opposite mine was drawn. It was an elegant, heavy thing, thick enough to block out the light.
The soundproofing, however, was absolute rubbish.
A man’s voice came first. ‘Relax. There’s no one else in first class. It’s just us.’
I froze.
I knew that voice better than I knew my own. I’d have recognised it through a bathroom door while he was straining on the toilet.
It was Reid, my boyfriend. The man who was supposed to be working overtime in a Manhattan office two thousand miles away.
What the hell was he doing here?
I sat up straight.
A woman giggled, her voice soft and breathy. Then she lowered it to a whisper. ‘We shouldn’t... What if someone sees us?’
‘Sees what?’ Reid said. ‘We’re married. This is our honeymoon. Newlyweds are supposed to be all over each other. Any flight attendant would understand.’
My fingers tightened around the champagne flute.
Married?
Reid and I had been together for three years, and he’d never once touched me in bed. He’d always said he wanted to wait until we were married. I’d thought it was respect. I’d seriously wanted to give him a medal for it.
Turns out, he hadn’t been waiting for marriage. He’d been waiting for someone else.
‘When are you going to tell your girlfriend?’ the woman asked. ‘Are we going to get into trouble?’
Reid laughed. ‘She won’t make trouble. A nobody like her? One cheque and she’ll be out of our hair. I know how women like that think.’
‘You’re right. A stray mutt like her would probably whimper and wag her tail even after you kicked her. She’d think she’d done something wrong.’
Their laughter drifted through the curtain. I was dying to know when Reid had decided he was ready to get married after all.
I sat there sipping champagne, calm as the sea before a tsunami. Seriously? For three years, I’d covered both our living expenses and his master’s tuition. He’d promised that once his father, the CEO of Harmon Group, agreed to acknowledge him as a Harmon, he’d propose. He’d give me the wedding of the century.
I bit my lip. Well, it looked as though there was going to be a different bride.
‘Ooh, that’s cold.’ The woman giggled. ‘Three years is a long time. You could at least let her down gently.’
‘Things have changed,’ Reid said. ‘Back then, my father didn’t think my mother was good enough for the Harmons. Now she’s about to take the Harmon name, and I’m about to become the heir to Harmon Group. A nobody like Mara and me? We’re worlds apart. But you’re different, Cecily. Your family is worthy of the Harmon name.’
‘Of course. We’re a perfect match.’ Cecily laughed.
They deserved each other. Reid was a pile of crap, and Cecily was clearly made for him.
I hardly knew what to say. Still, I was glad I’d never told him who I really was. He was exactly the sort of gold digger who thought having a prestigious surname made him somebody. The funny thing was, even his father’s company would be lucky to get my family to take a meeting.
I couldn’t wait to see his face when he found out.
I set down my glass, picked up the half-empty champagne bottle, stood and yanked the curtain open.
‘Please, don’t let me interrupt,’ I said. ‘And congratulations on the wedding, by the way. The whole world should be celebrating. Two assholes have finally found each other.’
Reid’s eyes widened.
Cecily was straddling him, facing him. At the sound of my voice, she spun around. The moment she saw me, she went white as a sheet and shrank back against the cabin wall. She scrambled off his lap, yanked down her dress and hauled her bra back into place.
‘What are you doing here?’ Reid stammered.
‘I was just about to ask you the same thing,’ I said. ‘I thought you were working late at the office. Instead, you’re ten thousand feet in the air, putting on this little show. When did you join the Mile High Sex Club?’
Reid glanced at Cecily, then back at me. The panic drained from his face, replaced by the cold indifference of a man who’d been caught and had decided there was no point pretending to care.
‘Now that you know,’ he said, ‘I’ll save us both some time. We’re not right for each other. Let’s end this here.’
‘Oh, thank you for stringing me along for three years before finally coming to that conclusion. How considerate of you.’
‘You don’t want to make a scene, Mara,’ Reid warned. ‘Let’s be honest, a woman like you, with no sex appeal whatsoever, was never going to get a man like me. You played the sweet, devoted girlfriend because you thought I’d give you the better life you couldn’t afford.’
‘Right. I’m just a desperate gold digger who spent three years pretending to love you, hoping you’d throw me a few scraps. And now you’ll write me a cheque, and I’ll wag my tail and thank you for it.’
‘That’s exactly what you want, isn’t it?’ Reid sneered. ‘A nice little payout so you can walk away happy.’
‘And what about you? You’ll buy me off, walk away with your fake-boobed girlfriend and carry on as though you haven’t done a thing wrong. You’ll get to keep your precious future, while I’m supposed to swallow the humiliation and disappear quietly?’
‘You bitch!’ Cecily shrieked. ‘Don’t you dare talk about me like that! My breasts are real!’
‘Enough, Mara!’ Reid snapped. ‘Get back to your seat. Enjoy first class while you can, because once we land, you’ll be back in that basement flat of yours, living like the broke loser you are. So stop embarrassing yourself.’
