Chapter 230

Rosewood Manor.
Thanks to Mary Porter’s connections, Alice and her group of classmates breezed right into Rosewood Manor.
“Whoa, Alice, this is your home?”
“This place is incredible! I’ve been to Sandra’s house before, and her family’s loaded, but her place isn’t even a third as big as this!”
Exclamations of awe echoed through the halls. Even though they’d braced themselves, Alice’s classmates were still thoroughly stunned.
Rosewood Manor wasn’t just big-it was sprawling, with every feature polished to perfection. This wasn’t the kind of place ordinary rich folks could afford. It was the stuff of movies.
In an instant, the way everyone looked at Alice changed.
Basking in their admiration, Alice lifted her chin, her posture straightening as she played the part of the debutante heiress.
“Oh, this? It’s nothing, really. Just a temporary place we’re staying at. Honestly, it’s a bit shabby compared to our actual house back in Riverton.”
She said it with a practiced air of boredom, as if she couldn’t be less impressed.
Her friends were floored.
This kind of luxury was “shabby”? Just a temporary stay?
Alice let herself savor the attention, then strode ahead, leading the way. “Come on, this is just the outer wing. I’ll show you around inside.”
The chorus of gasps and admiring whispers followed her all the way in. By the time they reached the heart of the manor, any lingering doubt about Alice’s secret- wealth background had vanished. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ
Grace looped her arm around Alice’s, her tone teasing and ingratiating. “Alice, we’re besties, right? When you go back to Riverton, you won’t forget about me, will you?”
The others chimed in, all eager to flatter her.
Alice raised her chin a little higher, her tone cool. “We’ll see.”
“Oh, Alice, do you think we could see that dress today?”
“Yeah, can we? I barely got a glimpse of it at the show before!”
Alice’s eyes darted as she quickly texted her mom. She was relieved to hear that not only were Anastasia and Mr. Harrison Lancaster out, but even Marcus was gone for the day. The main house was empty. Relaxing, she smiled. “Sure, why not?”
She led the group into the main house, marching upstairs as if she owned the place, straight into Anastasia’s dressing room.
The second she stepped inside, Alice couldn’t hide the flash of jealousy in her eyes.
The dressing room was enormous and lavish, rows upon rows of designer clothes lining the walls-rumor had it Mr. Harrison Lancaster himself had arranged it all for Anastasia. Even though Anastasia rarely wore half these outfits, every time a new collection dropped, Mr. Lancaster made sure she had it.
Why? Why did Anastasia deserve that kind of devotion?
“Wow-”
If Alice was envious, her classmates-who’d never even dreamed of such luxury -were positively speechless.
But the centerpiece of the room was the dress on display at the very center.
“Oh my god, Alice, you really do have the dress!”
“You’re way too modest! You never even mentioned it!”
“I heard the person who bought it was some big-shot. Alice, is it your boyfriend?”
“He bought you this insanely expensive dress just to make you happy? Alice, you’re so lucky I could cry!”
Listening to their jealous, giddy chatter, Alice couldn’t hide her triumphant smile. For a moment, it was as if she really was the heroine everyone whispered about.