And the night wasn’t finished.
Two weeks later, Darnell and Rochelle held an engagement party in the same ballroom.
They wanted the same lights, the same applause, the same audience.
They wanted a sequel where Simone was a forgotten footnote.
They didn’t know Theodore Whitmore believed in endings that taught lessons.
Simone stood in front of a mirror at Theodore’s estate, wearing a royal blue gown that fit like certainty. Her hair was styled in soft waves. Her makeup was subtle but flawless.
On her right hand, she wore a diamond ring Theodore had worn for decades, engraved with three initials: T.W.W.
Not as a threat.
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