looks like a gold digger.”
Vanessa’s friends laughed.
“The perfect match—the beast and the paid woman.”
Baste lowered his head.
He waited for Clara to cry.
To step away.
To feel ashamed.
But he was wrong.
Clara released the wheelchair and stepped forward.
“Excuse me,” she said firmly.
“Do not call my husband a monster.”
Vanessa froze.
“Excuse me?”
“Yes, he’s big. Yes, he’s not as polished as your husbands,” Clara said loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“But this man has a heart bigger than all of yours combined. I married him because of debt—I admit that.
But I stayed because for three months, I saw the kindness you’re blind to because you only see appearances.”
Clara placed her hand on Baste’s shoulder.
“I am proud to be Mrs. Montemayor. And I would rather spend my life with this ‘pig’ than with plastic people like you.”
The entire ballroom
