• WATTYS 2022 WINNER •
When Iris Monet married millionaire Jared Darling, she had only one rule - that he could cheat on her with anyone except the household staff. This arrangement of theirs would have gone on quite happily if she hadn't caught him...
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HEATHER doesn't stay long.
"I have to work, and Millie needs me." She glances at the Satoh house, tall and imposing against the backdrop of dawn. "Have you decided what you're going to do?"
I don't answer her directly. "There's a dinner tonight. I've been invited."
"And?"
"Tomiichi's going to be there. You know, the actual Satoh son."
A pause.
"I see," Heather says carefully.
I twist the skin around my fourth finger. Back when I first arrive in Ryefair, you could still see a band of lighter skin, a souvenir from 3 years of wearing a wedding ring. But farm work and hot sun have tanned my fingers so much it's like I never wore a band in the first place.
"I shouldn't have chucked Jared's ring out the limousine," I muse aloud. "It was a six-carat pink diamond. I could have pawned it for a million, easy. Then I wouldn't have needed to get a job."
"And you wouldn't have met Akai." Heather's voice is probing.
I try my best to sound like I don't care. "He's not the point."
"Except he is."
"I'm not staying on because of him. Tomiichi's the one I'm after. He's always been the one I'm after. Akai was" – I stumble over the words – "a mistake. The wrong person."
"Now you're just lying to yourself." Heather sighs. "I wish you'd understand that a true marriage should be founded on love."
I shake my head. "That's just the stuff of fiction. In reality, marriage is founded on compatibility. If two people have what the other needs, then that's enough."
"So you're saying Akai doesn't have what you need?"
Again, I don't answer.
"What do you need, Iris?" Heather presses.
I shrug. "Where do I start? A big house, unlimited champagne, a TV screen large enough to count the pores on Tom Hiddleston's face ..."
"That's what you want. Difference."
In response, I open the driver-side door of Heather's Peugeot. "Shouldn't you get going? You'll never make it back for your charity luncheon at this rate."
"Unlike someone, I don't mind postponing work for my family." My sister pulls me in for a tight hug. "Remember all the reasons you gave me for liking Akai," she murmurs in my ear. "Those don't magically go away just because he's not some rich heir."
The car door closes, and she takes off. I stay where I am, waving goodbye until I can no longer see the smoke from her exhaust.
It's funny how my heart is both heavier and lighter now that she's gone.
