Part 2I Will Be Your Permanent Thorn

The strategic merger between the Hughes family and the Garrison family was originally supposed to be between Margot and Devin.

They were the same age. They grew up in the same country clubs, attended the same prep schools. Our parents sat down over drinks at the estate three times, and the whole thing was practically signed in blood.

Everyone was thrilled.

Everyone except Margot and Devin.

"Marry him? Are you out of your minds?" Margot had shrieked, face flushed with rage. "Just looking at him makes me want to break something."

Devin was equally dismissive, rolling his eyes. "Margot? Wow, thanks. I wouldn't marry her if she were the last woman breathing on the Eastern Seaboard."

Both sets of parents tried to run interference. They offered the classic, wealthy-parent platitudes: "Feelings take time to grow. Love is built on partnership. You'll figure it out."

Margot went nuclear.

"I am never marrying Devin Hughes. If you're so desperate for this corporate alliance, you have another daughter. Give him Noelle. From what I can tell, they get along just fine."

She wasn't even afraid of sounding ridiculous.

Me and Devin?

We were acquaintances, at best. Over the course of our entire lives, we had exchanged maybe ten sentences. She was just using my name to disgust him, to make him uncomfortable.

But Devin’s reaction threw the entire room off its axis.

He looked away. A faint flush crept up his neck, and suddenly, this brash, confident heir couldn't even form a straight sentence.

"If... if it's Noelle, I wouldn't be opposed to that. Noelle is quiet. She’s sweet. She listens. Actually, I... I like Noelle quite a bit."

Just like that, the tides turned.

The dying embers of our parents' grand alliance roared back to life. And in the end, the name next to Devin’s on the wedding invitations was mine.