The two of them had been pulling pranks on each other since childhood. It was like an old, familiar itch—if they went too long without causing mischief for the other, neither of them felt quite right.
At least it was always a two-way street-nobody ever truly got the upper hand.
Still, Xander thought Yvonne might''ve gone a little overboard this time. Stirring things up with Skye was one thing, but now she''d dragged Uriah into the mess? That was trouble on a whole new level.
"So Skye wants a sister-inw that badly?" Xander muttered, almost in disbelief.
It just went to show-sometimes your rival knows you better than your family does. There were things about Skye that only Yvonne seemed to understand. Her earlierment-"Want a sister-inw or not?"-had struck right at the heart of Skye''s wish for her brother to get married.
Yvonne clicked her tongue, amused. “She''s obsessed. Honestly, you''d think she was the one desperate to get married, not Finley."
Xander couldn''t evene up with a retort; for a moment, he was genuinely speechless.
Having just seeded in talking Skye into her scheme, Yvonne could hardly contain her excitement. Without missing a beat, she dialed Ste Quinn.
Meanwhile, Ste was in the middle of a different kind of mess with Melissa
Norton.
Yesterday, she''d barely managed to get Finley Yoder off her leg. Today, Melissa was practically on her knees, clutching at Ste''s coat and sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. "I swear, I wasn''t the one who sent that pregnancy test! Please, please, don''t go after the Norton family anymore! One more blow and we''ll be finished!"
Melissa was always so proud, the type who would never, in a million years, grovel like this. To see her now, begging and weeping on the floor, left Stepletely thrown.
She squirmed, trying to shake free. Melissa''s grip was unrelenting.
"Star, I know I was wrong before-please, please have mercy on us! Don''t destroy the Norton family!" Melissa begged, her sobs echoing through the room.
What do you even do in a situation like this? Someone who once looked down her nose at you is now crying a river at your feet.
Ste felt her skin crawl with difort. "Could you... at least stand up?"
And then Melissa had called her Star, making the whole thing even more surreal.
"I won''t! If you don''t promise me here and now, the Norton family will eat me alive when I go home!"
A pounding headache started at Ste''s temples. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"It wasn''t me who sent you that disgusting thing! I would never stoop so low, I swear!"
Ste hesitated, silent. She still had no idea who would go to the trouble of mailing her a pregnancy test. How bored would someone have to be?
ncing down at Melissa still clinging to her legs, Ste asked, "Are you honestly saying it wasn''t you?"
"I''m not even pregnant!" Melissa wailed. "Where would I get a positive test to send you-steal one from a hospital?”
Ste was at a loss for words. Well, when you put it like that... The whole mess sounded even more ridiculous.
She tried to exin, "I haven''t even done anything to the Norton family."
She had told them she''d wait for the facts before reacting. Once she''d calmed down, she''d realized shepletely trusted Ronald Quinn he''d never get mixed something like this. So, in the end, the pregnancy test just didn''t matter to her anymore; she''d even decided not to investigate.
But now, Melissa was in shambles.
"You might not have made a move, but Mrs. Lugar did," Melissa sobbed, sounding even more wronged.
"Everyone in the Norton family.
mes me, but I haven''t done a
thing!"
Melissa had never been used of something she didn''t do in her life. Thest few
days had felt like a nightmare.
Ste started, "So I—"
"I swear-cross my heart and hope
to die- didn''t send you that
disgusting thing! If I''m lying, I hope I
lose everything I''ve ever cared about. I swear it on my life!''
Coming from someone in Ferrond, that was as serious as it got. There, people kept to their word, and no one would dare swear such an oath if they were guilty.