Chapter 38

• A malicious giggle rippled from Deidre at the thinly-veiled implication about how Valerie managed to marry a stranger. Valerie felt Emily instinctively tense beside her, both of them well aware that Bianca had been present when David left Valerie at the altar. But the ice water coursing through Valerie's veins stilled her tongue against such trivialities. Instead, she simply arched one meticulously groomed eyebrow and regarded her wretched stepsister with glacial appraisal.
• She paused, timing her next immolating words for maximum impact. "I gather I should extend my congratulations to you and that sniveling boor David. You two make a perfect couple - a sly tramp and a bastard."
• Deidre's mocking giggle cut off in an abject gargle, while Bianca rocked back as if struck, color draining from her cheeks. "Y-You..."