Her Cruelest Wish Granted

I was a ghost for twenty-six years, haunting my art studio in Europe. Worried I’d end up marrying some penniless artist, my mother called me back to New York City to see through an arranged marriage and plan my engagement party.

First step: choose a dress. At an appointment-only boutique on Madison Avenue, I fell for a vintage, one-of-a-kind silk gown worth fifty thousand dollars. Just as I was telling my assistant to have it wrapped, the woman beside me glanced over. "That one's decent," she said to the salesclerk. "I'll try it on."

The clerk immediately snatched the dress box from my assistant's hands.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice tight with annoyance. "I saw it first. Is this how you treat your customers?"

Her eyes raked over my simple clothes. "Fifty thousand dollars. Can you afford that?"

She lifted her chin, her voice oozing conceit. "I'm here with Grayson Croft, CEO of Croft Industries. And in New York, the Crofts make the rules."

What a coincidence. Grayson Croft was my fiancé.

I pulled out my phone, found his number, and drawled lazily into the receiver, "This woman you're with is trying to steal my engagement dress. What do you want to do about it?"

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1

Girl? The word reeked of a sickening intimacy. If Grayson didn’t have a damn good explanation for this, the engagement party was off.

But Grayson's voice on the other end was ice-cold. "Who is this? What right do you have to butt into my business with Hailey?"

Just as I was about to reveal my identity, he hung up.

A fire ignited in my chest. You've got some nerve, Grayson, not even saving my number.

Hailey saw my expression and howled with laughter. "You bitch! Did you really think having Grayson's number meant you could sleep with him? Dream on!"

Her eyes swept over me disdainfully. "Even the janitors at Croft Tower have better taste than you."

I’d always favored simple, comfortable clothes over flashy labels. It had never occurred to me that my own style could be turned against me.

"Are you serious? Still judging people by their clothes? Grayson must be blind to have fallen for a woman like you."

Her antics had completely ruined my mood for shopping. I strode to the counter with the dress box.

The clerk looked at me hesitantly. "Miss, in our store, VIP clients get priority."

Hailey smirked triumphantly and slapped a gold membership card onto the counter.

"This is a premier membership card. You need to spend a hundred grand just to qualify. What’s a nobody like you doing playing dress-up with the elite?"

I'm not one to pick fights, but Hailey was pushing all the wrong buttons.

I pulled out my black card and handed it to the clerk, trying to suppress my rage. "Sign me up for a membership. Then wrap the dress."

Hailey immediately turned on the clerk. "In New York, the Croft family is law. If you dare sell this dress to her, I'll have Grayson shut this place down by tomorrow."

The color drained from the clerk's face. "Miss, I'm just an employee. I can't afford to offend the Crofts."

Other customers began to murmur their advice. "I've seen this Miss Hailey around. Mr. Croft spoils her rotten. You should just give up."

"The last person who crossed her had their company bankrupted by Croft Industries."

"Even if you have money, it's nothing compared to the Croft empire. You should apologize and beg for her forgiveness."

Buoyed by the fawning crowd, Hailey was practically floating.

She commanded me, "Get on your knees, bitch. Say 'I'm an ignorant bitch' three times. Maybe then I'll think about letting this go."