The Coma Prince’s Fiancée novel Chapter 143

Rebecca instantly recognized Shirley’s voice and shot her a look of pure annoyance.

Shirley had gone for her usual delicate, innocent vibe, but completely missed the mark this time. There was a heavy, expensive star ruby necklace hanging awkwardly around her neck, totally killing the whole look. Honestly, she just looked like someone who’d hit the lottery in a small town and didn’t know where to spend the money.

Rebecca only had to glance once to notice the necklace was from Alexis, the main rival of Lady M. Alexis was all about big, flashy gems that screamed for attention but had zero real style. If anything, their jewelry made whoever wore it seem tackier than before, not that Shirley was winning any points with her personality in the first place.

“I’m still in Harrisburg, all because of you, aren’t I?” Rebecca said, keeping her tone neutral.

Shirley’s face twisted into a frown. She didn’t want anything to do with this “cheap nanny.” “And what’s that got to do with me?”

“Exactly,” Rebecca shrugged. “What does anything have to do with you?”

It took Shirley a few beats to process the jab, and when it hit her, her voice went up an octave. “Rebecca, you—”

“Mind your own business,” Rebecca cut in, giving her a sideways stare. “By the way, it hasn’t even been that long, and your sense of style’s tanked. What happened? The Jameses run out of money and now you’re stuck with this awful, tacky necklace?”

Rebecca wasn’t just throwing shade. She knew that with Odom pulling strings, the Gates and James families were definitely struggling.

Sure enough, that cocky look disappeared from Shirley’s face. She glared at Rebecca, practically fuming.

How did Rebecca know about the problems at home? For days, her parents had been miserable, worrying about losing a huge client. They had tried everything, but nothing worked. Finally, they managed to meet Peter from Cabinda, hoping to use the Dodge family’s connections to salvage the deal. But Peter, for whatever reason, had heard she was pretty and specifically asked for her company. Shirley had wanted to refuse, but her parents kept pushing. So, she had no choice but to show up here, at Nocturne.

Shirley tried not to show just how annoyed that made her. She pressed on, voice softer and more persuasive. “Rebecca, look at you. You must have been kicked out by your bosses, right? Haven’t you figured it out yet? You’ll never have a life like mine on your own.

“But I’m offering you a chance to make up for everything. If this goes well, I’ll convince Mom and Dad to let you back into the family. I can even have Nash find you a great match, so you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.

“Isn’t this so much better than scrambling to please different men for scraps? Are you really not tempted at all?”

She sounded completely convinced that Rebecca would jump at the chance. But Rebecca just looked at her like she was watching a clown at a circus.

“Shirley, what’s going on in that head of yours? For real, how can you say something so ridiculously dumb? I guess with your limited skills, the only options you can see are relying on your parents... or hanging onto a guy.”