Jacqueline pressed her pale lips together and coughed twice. “I just wanted to apologize. I know you and Shane just got married, and I didn’t mean to ruin your wedding night.”
“So you’re calling to say sorry?” Natalie asked with a raised eyebrow.
Joyce rolled her eyes and mouthed, “As if!”
Apologize? Hah! What a joke! She’s clearly calling to brag!
Natalie could practically read Joyce’s mind and nearly giggled out loud before placing her attention back on Jacqueline.
On the other side of the phone, Jacqueline’s mouth quirked up into a sinister smirk that didn’t match the apologetic tone she spoke in. “Yes. I really want to say sorry, Ms. Smith. I didn’t know Shane would suddenly show up. Maybe if I’d known earlier about Jackie calling him…”
“What would you do, then?” Natalie cut her off bluntly.
Jacqueline’s eyes darkened and she was about to speak when Natalie suddenly cut her off again. “If you’d known, you wouldn’t have drunk yourself sick?”
“What do you mean, Ms. Smith? Are you insinuating that I did it on purpose?” Jacqueline clutched her phone tightly.
“As if there’s any other reason!” Joyce could not help but yell at the phone.
Jacqueline’s fine brows furrowed at the sudden voice. “Who is this?”
“Your memory is pretty bad, huh? To think you were so friendly to me when you visited Stanley.” Joyce rolled her eyes again.
Jacqueline widened her eyes. “Ah. You’re Ms. Rivers.”
“You’re d*mn right I am!” Joyce lifted her chin and admitted it.
Jacqueline’s expression became icy. “If I remember correctly, you and I don’t really have any interaction, right? So what makes you say that I did it on purpose?”
She was genuinely afraid of causing Jacqueline to faint. That was something Joyce really didn’t want to deal with.
“Don’t cry, Ms. Graham. I apologize for my friend’s actions. She’s always been the straightforward type,” Natalie said as she turned off the speakerphone.
Jacqueline wiped her eyes dry. “It’s okay, I know. It’s normal for you to think that way. After all, it really seems like I did it on purpose, but I promise you that’s not the case. I was just too overwhelmed. I know I said I’ve let go of Shane already, but I still can’t forget him completely.”
She got choked up after mentioning Shane’s name and continued. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Anyone would feel sad when they see the man they love get married to another woman. That’s why I drank so much.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Natalie replied mildly.
Joyce was leaning against Natalie, so she heard everything. She couldn’t help but cut in, “Ms. Graham, the way you’re saying it makes it seem like Nat snatched Mr. Shane away from you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Jacqueline said hurriedly. “Ms. Smith, please believe me. I really didn’t mean it that way.”
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