The Price of Gold | Fortune's Fool #1

45 | the other woman

• [ t h e o t h e r w o m a n ] •

♥ louisa ♥

THE TIP OF my thin paintbrush gently stippled at the canvas; flecks of white paint swirled on the orange-red streaks of the sunset forming wispy clouds. I was completing the last part of a painting I'd been working on, oddly unsatisfied with how it looked.

It was a shame when things you spent so long working on didn't turn out how you wanted them.

"Hey, Louisa. You said you needed to speak to me?" I had specifically asked Julia to escort Lexi straight to my room when she arrived so that neither of my parents would see her. All they knew was that a 'friend' was visiting me. It was going to be amusing when my father found out just who this friend was.

"I did."

When I turned around, her powder blue eyes surveyed at me full of questions. I didn't blame her for being confused considering it was Christmas Eve, and Lexi and I were certainly not close. Like usual, her dark hair fell upon her shoulders and ample bosom and was divided in two with a sharp middle parting.

That wasn't what my attention was on though. Something stirred inside me as my eyes became transfixed on her stomach where a light bump used to be.

It was now completely flat.

My voice came out softer than expected as I asked her bluntly, "What happened to the baby?" I was well aware that Lexi hadn't been called away from Australia to help with Christmas set up earlier. Mr and Mrs Walton must have discovered the little package that Logan had sent them.

Despite the fact I hadn't thought it was possible, her eyes widened even further making her head seem tiny in comparison. "Baby? What baby?"

"The baby floating on the ceiling," I instinctively rolled my eyes and exhaled. "I'm not an idiot Lexi. I know you were pregnant."

Her mouth opened and closed as she debated what to say. After a couple of beats, her eyes drifted to the carpet of my room seemingly empty. "I- um. I, unfortunately, had a miscarriage," Lexi lied.

The high pitch of her voice and the emotions entangled in it were reminiscent of an infant who had been caught stealing in a sweet shop.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," I said ignoring the seedlings of sadness that had shot out of my heart at what she had said. Her parent must have won. Although I despised Lexi, I wasn't inhumane. I wasn't going to linger on the topic of her baby when it clearly hurt her.

"Shall we sit down? I want to have a chat with you." She nodded in response, nails worriedly presser against her legs as I gestured to the sofa in my room. Sitting up straight in my Burberry dress, I took a breath before speaking.

"Have you ever wondered why I hate you, Lexi? They've been a dozen people before you who also befriended us for popularity but I never despised them as I do to you."

The slackening of her hands which rested against her lap was a clear sign that Lexi hadn't been expecting this. Before she could say anything, I caught at her eyes and gave her a meaningful but harsh look. "And please. For the next five minutes, I want us to be completely honest with each other."

"Yeah. Alright," she said in a mix of fear and curiosity. "And yes. To the question."

Lexi wasn't aware that I knew about her encounter with my father. She was about to find out. After taking a sip of my ice latte that was on the side table, I gave her a sour smile before saying a sentence that I knew would make her heart skip a beat.