"How wonderful! Hillary, you're our family's blessing!" Samantha hugged her, beaming. Then she glanced at me with thin cruelty. "Unlike some people who haven't even managed to keep a child after so many years." She turned to Tristan, voice sharp, "You'd better take good care of her. If anything happens again, don't bother coming back to this house."
Tristan nodded solemnly. The three of them walked off together, laughing, as if I no longer existed.
"Meredith," Grandma said softly, her eyes full of pity. "The Palmer family has wronged you—Tristan, he..."
I cut her off with a shake of my head and forced a smile. "I'll handle my relationship with him. You just eat well and live to one hundred."
I shook my head, forcing a smile.
"I'll deal with him myself. You just need to eat well, rest well, and live to a hundred."
My words made her chuckle, and she said no more.
After settling Grandma, I turned back toward the banquet. Hillary stood at the center of a glowing crowd, basking in the admiration, as if she were already the rightful Madam Palmer.
I clenched my fists, not with jealousy, but with cold hatred.
"Enjoy your happy days while you can," I muttered to myself. "They won't last."