But Terri wasn’t cheap. She had no interest in being a replacement, in scheming her way into power as some pathetic mistress.
Yet when Clarissa pressed a shard of glass to her own wrist, Terri gave in.
She understood her place.
Valerie was the one Blayne truly cared about. She had neither the status nor the history to compare.
Even if Valerie openly said she only saw Blayne as a backup plan, even if she never intended to marry him…
Being sent to his bed was still a humiliation.
At worst, she’d just be thrown out.
Terri was used to being humiliated. If it could fulfill her mother’s dream of climbing the social ladder, so be it.
That night, Blayne had been drinking.
He pinned her against the stairwell wall, tearing her clothes, gripping her shoulders, ready to take her.
She had no experience—she broke down crying.
Her tears dripped onto his skin, scalding hot.
Maybe he pitied her. Maybe he just found it troublesome.
Either way, Blayne let go.
In the end, all he did was hold her through the night.
After that, wherever he went, Terri followed.
He was gentle with her. Attentive.
Terri loved steamers. So this high-born, privileged young master peeled them for her by hand.
He knew she had a hard time in the Dartons, so he directed a few lucrative projects their way—making it clear they had to treat her well.
Terri was anxious as she put on the lingerie her mother had stuffed into her hands, preparing to offer herself in return for a favor.
But Blayne’s expression turned uncharacteristically cold. Holding her tightly in his arms, he was both angry and heartbroken.
He cradled her like something precious, his voice gentle as he placed a hand over his chest and swore, “I don’t need you to repay me. I just like you. I like you, Terri. For you, I’d do anything willingly.”
From then on, he gave her whatever she wanted. He never raised his voice and never forced her to do anything she didn’t want.
Terri thought it was real. She had always thought so.
But everything changed when Valerie returned from Scotland.
Being someone’s stand-in never ends well.
Terri knew that. But at the time, she hadn’t believed it.
Now, she did, so she didn’t bother to cover the marks on her face.
When they arrived at the party, she got out of the car alone, walking in with her head high.
She wasn’t ashamed.
She had spent too much of her life being humiliated by others. This was nothing.