I picked up the champagne bottle and brought it down hard on his head.
It was an expensive bottle, made of thick glass, and it didn’t even break. I was disappointed not to see any blood, but a decent-sized lump was already forming on his head. Reid grunted and clutched it, too stunned to say a word.
Cecily screamed. ‘Are you insane? You can’t just go around hitting people!’
‘I’m not hitting just anyone,’ I said. ‘I’m hitting my cheating bastard of an ex.’
She glared at me. ‘You’ve got some nerve! Reid’s done with you, so why don’t you take the hint and leave him alone? You’re just bitter because you’ve lost your meal ticket.’
‘Oh, please. You’re one to talk. You had to get your tits done to catch a rich man, and you still ended up with a bloke who can’t last three seconds.’
‘Mara! Shut your mouth!’ Reid snarled, pressing a hand against his head. ‘You think you’re better than us? Face it, you’re a nobody. You always have been.’
‘If being a Harmon means turning into a lying, cheating piece of shit, you can keep the name.’
Reid’s expression darkened. ‘Fine. So this is about money? How much do you want?’
‘It’s my money, you idiot. I’m just asking for it back.’
He hesitated, then said, ‘Fine. I’ll pay you back.’
‘When?’
‘Once I take over as CEO. I can’t exactly hand you that kind of money right now.’
‘Then you’d better hope the board never finds out what I’ve got on you. I’ve got proof of your affair. One word from me, and they’ll have serious doubts about putting a man like you in charge of Harmon Group.’
He gritted his teeth. ‘What do you want?’
‘For starters, an apology. A proper one.’
He looked at me for a moment before forcing the words out. ‘I’m sorry, Mara. I’ve been a bastard, and I treated you like dirt. You didn’t deserve any of it. There. Is that good enough? You can take another swing at me if you like. I won’t fight back. As long as you keep your mouth shut.’
I stared at him. The cabin speakers crackled with the announcement that we were beginning our descent. My hands were still clenched into fists. I couldn’t believe I’d wasted three years of my life loving a man like him. I’d already let him make a fool of me once. I wasn’t about to let him make me cry, too.
So I turned and walked back to my seat.
Suddenly, the whole thing seemed pointless. Even if I beat Reid to death, what would that change? He wasn’t worth the effort.
I really should have listened to Headline. My African grey parrot had taken one look at Reid and screamed, ‘Fuck off!’
I’d assumed its previous owner had taught it to swear. It turned out the bird had better judgement than I did.
The moment we touched down, Reid and Cecily bolted off the plane without so much as looking back. They were probably terrified I’d chase them down and smash a bottle over each of their heads.
I didn’t cry. I collected my luggage, skipped the hotel and told the driver to take me straight to a club. Tonight, I could still be Mara Miller one last time.
It was past eight, and Manhattan was ablaze with lights. The club was packed, and the music was so loud that a murder on the dance floor would’ve gone unnoticed. Men and women were grinding against each other as though the world were ending tomorrow.
I sat at the bar, knocking back one drink after another, with my suitcase beside me, like a woman who’d just been kicked out of her own life.
A man sidled up next to me. ‘Hey, beautiful. Here on your own? Let me buy you a drink.’
I glanced at his shirt, which was covered in glittering studs. Had he just escaped from a circus?
‘No, thanks. I’ve had enough clowns for one night.’
I tried to slip past him, but he stepped in front of me and blocked my way.
I brought my heel down hard on his foot. He squealed like a pig and doubled over. I grabbed my suitcase and dragged it towards the exit.
On my way out, I passed the VIP section and stopped.
A man was sitting inside, alone. His profile looked familiar, although he was older than Reid and had sharper features. The club lights swept across his face, illuminating him one moment and plunging him into shadow the next.
He seemed to be waiting for someone.
Whoever it was had just missed their chance.
I walked straight over, ignoring the security guard, and stopped in front of him.
It was Hale Harmon, Reid’s half-brother.
The resemblance made me think of Reid immediately, and I could already imagine the look on his face when he found out what I’d done with his brother.
I grabbed the lapels of Hale’s jacket and leaned down towards him, intending to kiss him. It came out more like a bite.
Hale hissed and frowned, but he didn’t push me away.
I straightened up and hooked a finger through his tie. ‘You’re coming with me.’
He stood without a word, docile as a big dog.
No, not a dog. More like a silent wolf, dangerous and coiled tight, with sharp teeth ready to sink into flesh.
He followed me in silence to the lobby of the nearest hotel.
I wasn’t drunk enough to have lost my mind. I knew exactly what I was doing. There was only one thought in my head: I was done playing Cinderella. I was done pretending to be an ordinary woman. It was time to be the heiress again.
Mara Miller would let a cheating boyfriend walk all over her.
But Marianna Margaret Marchetti wouldn’t.
What I want, I take.
Tonight, I wanted this man.
