"Your husband was with another woman last night."
Laoise Douglas woke up to that text message. She stared at her phone, paralyzed.
—
One day earlier. A luxury suite at the Vertex Hotel.
"I'm coming down to get you right now. Yes, yes, I know you've been waiting, but I had to get dressed properly, didn't I? Stop nagging, Mother, I'm on my way."
Laoise Douglas hung up and let out a long sigh, gripping her phone. She walked over to the bathroom. The door was ajar, and her husband, Percy Jackson, was inside washing up.
"I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't mean to wake you so early." Laoise hovered by the door like a timid little wife, her fingers clutching the frame. Her face was a mask of guilt as she offered Percy a pathetic apology.
Percy's handsome, sophisticated face made no effort to hide his impatience. He held a razor, looking frustrated enough to use force, but shaving required a light touch. The restraint only made him look more agitated.
Sensing his irritation, Laoise tightened her grip on the doorframe and offered a shy explanation. "My mother, she's just a bit demanding."
With that, she hurriedly threw on a coat, grabbed her key card, and ran out.
Percy stood behind her, watching the door slowly click shut. The mirror reflected his face, which was twisted with utter boredom and exhaustion.
Laoise rushed into the elevator and ran toward the hotel entrance. The Vertex was a luxury five-star establishment catering to the powerful and the wealthy. She was terrified that if Jessica stood outside making a scene for too long, people would start to laugh at her.
The moment she stepped out of the lobby and saw her mother's outfit, Laoise's eyes widened.
Jessica didn't look like an old woman from the countryside. She was dressed in trendy clothes and wore a pair of oversized sunglasses on the bridge of her nose. The problem was that the look didn't suit her at all.
"Mother, why are you wearing my clothes?" It was her best and most expensive outfit, a gift Percy had brought back from a business trip abroad. "And where did you find my sunglasses? You're amazing. I couldn't even remember where I put them, but you managed to find them for me."
Laoise reached out to return the sunglasses. Jessica swiped her hand away.
"I'm your mother. I raised you, and now I'm not even allowed to wear a suit or some sunglasses without you making a fuss? They're on my face now. Do you really have the nerve to ask for them back?" Her voice was so loud and booming that Laoise didn't dare argue.
With people coming and going in front of the hotel, she had to maintain some dignity. She quickly took the suitcase from Jessica's hand and led her inside.
As soon as they entered the lobby, Jessica let out a loud gasp. She pushed the sunglasses up onto her forehead and looked around.
"No wonder your eldest sister says five-star hotels are the best. They're nothing like those cheap motels. This is incredible. Look at that ceiling, it's so high. And the decor, it's so grand. It looks like a palace."
"As if you've ever seen a palace," Laoise muttered, pulling Jessica toward the elevators. She was genuinely afraid that if she left Jessica alone for a second, the woman would charge up to the lobby manager, feel his clothes, and tell him his uniform looked like a royal robe.
Most of the elevators were stopped on the upper floors. Only one was on the ground floor, and its doors were already closing. Without looking closely, Laoise pulled Jessica along and broke into a sprint.
"Please, wait a moment." She stuck her hand out just before the doors sealed shut, successfully stopping the lift.
The doors slid open. Laoise saw only two people inside: two tall, young men. They were both strikingly handsome and dressed in sharp, tailored suits. They looked displeased, clearly annoyed that their ascent had been interrupted.
Judging by how they stood, Laoise guessed they were a boss and his assistant.
The boss was particularly striking, with a cold, detached aura. He gave Laoise a brief, glancing look that made her feel suddenly unwanted and looked down upon. By the time she thought to protest his attitude, she didn't know where to start. He had only given her a look, after all; any interpretation of it was her own.
For a moment, she wanted to step back out and wait for another elevator with Jessica just to ease the strange guilt of having bothered them. But Jessica marched right in and yanked Laoise inside, telling her to stop dawdling.
Laoise stepped in, her heart racing, and reached into her pocket for her key card to select their floor. But whether the card or the elevator was broken, the machine didn't respond, no matter how many times she swiped.
The man who looked like the assistant spoke up. "Ma'am, we're in a hurry. Perhaps you could wait for the next one? This elevator is..."
Before he could finish, Jessica turned and shot him a nasty look. "Listen here, young man, does this elevator belong to your family? If it does, take it home and use it there. If it's sitting here, anyone can use it. If you're in such a rush, go find another one yourself." She spoke with a rhythmic, mocking sneer.
The assistant was stunned into silence. Laoise glanced over and saw the boss's brow furrow with a sense of disdain so sharp it was painful.
In that moment, Laoise wanted to apologize to the entire world. She hated her own personality, always terrified of offending anyone, always scared of being disliked.
Feeling guilty, she tried to pull Jessica out. "Mother, my card isn't working. Let's try another one."
Jessica shook her off, determined to stay put. "Forget it. Why change? My feet have already warmed up this floor. I'm staying."
Laoise simply couldn't handle her mother's stubbornness.
Finally, the boss spoke. His voice was cold as he addressed his assistant. "Fine. Scan them in. Let's not waste time on trivialities. We can't be late for the meeting."
The assistant swallowed his anger, gave a polite nod, and reached out to scan his card. Laoise pressed her floor and whispered a quiet thank you.
She noticed their destination was the hotel penthouse.
The elevator finally began to move. In the silence of the ascent, Jessica couldn't help herself. She turned her frustrations on Laoise.
"Why did you make me wait so long? You know my back hurts, yet you left me standing out there forever. Were you trying to see if my spine would snap? You said you were coming down during the first call, but when I called again, you were still upstairs. I thought this hotel was a hundred stories high, and it took a year to get to the lobby. Let me tell you, just because you married a good man doesn't mean you can throw your mother away. Am I not welcome here?"
Terrified that the nagging would never end, Laoise interrupted. "What are you talking about?" She lowered her voice. "Didn't you say you wanted to stay at my house for some peace? Percy moved us out here just so you could have the whole place to yourself. Why did you suddenly decide to swap with us after only one day?"