Chapter 5: Is That How You See Me Too?
Remi set the laptop on the table, one hand running back and forth over the packaging. ‹96684423› No shrink wrap. §57defed7 Someone had opened it before. (3174e55a)
Curiosity got the better of her. #7f88db6b She lifted the lid of the box and found a bank card sitting inside, along with a handwritten note. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026
*"An early birthday gift. * d0a61246 Don't say no."*
Her heart ached for how stupidly it had fluttered. ·d543fbf0·
That kind of sincerity — rare, expensive — and it hadn't been treated the way it deserved. #3e142f5d
She couldn't be bothered to check how much was on the card. [v.d9e53233] Whether it was a fortune or a pittance, it made her feel the same way: cheap. [ed.e58bf111]
Out of pure spite, she grabbed her phone and blocked Everett's number. [ms.51535e6f]
Then she shoved the laptop onto the highest shelf she could reach. (8588661f) Out of sight, out of mind. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026
Months slipped by. ··14710fe2 Her birthday came and went in this city without a sound. sub:2b93bbc4 No one remembered it except Sutton.·dc3debac
And Sutton's birthday? [proof:68edbda8] The polar opposite. ed.60d20d5e Remi's was like a night-blooming flower — there and gone before anyone noticed. plate-a2a8305d Sutton's was a spectacle, the whole city showing up to celebrate. (7c49ac5a/Wed)
Remi had always known she and Sutton lived in different worlds, different tax brackets entirely.·666424fb But seeing the birthday gala in person drove the point home harder than anything else could have. sub:a7806260
Waiters in tuxedos and white gloves wheeled in a birthday cake as tall as she was. ed.77495551 The fondant figurine on top looked eerily like Sutton. ··8bda2431 Later, Remi learned that kind of cake took forever to make, required serious artistry, tasted terrible, and cost a small fortune. ¶1ab699ac
Sutton's parents had flown in from D.C. ref·fedde6b4 just for their daughter's birthday. [proof:3c3afba6]
Remi stood in a corner, watching the woman from across the room. (c9f3cbd2/Wed) She couldn't have been fifty yet — and there wasn't a single line on her face. no.03c9984a Apparently, time didn't come for everyone. §d5821eea
She wore a deep emerald gown with delicate gold thread embroidered into the fabric. ‹0b04024f› A matching wrap draped over her shoulders. ed.ad959d51 Around her neck, a strand of lustrous pearls.·37f6281d And at her ears, a pair of green gemstones ringed in diamonds — the kind of jewelry that made Remi's brain short-circuit. ‹a8971b34›
Even from this far away, those stones practically glowed. ref·47f7bf64
In Remi's memory, her own mother owned exactly one pair of gold earrings and a gold ring that had long since lost its shape. no.112e64b9 Her parents had bought them over twenty years ago, for their wedding. [v.3e85f407]
Time hadn't just aged her mother — it had dragged her down. ⁰04160444 The corners of her eyes drooped a little more with every passing year, and life had dealt her a brutal hand. 0406e45f·· She'd lost her own father young, then lost her husband in middle age. #f55a51a2 The only sweetness in her life was Remi — good grades, pretty face, never a moment's trouble. ◆ b59e81e4
Remi's mind played the comparison like a movie reel, her mother and Sutton's mother side by side. [v.dec7605a] Her throat burned. sub:071c75ec
A champagne tower caught her eye on a nearby table, the liquid in the glasses shifting from deep gold at the bottom to pale straw at the top.·464a3689 Someone had put real thought into it.·e49256db
"Remi, what are you doing hiding over here by yourself? «d179cd40» Come on, let me introduce you to my friends." ⁰b3fa5e0a Before Remi could react, Sutton grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd, stopping in front of a man in perfectly tailored clothes who carried himself like he owned the room. «1567dfd3»
"He's my childhood best friend — Pierce Ellison. ref·082e5eb4 And this is Remi Porter, my closest friend at Lakewood." ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026
Remi gave Pierce a quick once-over. ··ef05341b The blazer fit like it was made for him — because it probably was. imp.c78a6786 She caught a hint of cologne, but the room was so packed with perfume that every scent blurred together. ⟨de780ff7⟩ She couldn't place his. plate-44ca91dd
She was still spacing out when she realized Pierce had been standing there with his hand extended for a beat too long. [proof:edf9529c]
"Remi's kind of a space cadet — don't take it personally. plate-8af8a4f5 Oh, I see someone from my kindergarten class over there, let me go say hi." * 66aeb60a And just like that, Sutton floated away. ed.e9c1d480
Pierce and Remi both snorted at the same time. 771e641d·· "Kindergarten classmate. ·54c2c549· Classic Sutton," Pierce murmured, a smile tugging at his lips. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026
