The Bird He Caged Was an Eagle

I was the proudest kept woman in our circle.

A designer bag wouldn't get a dinner with me. A car wouldn't get a man into my bed. When one handed me a card on his account and expected me to come running whenever he called, I snapped it in half in front of him.

In my five-and-a-half-inch Jimmy Choos, I'd walked over one rich man's heart after another. In the end I chose Adrian Sterling, the heir with more power than any of them.

He treated me like a goddess. Even when he was in Zurich negotiating a multibillion-dollar acquisition, he flew home overnight on his private jet just to fasten a rare pink diamond around my neck himself. It had just sold at Christie's for nine figures.

Then a poor college student showed up at his side.

A gambling father, a sick mother, a little brother still in school, and one fragile girl holding it all together. It was a cheap sob story, and somehow it made him want to protect her. He even pushed back taking me to his grandfather's birthday dinner so he could go to her part of town and deal with her father's loan sharks.

Our whole circle was waiting for me to embarrass myself by fighting a girl with nothing over a man.

I looked at my flawless reflection and smiled. I took off the Patek Philippe I wore every day, put on a flashy Harry Winston instead, and held it up to the light to watch it sparkle.

Some people are priceless. Some come cheap.

Too bad the girl chose the wrong way in. A girl who sells herself cheap at the start never gets the big payout.

"Ms. Vale, Mr. Sterling won't be picking you up tonight. You can go into the dinner on your own."

Adrian's executive assistant sounded as businesslike as ever.

Facing my vanity mirror, I slowly fastened the clasp of my Harry Winston necklace. The cold metal settled against the pulse in my neck.

"Understood."

I hung up without asking why. I didn't need to. Everyone already knew.

Tonight was the Sterling patriarch's eightieth birthday. Every old-money family in Chicago would be there. Adrian, the man running the family business, was supposed to walk in with me—the woman he'd publicly called his future wife.

Instead, he was in a damp alley in the rough end of town, cleaning up a debt-collection mess for a student named Chloe Ellis.

My driver opened the door of the Bentley. I stepped out into the night on five-and-a-half-inch heels.

When I walked into the ballroom at the Whitfield Hotel, every head turned. For three full seconds, nobody said a word.

They saw the nine-figure pink diamond at my throat. They also saw that Adrian wasn't beside me.

"Well, if it isn't Evelyn Vale. Here all by yourself?"

Sienna Harper raised her champagne, plainly enjoying herself. "Wasn't Adrian going to announce your engagement at his grandfather's party tonight?"

I picked up a glass of red wine and swirled it. "Adrian's busy. I don't need to be glued to his side."

"Busy with work? Or with charity?" another heiress said, laughing behind her hand. "I hear he's fallen for some sweet little college girl. Her family can barely put food on the table. He feels so sorry for her."

I didn't even look up.

Then the ballroom doors opened again, and the crowd parted.

Adrian walked in. His black tailored suit was sharp, his expression as cold and arrogant as always.

Beside him was a girl in a cheap white dress that didn't fit, without a trace of makeup. She looked like she'd wandered into the wrong party and knew it.

Chloe Ellis.

People gasped. He had actually brought her to a dinner that meant everything to the Sterling family.

Chloe clutched his sleeve so tightly her knuckles went white. "Mr. Sterling, there are so many people here. I'm scared..."

He didn't shake her off. He only tilted his head toward her and lowered his voice. "Stay with me. Nobody will dare look at you."

I watched from beside the champagne tower, the corner of my mouth lifting.

Six months ago, Adrian used to lose his mind if another man looked at me for too long. Now he was giving that same protection to someone else.

His eyes found mine across the room. After a pause, he brought Chloe over.

"Why did you come without me?" he asked with a small frown, as if I were the one who'd broken our plans.

"Your assistant said you were busy. I didn't want to get in your way." I glanced at Chloe.

She shrank behind him. Her eyes were already red.

"Evie... I'm so sorry."

Evie. We'd met exactly twice.

"If my family hadn't had all that trouble, Mr. Sterling wouldn't have been late picking you up. Please don't be mad at him. Blame me. I'm the useless one."

It was a textbook performance. No yelling, no scene. Every word made her sound helpless, and every word reminded the room that he had chosen her.

The guests leaned in, waiting for me to lose my temper.

I smiled at her. "You're Mr. Sterling's guest, Miss Ellis. Why would I be mad at you?"

I tipped my head toward her faded dress. "But that outfit isn't really right for tonight. People might think Sterling Group is going under and can't afford to dress its guests."

Chloe went white. Tears spilled down her face. "I know I don't belong here. I'll go."

She turned to run, but Adrian caught her wrist and pulled her back. When he looked at me, his eyes had gone cold.

"That's enough, Evelyn."

He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.

"She's a student, and her family just went through hell. You don't have to tear into her like that."

My smile stiffened. Tear into her. That was what he thought of me now.

I looked at the hand wrapped around Chloe's wrist. Once, on a freezing night in the Swiss Alps, those same hands had held my feet to warm them while he told me I wasn't allowed to wear thin shoes anymore.

"I stated a fact," I said.

He didn't like how calm I was. Turning to Chloe, he softened his voice. "Don't cry. Nobody's sending you away."

She sniffed and looked up at him like he'd hung the moon. "Thank you, Mr. Sterling. You're the only person who's ever been this good to me."

How touching.

I turned and set my wineglass down on the table hard enough to make it ring. "Since you have a guest to look after, I'll get out of your way."

I started to walk away.

"Stop."

I stopped.

Behind me, he said, "Apologize to Chloe."