Queena felt as if her wrist bones were about to shatter. With tears welling in her eyes, she whispered, "Yvonne... I''m sorry."


    The eyes of every spectator were fixed on her, and Queena felt a hot flush of shame. She clenched her jaw, struggling to hide the venom in her eyes.


    Atst, the spectacle was over.


    The exquisite gown was returned to Mrs. Gonzalez, now marred by a tear, much to her regret.


    "I can fix this for you," Yvonne offered.


    As a child, she had often apanied Monica on visits to the Cooper residence. She would sit and watch Mr. Cooper at work, and while she didn''t possess his masterful skill, she was more than capable of mending a simple tear.


    Yvonne followed Mrs. Gonzalez upstairs. In her room, she found a needle and thread of a matching color and quickly repaired the damaged section of the gown.


    "My dear Yvonne, you''re so clever with your hands," Mrs. Gonzalez said, overjoyed. She immediately changed into the dress.


    The style, the color, the cut-it was all perfect.


    Wearing her new gown, Mrs. Gonzalez went back downstairs to entertain her guests.


    Yvonne, preferring to avoid the noisy crowd, decided to seek refuge in the backyard garden. As she passed down a hallway, she heardughter and conversationing from one of the rooms.


    It was Matthew and his childhood friends.


    "Spending Valentine''s Day with your old me in Paris, watching a whole night of fireworks by the Eiffel Tower... Matthew, aren''t you afraid your fiancée will throw a fit?" one man teased.


    So Queena wasn''t just skipping school, Yvonne thought. She''s been busy.


    "Why would Yvonne dare to throw a fit?" another man scoffed. "Everyone knows she''s Matthew''s little dog, wagging her tail and begging for scraps. If she ever pissed him off, he''d kick her to the curb in a second."


    "Back when the Gonzalez family was in trouble, she stuck by him, worked herself to the bone withoutint. She was absolutely head over heels for him," a third manughed.


    Matthew sat on a nearby sofa, sipping red wine from his ss, his expression indifferent. He didn''t refute a single word.


    Yvonne had no desire to engage with these ssless men, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, refusing to move. A sharp, stabbing pain shot through her chest, and tears up inher elled i eyes, unbidden. It was thest remnant of the original Yvonne''s emotions, lingering in this body.


    When the Gonzalez family had fallen on hard times, Matthew had been kind to her. He would save his lunch money to buy the young girl a slice a pretty hair clip. They lived in the suburbs back then, and on Christmas'' Eve, he had carried her on his back for miles just to see the fireworks in the city He promised that one day, when he was rich, he would buy her countless beautiful clothes and jewels and dress her up like a princess.


    of pink strawberry cake or slice


    The starved-for-love young girl had believed this was love, that a promise was forever.


    But to Matthew, she had merely been a pleasant distraction during his downfall. The moment his fortunes turned, he was ready to toss her aside like a worn-out shoe.


    And now, the beautiful jewels adorned his old me''s neck, and the sky-spanning fireworks were for another woman. The irony was suffocating.


    Yvonne clenched her fists, unable to contain the surge of emotion. With a furious kick, she mmed the door open.


    The loud bang silenced the room. All eyes snapped toward the doorway, and when they saw Yvonne standing there the men shifted


    ufortably, their gazes darting away. So, they did know it was


    wrong to gossip about people


    behind their backs.


    "What''s so funny? Don''t stop on my ount," Yvonne said, striding into the room


    under their collective stares. "Let me in on the joke."