𝐍𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 (𝟏𝟖+)

Chapter 1

My eyes scanned the yard full of guests, searching for my boyfriend and trying to tamper down my annoyance.

Since we'd arrived at Weston's family country house for his birthday party, he'd been disappearing on me all night. Sure, there were about sixty guests who all knew Weston and he had to make his rounds, but he'd totally ditched me, leaving me to make my own introductions from the very beginning of the afternoon. It was now twilight, and I'd barely spoken or been with him, left to mingle on my own beneath the strings of lights by the luxurious fire pits.

Weston's mother noticed me weaving my way through the crowd, past the catering tables laden with food as I searched for him once again.

"Adelaide, dear," she said, walking up and taking a delicate sip of champagne with a quirked brow. "Looking for Weston again?"

The critical scrutiny seemed passive-aggressive somehow.

"Yes, Mrs. Canfield, I seem to keep losing him," I replied lightly. I held the skirt of my floor-length summer dress in one hand and a flute of Bollinger in the other. To steady my nerves, I took a drink.

Mrs. Canfield tilted her head, causing her blonde bob to swing. Her red mouth tightened though she kept the smile pasted on her face, turning it cold and her tone came out soft, almost patronizing.

"He is among friends and family, my dear, let him enjoy it. He's only going to turn thirty once, after all. Besides, you are still at the same party."

Before I could reply, my eye caught something in my periphery, turning my head. Weston had appeared at the end of the dessert table, talking and laughing animatedly with a stunning brunette who I knew was his ex. He had his hand on the small of her back, guiding her along to the tiered cupcakes so their backs were turned in my direction.

Mrs. Canfield followed my gaze. "Oh, see? He's just talking to Clarabelle." She put her hand on my shoulder and gently but firmly turned me in the direction I had come from. "Why don't you go find Mr. Canfield, I know he mentioned he would like a dance with you before the night is over."

I cocked my head to glance behind me but the spot where Weston and Clarabelle were at the dessert table was empty.

Mrs. Canfield lowered her hand and lifted the rim of her flute to her lips with her other. "Jealousy is not an endearing quality, Adelaide. Weston is a popular, social man and Clarabelle's been a friend of the family for a long time. Your job is to be there to support him." With that, she gracefully disappeared in the sea of people without another look.

I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge not to march after her and tell her what a bitch she was.

The Canfields were beautiful and powerful, one of the millionaire families in New Hampshire. I had never imagined I could ever fall in love with a Canfield until I'd met Weston two and a half years prior at a swanky bar in our city of Seaboro. We had hit it off and I'd been charmed and swept off my feet, despite the surreal reality that we came from two very different lives. Weston was already established and a part of his family empire with several successful businesses under his belt. Unfortunately, I'd learned through Weston that for his parents Victoria and Harrison Canfield, it had been an unwelcome tide of bad luck that their only son and heir had fallen in love with a destitute girl who came from a childhood of poverty and mental illness essentially.

Weston had assured me nothing except our love mattered and he didn't care about the approval of anyone else. He had paid for my education in full and sent me back to school, saying once I'd graduated, we would get married and have kids. Even though I took the opportunity and ran with it, something began to shift with Weston. He had grown distant, and the flattery and affection had dwindled within the past year, despite me finishing up my schooling. I had graduated with a BBA in Accounting in the spring and had just started interning as a bookkeeper for a multi-billion dollar financial company in Downtown Seaboro. I had thought the reason for our emotional and physical distance was due to his parents stressing him about my lack of ambition and drive, so when I had finally started my career I thought things would get better. I had been wrong.