Page 86 of Cinderella Is Faking It

I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was creamy white and draped around my body in a fluid curve down to my knees. The sleeves were soft translucent taffeta, flowing with every move, down to my wrists, where they were secured with four inches of the same cream fabric that hugged my body. It was the cocktail version of a dress made for a Greek goddess.

“You’re a genius,” I sighed, waving my arms around. She had tightened the cuffs half an inch, so the fabric barely slipped. If I moved carefully, nobody would even get a glimpse at the bruises.

“Hold on.” She waddled away and came back with a massive golden can of hairspray. She undid the small gold buttons around my cuff, sprayed my wrist in sticky hair product, and refastened the buttons, then did the same on the other side. “Works better than any double-sided tape.”

I’d not even considered double-sided tape, but Janice made it sound like it should have been obvious.

“You look amazing,” Defne sighed, her voice sounding clogged.

I turned to find her rubbing a tissue around her nose. “Are you crying?”

“You’re going to make such a beautiful bride someday.”

“Oh my god,” I laughed and rolled my eyes at her, “you’re the one in a veil right now.”

“Yes, but this is fake.” I gave her a pointed stare, and she just shrugged. To be fair, this couldn’t be easy for her. She’d broken off her engagement the day before her wedding last year. I thought she’d moved on but putting on a wedding dress had to bea lot. “You have a boyfriend that you can marry someday,” she sniffled.

“I don’t have a boyfriend. We’re just…” I wasn’t even sure what we were. This relationship was all over the place, but at least the limbo allowed me to pretend it didn’t matter that Beck didn’t even know my name.

“Uh-huh, sure,” she said in a tone ofyou tell yourself that.“Because August Beckett is the kind of man who takes just any girl home to meet his family.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“I’m putting a pair of extra buttons and a small sewing kit in the box, just in case one pops off your sleeve,” Janice said, waving a small envelope at me before putting it in the big pink dress box. “Andyouhave to take off that dress now.” She leveled her eyes on Defne.

“But I feel so pretty,” she whined, smoothing her hands down the structured corset.

I should have charged the dress to Cordelia. She wouldn’t even notice the $1200 missing from her accounts, whereas my savings were now nonexistent until I got paid for the Elie Saab dress - because apparently bank transfers of $10,000 or more could take forever to process. Not the kind of money I usually received, so it had been flagged by the bank, and not come through yet. It was just that Cordelia had outfitted me in plenty of dresses. I could hardly ask her to buy me more just because my sex life had taken a surprising turn. At least Janice reassured me that if I brought it back flawless, she could give me a partial refund. Not full because of the alterations she’d made, but I’d take a $600 refund over no refund at all.

THIRTY-FIVE

I droppedthe princess cut diamond back on the velvet pouch. It still caught the light and scattered rainbow sparks across my desk, including the revised prenup Axent’s lawyers had drawn up. That damn diamond was mocking me. Even if I didn’t touch it, those flecks of colorful light would remind me of its presence. I hated that thing. Just because Julian had the platinum band removed, didn’t mean it wasn’t the same diamond my father had used to keep my mother on a leash. She’d signed a prenup, too. One that guaranteed she’d end up with nothing but the fucking ring if she walked. Not even the right to see her children. Not because our father wanted us, but because he wanted to make sure she stayed.

My phone buzzed before I could ride too far on that train of thought. Del’s name lit up the screen alongside a selfie she took of us the other day. She sat in the front, I sat at my desk in the background. Snapped just to prove to her friends that she was really here in a fully clothed co-working capacity.

“You’re calling late.” I picked up the call and slid a paper over the diamond. I didn’t want that thing bringing any of its bad luck into my relationship.

Wait,relationship?

“So, hi,” Del said, sounding out of breath.

“Hi,” I said, “are you okay? Is this a booty call?”

“Uh…”

“Del?”

“Hi,” she said again, erupting in giggles.

“What’s up?” Was she out? There were some noises in the background, but it didn’t sound like a party or a bar.

“Hi means hi. The hi in the hi.”

She wasn’t making any sense and the breathiness of her voice set my teeth on edge. “Blondie, where are you?”

“No-ooh, Beck, high. The tea. Is high tea. Ssh.” She erupted in another fit of giggles.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.HighTea. I’d heard plenty of stories from Scarlett. Even though, technically, the club members weren’t supposed to share details of their events with outsiders. “You’re at the Marigold?”