If it was just a mutually beneficial arrangement, Zara felt totally fine with it. But if he genuinely found her physically irresistible, she felt incredibly flustered.
Claire sighed. This girl was getting played like a fiddle.
With a sharp mind like Reid's, Zara didn't stand a chance.
"Do you really think Reid could actually like me?"
It wasn't that Zara lacked confidence in her own looks; it was just that Reid had always been so impossibly composed and serious since they were kids.
He looked like a man utterly devoid of worldly desires. There was no way he was driven by lust!
"You're more than just a pretty face. You got into The Cabinda University. Do you honestly think you have zero brains?"
"Are you really that blind to your own worth?"
"Stop letting your cousin mess with your head. Just because she manages to poach the guys around you doesn't mean you're inferior to her."
"The reality is that you're better than her in every conceivable way, which is exactly why she's so desperate to steal everything that belongs to you."
"Get this through your head: Zoe is jealous of you. Not the other way around."
Ahhh!
Zara felt like Claire had just dropped the ultimate truth bomb.
She really shouldn't have let Zoe manipulate her all these years.
The guys Zoe managed to steal were nothing but trash anyway.
Any genuinely top-tier man would see right through Zoe's manipulative act in a heartbeat.
They would never choose someone like her.
"I get it now. I'm never going to let her intimidate me again, and I am done comparing myself to her."
Claire's words had completely snapped her awake.
Zara realized she had been trapped in a toxic cycle of self-doubt.
Why had she ever thought she couldn't measure up to Zoe?
It was overwhelmingly obvious that Zoe was just insanely jealous of everything Zara had!
The most glaring proof was Zoe's deep-seated resentment that Zara was the true heiress of the Zeller family. No matter how perfectly Zoe played her part, she would always be the illegitimate outsider.
Hehe!
Ms. Zeller had officially reclaimed her crown!
"I probably won't be able to make it to your engagement party, though."
Once Zara had calmed down, Claire finally broke the bad news.
"What?" Zara refused to accept this.
"Claire, how can you skip my engagement party?"
"If you aren't there, I won't have any backup! I'm terrified Zoe is going to cause a scene."
Claire gave her a flat look. "You just want me there to draw her fire, don't you?"
After all, Claire's fiancé was Dane.
A man Zoe blatantly lusted after.
"Hehe, can't I just try to trigger her a little bit?"
"She's the one who constantly flaunts Preston Dalton in my face all day."
"She acts like I'm still desperately in love with Preston."
"I never even liked him! They were the ones who forced that whole narrative onto
me."
"I can already picture Zoe dragging Preston to the party just to put on a pathetic little show."
Claire paused. "... Have you
ered the fact that, on the food
chain, Preston doesn't even dare breathe too loudly around Reid?
"I highly doubt Zoe will be able to pull anything over on you this time."
"You're literally partnered up with Reid now. Do you honestly think he'd just stand by and not back you up?"
Zara realized Claire had a solid
point That's true. And if she
peline, hay mox will
step in anyway."
Claire threw her hands up. "So problem solved."
"I have to head back to my hometown for the holidays, so I definitely won't have time to make the party."
Hearing this, Zara clung to Claire's arm, whining. "Come on, please? It's only a few days away."
"Your grandfather's family is here in Cabinda anyway. What's the point of going back to your hometown so early?"
"You might as well stay in the city and celebrate with me."
"Worst case, I'll just go back to your hometown with you this year!"
Claire stared at her. ... Thanks, but no thanks!
She could already picture it: a pampered princess like Zara following her back to The James Village, tasting their rústic country food, and suddenly refusing to ever return to Cabinda.