The price of betrayal (Jack and Ashley) novel Chapter 66

Greed and jealousy were in men's nature. It was hard to move past the two emotions when one was forced to live in the shadow of one's close friend, especially when one was forced to take a backseat while said friend climbed to the top of the social hierarchy.

Jeanne was only human, after all. She was not above greed or jealousy, and a beautiful woman such as herself might grow tired of being second-best to Megan.

Nolan had caught the envy, jealousy, and even resentment in Jeanne's eyes on more than one occasion.

Others might find it hard to push Jeanne into surpassing Megan, but to Nolan, it was a piece of cake. He would like to know how Megan would react once her dynamics with Jeanne had switched.

Audrey noticed the pensive look on Nolan's face and comforted gently, "Brush it off, Nolan. I know you're angry, but there's no point dwelling on it. Don't worry. They'll get their payback soon enough."

Nolan smiled at Audrey and said, "I'm not dwelling on it. I just thought of something amusing. That's all. I'll let you know once I pull it off."

Audrey had no idea what he was talking about, but she nodded anyway. After a moment of hesitation, she added, "You know, Nolan, you don't have to stoop to their level just to prove them wrong. I'm not so prideful that I'd expect you to go to ridiculous lengths to satisfy my ego."

As she said this, she reached up and touched the necklace Nolan had named after her. She said quietly, "This jewelry may be counterfeit, but the craftsmanship is impeccable enough to make even Megan jealous. You must have spent quite a fortune on it.

"I didn't give you the money to buy me such fancy things, Nolan. It was for your daily expenses. What will you do now?"

After everything was said and done, Audrey still fell for what Megan said about Nolan. Not that he could blame her for doubting that he could afford the Crystal of Devotion, which cost nearly a hundred million dollars, after his recent stint in prison.

For all the faith Audrey had in Nolan, even she knew better than to believe the story he fed her about the jewelry.

Nolan seemed to understand where Audrey was coming from and merely chuckled. "Do you believe me, Audrey?"