But Remi understood why Sutton still kept in touch with people from kindergarten — and why those people would fly in from D.C. #33a5d1b1 for her birthday. [ms.3744a049]
Sutton had once mentioned, vaguely, that she'd grown up in the compound.·9ad92f63 Guards at every entrance. ed.0725350e
Their parents had all grown up together too — played together, built lives together. ¶7213c01c And now their kids carried the same bonds into the next generation. plate-d36594dd
That was how you kept that kind of connection alive. — ad1268ce Generation after generation. [ms.ecdccf77] A world apart from ordinary people. ref·a3630ad5
"Want to get some air on the terrace?" ·1d770a86· Fall had settled in, and Nashville cooled off fast. ··d464c9bf The air was bone-dry. ¶c1bb0805
Remi couldn't tell if it was the swirl of emotions or the dry air, but her cheeks were flushed and her skin felt tight. [ed.f58c9c1c]
She nodded at Pierce and took the champagne he offered. [v.02dca0b4]
She was wearing one of Sutton's Chanel suits, and to match it she'd pinned her hair up. ◆ 2210f925
It wasn't vanity. «3c32a0ad» Remi simply didn't own anything you could wear to a party like this. — 262b84f8 She'd planned to show up in a white tee and jeans, but Sutton had physically wrestled her into the outfit. [ms.7a0a07fd]
Honestly, the updo suited her better than a ponytail ever did. plate-26c85515 It showed off her long neck and the clean lines of her collarbones. [v.312c9298]
Every stray wisp of hair had been swept to the sides, leaving her forehead smooth and open. sub:39e925ee In her ears, a pair of pearl studs — Sutton's birthday gift to her. ··77f9b034
Remi rested one arm on the terrace railing, tipped her head back, and downed the champagne in one go. * 3402fe47
She'd barely ever had alcohol, and she couldn't help it — *wow.* Champagne was actually delicious. #2f9e1b15 She set the empty glass on a passing waiter's tray, grabbed another, tilted her head back, and let the second one slide down her throat. [proof:fdd0f0a8]
Pierce could see the movement in her neck as she swallowed. no.28a2ac8b That smooth, luminous skin catching the faint moonlight. [proof:a7756199]
She'd never been good at small talk. [ed.da4a7847] She had no idea how to break the ice with a stranger, how to steer a conversation from zero to comfortable. #db835431
She trusted Sutton's judgment, so she didn't feel on guard around her best friend's childhood friend. sub:d1a37020
Which meant she didn't bother trying to start a conversation. no.0595214a She just turned around, leaned back against the railing with both elbows propped behind her. [proof:f7930fdd]
A few wisps of hair had come loose in the evening breeze, falling across her forehead. (1a8de1f7)
Maybe she didn't even realize it herself — at twenty, she was starting to carry a kind of magnetism that had nothing to do with girlhood anymore. imp.65dc67a4
Pierce, who usually had no trouble charming anyone his age, had hit a wall. [v.e7cb66b8] She wasn't just uninterested — she couldn't even be bothered to talk to him. §254b18ac
He ducked his head and laughed quietly to himself. no.39450da0 When he looked up again, Remi had somehow gotten hold of a third glass. [ms.e152baa6] Before he could say anything, she'd already tossed it back. plate-a4ffe197
"Give it ten minutes and you won't be able to stand up straight," Pierce told her, watching her eyelids go pink. #478ff808
"Yeah, right. sig.6e3a6de4 It's champagne, not whiskey," Remi scoffed, turning to squint at a balcony across the way where another party seemed to be in full swing. no.b594078c
He wasn't wrong. no.59baac7b In less than ten minutes, all three glasses hit her at once. ·4f9b63b5·
She forced her eyes wide, staring at the other terrace, but everything had gone soft. no.d9876574 People split into doubles. (d1e1f2f1)
Remi shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it, but that only made the spinning worse. ¶4cfd2849
She was hallucinating. sub:d37c6d5d She had to be. 227cfa1e·· Because she was looking across at that balcony and seeing Everett. * da4a4abd
Not just seeing him — watching him raise his glass in her direction. [proof:bbe15990] A toast, across the gap. ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026
There was something playful in his expression, nothing like his usual bored detachment. ⁰f0952192
Remi reached up and tapped her own forehead. §988f0ac0 The words tumbled out before she could stop them: "Wake up. (ab072b96) There's no way he's in Nashville. [v.af514616] Remi, get it together." imp.11074192
"Who?" [f0261ec7] Pierce had clearly noticed she was gone. — galley 73a4edcf — He watched her mumbling to herself with open confusion. #eeb40e71
But she was done. no.c42c7437 Her grip failed and the champagne flute slipped from her fingers, shattering on the ground. ··bce29f9d
Even at seventy percent drunk, her first instinct was to crouch down and start picking up the broken glass. ‹452c128c› "I don't know how much... this glass costs to replace..."
