River chuckled. “You want to tattle to Serenity? Go ahead. If you complain to her, I’ll go complain to Old Mr. Lafayette.

“Better yet, I’ll tell the whole city that you took advantage of me and are refusing to take responsibility.”

Rosalie took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. Then, she retorted, “Go ahead. Why stop there? Just say I slept with you and then abandoned you! Do you dare?”

River fell silent for a moment before replying, “Rosalie, do you actually have feelings for me? Did you target me all these years because you like me?”

“You’re insane! You’ve been targeting me, too. Why don’t you think you like me instead?”

“You’re not my type,” River said bluntly. “If you were, I wouldn’t have spent all these years fighting with you. I’d have found a way to reconcile and turn us into business partners.”

Rosalie scoffed. “What a coincidence. You’re not my type either, and I couldn’t care less about your affection. Plenty of people adore me.”

Deep down, though, she was