Part 3I Will Be Your Permanent Thorn

But once the engagement was set, Margot suddenly decided Devin wasn't good enough for me.

She stomped her feet. She hunted him down just to berate him.

"When exactly did you start looking at Noelle like that? Have you been creeping on her this whole time? Who the hell do you think you are, Devin? You don't deserve her."

Then she’d turn to me, eyes blazing with righteous indignation. "He’s a player, Elle. He has zero moral compass. Don't let the tailored suits and the polite manners fool you. Underneath it all, he is an absolute animal."

Because of this, she appointed herself my personal watchdog.

Whenever she and Devin were in the same room, it was a bloodbath. They were at each other’s throats instantly. She audited his friends, she interfered with his weekend plans. Above all, she strictly forbade him from being alone with any other women.

"You're overstepping," Devin would snap.

Margot would stand tall, utterly unapologetic. "I am protecting my sister’s investment. I am guarding your so-called purity for her, and I will be watching you like a hawk."

Eventually, they became the social circle's favorite spectacle. The bickering childhood enemies.

Someone at a cocktail party once joked, "Honestly, you two give off major enemies-to-lovers energy."

Margot had been furious. She dragged Devin over to me, practically spitting mad. "Don't listen to those idiots, Elle. I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. If I actually wanted him, do you think you’d even be standing next to him right now?"

I just smiled pleasantly and nodded.

"Of course," I said softly. "I believe you."