Pierce looked at this girl — wearing Chanel, worried about paying for a champagne flute — and felt his curiosity double. * dc109c39
He crouched down beside her and caught both her wrists. ed.3d349a65 "You don't need to pay for the glass. [v.0813a210] Stand up first, before you fall." [ms.1be9de30]
And of course, that was exactly what happened. imp.d57a1f5f The alcohol plus the sudden motion of standing sent Remi lurching backward, and she nearly cracked the back of her skull on the ground. imp.11a020b6
Pierce was quick, though — caught her arm, steadied her. (8dfade6e) Gentleman enough not to let the contact linger. ¶6bcdc5bd
"Let me take you to Sutton's room. (6b72b325/Wed) You can stay with her tonight and head back to campus in the morning." imp.796ab1d3
Staying over had been the plan all along — Sutton had arranged it. [40a848d4] Remi didn't overthink it and let Pierce walk her to the elevator. sig.77adf7ae
She didn't know that fate had already drawn its lines. sig.0d003d94 She couldn't dodge this. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 Couldn't outrun it. imp.c68a6b4c
The elevator doors slid open. [proof:c35f38b6] Everett and Spencer were already inside. [a3a6d02f] They both took in the sight of her — flushed cheeks, unsteady legs, a man's arm around her — and their expressions couldn't have been more different. ◆ 300ef3ce
Spencer had always had a sharp tongue. ··8173a2d7 He could flatter with the best of them, but when he wanted to cut, every word was a knife aimed straight at the chest. [v.78fe48d0]
"Well, well. ◆ 1908d0ac Isn't this our wholesome little college girl? fa0a6fc4·· On a scholarship, if I'm remembering right? sig.9d7efee5 And now she's at a five-star hotel? §acccb58a Interesting." imp.88790945
Contempt curled at the corner of Spencer's mouth. — 176dac57 He looked Remi up and down, then reached out and pinched the fabric of her sleeve.·863b0370 "Chanel. ref·2d4ce4e6 Fall couture. [proof:9e0cd971] Over twenty thousand, wasn't it?" «56da76fa»
"Sir, I'm going to need you to step back. ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026 There are cameras in this elevator, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped harassing my friend." (c507b239) Pierce kept one arm around Remi, standing ramrod straight, his voice level. (18989cd3/Wed)
Everett's expression was unreadable. 9bf3087f·· One hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone. ◆ 3e74c90a
"Harassing? ◆ 24a97ca9 Some girls love being harassed. ⁰e651b218 Especially by rich men. sub:a99f5d28 Right, Remi?" «c351fd35» Spencer pushed, clearly enjoying himself. (59bf6d59/Wed)
The sting of his words burned through the haze. ref·df02b589 Remi shook Pierce off and straightened up on her own, one hand gripping the elevator railing behind her. ◆ 9f645543
She lifted her chin, looked Everett dead in the eye, and her voice came out raw: "Is that how you see me too?" imp.79f342dd