{"id":26263,"date":"2026-01-07T22:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=26263"},"modified":"2026-01-07T22:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:38:01","slug":"26263","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=26263","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIs he respectable?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0she had asked.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cDoes he have money?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I had lied. I told her he was a Senator\u2014which was true\u2014but I implied we were close. It was a desperate attempt to buy dignity in a marketplace where I had no currency.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRichard loves me,\u201d I said now, my voice gaining a desperate edge. \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLove?\u201d Patricia scoffed, checking her watch as if I were a boring appointment she needed to end. \u201cRichard is infatuated. He is weak. But he will come to his senses. And when he does, he will thank me for scraping you off his shoe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I looked at Richard again. \u201cSay something,\u201d I pleaded.<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked up, his eyes wet, pleading for\u00a0<\/span>me<\/span>\u00a0to understand\u00a0<\/span>him<\/span>. \u201cAmelia\u2026 maybe\u2026 maybe it\u2019s best if we just postpone. Until things calm down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The betrayal hit harder than the insult.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIs he respectable?\u201d\u00a0she had asked.\u00a0\u201cDoes he have money?\u201d I had lied. I told her he was a Senator\u2014which was true\u2014but I implied we were close. It was a desperate attempt to buy dignity in a marketplace where I had no currency. \u201cRichard loves me,\u201d I said now, my voice gaining a desperate edge. \u201cThat\u2019s all…<\/p>\n

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