“You made a vow when you were seventeen and had just gone through something horrible. You can’t hold yourself to it forever. You’re a different person now.”

Ameerah’s commitment to man-Barbies was self-defense. When she was seventeen, she’d been seduced by a grifter who had broken her heart and emptied her bank account. At the time, she hadn’t yet grown into her long legs or out of her acne; she was an awkward teenager, grateful for the attentions of the handsome twenty-five-year-old and ripe for being hustled. From that moment, Ameerah had sworn off love forever.

“Or am I the person I am because of the vow?” Ameerah suggested.

“Then he’s won.”

“How has he won?”

“Well, you’re never going to let yourself fall in love again because of him, so he’s getting the last laugh.”

Ameerah fixed Elinor with one of her steely glares, which worked wonders in the courtroom but had no effect on Nory at all. She huffed. “Love is overrated. I refuse to be a slave to it.”

The waitress arrived with their coffees, and Ameerah took her chance to change the subject.

“So, what happened this time?”

“Oh, the usual. My brother still hates me for going to private school while he had to go to a state school.”

“I don’t think he hates you.”

“No, you’re right, he hates the privilege and prospects that it gave me, which amounts to the same thing.”

“Pippa mentioned she’d approached Shelley about doing some events with her.”

“Yes. Shelley’s well up for it, which is another thing for Thomas to hold against me. It’s as if he feels my very purpose in life is to affront him.”

“And yet he’s never been like that with me, and I’m rolling in it. My parents put the A in affluence, and he’s never been anything other than kind to me. It’s weird.”

“I think he feels that you are a victim of circumstance, whereas I could have chosen not to take up my scholarship but didn’t. They want to see you, by the way, my parents. Thom would have asked after you as well, but he was too busy shaming me.”

Ameerah laughed. “I want to see them too. Maybe I’ll have a word with Thom.”

“God no! That would only make things worse. He’ll feel ganged-up on and that’ll be my fault too.”

“Oh, to have a complicated family. I communicate with my mother via handbags, Instagram, and bank transfers.”

“She’s not that shallow.” Nory laughed. “She’s the CEO of one of the biggest fashion labels in Dubai; I’d say she’s been a pretty good role model.”

“Provided you don’t mind viewing her from afar. My mother is like a unicorn: sparkly and completely unattainable.”

“You heard from your parents?”