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Without waiting for a reply, she drags him away and leaves us standing here.
“Hmm, you won’t see him again for a while,” says a voice behind us.
Surprised, we turn around to see Vicky.
Chapter 14
Vicky looks like a supermodel attending a charity ball. Her silver dress sparkles and accentuates her incredible figure.
“Claire’s parents will never deny her anything – especially now that she’s the family’s verified beacon of hope. So brace yourself because they’ll do whatever they can to make every wish come true for their shining star, including this one.”
I look over at Ayden, who’s talking to Claire’s family. He looks open and cheerful. But Claire spoils the picture. She’s holding his hand and leaning against his shoulder. And then there’s that dreamy way she keeps looking at Ayden. My stomach clenches, and my hearts yearns to be in Claire’s place. There’s nothing I want more right now that to be at his side.
“You can forget about it. At least for tonight. Let Claire have her way, especially in front of her parents. Anything else will just cause trouble,” Vicky advises me.
“At some point, she has to learn that she can’t have everything she wants,” Kate says, calmly watching the group. “There are going to be plenty of disappointments in her life. She can’t act like a toddler every time.”
Vicky shrugs. “Maybe. But right now that petulant little child is like a queen. Her will is law. Trust me, you don’t want to mess with her. Not as long as she’s sitting on the throne.”
I know what she’s insinuating. “Even if I get my gift under control, I’ll never be as valuable as a prospective goddess.”
“But that’s only true as long as she retains that status. A single mistake in one of the tests and it’s all over. That should motivate you to keep working on yourself, don’t you agree?”
I groan and shake my head irritably. “If only it were that simple.”
“Until then, there’s nothing you can do anyway except bide your time. As hard as that is.” With that, Vicky turns and walks away from us.
A loud laugh rings out. I turn to look at Claire, who must have been laughing at some joke and is now resting her head on Ayden’s shoulder as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Maybe Vicky’s right, and I should see this as an opportunity to work on myself. There’s not much I can do about Claire right now. Just the sight of her and Ayden together makes me so angry. I should channel that feeling into honing my skills. It’s not even about my gift opening doors for me in the future. I want to do it for me. For my sense of self-worth.
The Cunninghams say something to Ayden. They look so familiar with each other, the way they’re standing there chatting. I can’t help feeling shut out and wanting to be with my boyfriend, who right now has this other girl hanging off him. They all move together toward the buffet. Ayden hands Claire a drink and glances over his shoulder at me as he does so. I can tell how hard it is for him to play this role. He’s worried about me. I smile and nod at him to signal that everything’s okay – which of course is a lie. But what else can I do?
Claire picks up a canapé and tries to feed it to Ayden, and that’s about all I can take. It doesn’t help that he refuses it and says something playful to her, which makes her giggle.
“I think I need some fresh air,” I say to Kate.
“Want me to come? Or do you need a moment alone?”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just take a moment alone. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go check out the buffet then,” Kate says, rubbing her hands. “I deliberately didn’t eat before I came because I wanted to make the most of the delicious snacks.”
“Enjoy,” I say with a grin, watching her make her way to the dessert table. I leave the room and feel relieved as soon as I’m away from the hubbub and all those people.
I follow a corridor and wind up in another spacious room filled with wooden pillars. There are loads of paintings on the walls, making it feel like a gallery. The names of the artists mean nothing to me, but the paintings themselves are impressive. There are landscapes, portraits, and city scenes. I can tell just by the clothing styles of the people in the paintings that some of these must be really old. It’s a welcome distraction, and I wander around and gaze at the paintings at my leisure.
After a while, I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around to see Ayden approaching.
“What are you doing here?” He reaches out and pulls me toward him. “Sorry I had to ditch you like that. This can’t be easy for you.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. That’s what makes it so hard.”
I put my arms around his neck and look into his eyes. It feels so good to be here with him and touch him. I can’t think of a better cure for all the gloomy thoughts in my head.
“I know it’s not easy for you either. That was pretty clear when she tried to force feed you.” At least I can laugh about that.
Ayden rolls his eyes and snorts. “I really felt like walking away at that point.” He bends forward and brushes his lips across my bare shoulder. “I was hoping we could make better use of this time and the fact that we’re here together.”
“Uh, I guess Claire will do her best to prevent that.”
