Chapter 1
A marriage arrangement made over twenty years ago – honestly, I never planned on taking it seriously.
Especially not now, with Dad barely in the ground.
But Mom kept nagging me about it. “Marcus Hawke’s always been loyal to old friends,” she’d say.”And Elliot’s really made something of himself. You should set a wedding date soon.”
But we hadn’t seen each other in over a decade. Coming back here wasn’t really about planning a wedding – it was more about giving each other a decent way out.
But the moment I got Mr. Hawke on the phone and said one sentence, he totally
“Who the hell is this? How many daughters-in-law my family has is none of your damn business!”
Before I could even tell him who I was, he hung up on me hardly.
That’s when I remembered – I’d just gotten a new number before flying back and hadn’t told anyone yet.
Seeing me get shut down, Celine was absolutely loving it.
“Oh wow, you talked such a big game! Thought you had some suggar daddys!” She laughed mockingly. “That’s it? Just pay up already!”
“These earrings are limited edition Tiffany, worth over two million. Even if we sold your country girl self, you couldn’t afford them!”
“Tell you what though,” she said, pointing down at her feet with a smirk, “get on your knees and apologize to me now, and maybe I’ll be feeling generous enough to give you a discount,”
A crowd of passengers had gathered around us, all talking at once.
“Two million? Jesus Christ, who the hell does this chick think she is?”
“Right? She’s the one who smashed the other woman’s stuff, and now she wants her to pay? What kind of backwards shit is this?”
“Shh, keep it down. Didn’t you hear her say she’s the future Mrs. Hawke? In LA, there’s only one Hawke family that matters…”.
Hearing this, Celine got even more arrogant.
“In this city, the Hawke family runs everything!”
“Even the cops have to show us respect!”
“I’m telling you, get on your knees and pay up now, because when Mr. Hawke gets here, things won’t be this simple!”
She looked me up and down with disgust – probably judging my t-shirt and jeans, figuring I was broke.
Looking at the shattered porcelain, I felt my heart break and my anger flare.
“I think you’ve got vision problems and brain damage!”
“This place is crawling with security cameras – they all caught you slamming into me! We’re not done yet,and you’re already acting like some kind of princess!”
“You want an apology? Bullshit!”
Celine lunged forward and slapped me hard across the face.
“You fucking bitch! How dare you insult me!”
“These earrings were a birthday gift from Mr. Hawke just yesterday – I’ve still got the receipt! Two point three million dollars!”
“I was gonna cut you a break, but forget it now! You’re paying full price!”
Chapter
The slap snapped something in me. I wound up and slapped her right back hardly.
“Fuck you! I’m not paying you shit!”
“Call the cops if you want – I don’t care! I don’t believe the Hawke family runs the whole damn city!”
I’d spent years abroad and barely kept up with LA politics. But even from Mom’s occasional updates, I knew about the Hawke family.
Elliot wasn’t that little boy who used to follow me around calling me “big sister” anymore. Now he was some big shot on the Forbes list.
Coming back this time, I just wanted to fulfill Dad’s dying wish and get his belongings home safely. I didn’t want any drama with the Hawkes.
But damn, the second I got off that plane, this happened!
Our family might keep things low-key and stay out of trouble, but we sure don’t back down from it either. Plus, I’d been doing taekwondo since I was a kid – if it came down to it, who knows who’d win.
Sure enough, my slap sent Celine sprawling on the ground. She stayed down for a good long while.
Then suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.
“Mr. Hawke’s coming!”
