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CHAPTER ONE
“Please tell me that you aren’t going to keep yourself holed up in this office the entire weekend. It’s Saturday, and you shouldn’t even be here as it is.”
Elaina “Elle” Darian glanced from her computer screen to Penelope, her best friend and one of Darian Commercial Realty’s top agents. The other woman stood on the opposite side of Elle’s desk dressed in a pair of black designer jeans that undoubtedly cost a small fortune, along with a trendy top. Her friend had expensive taste, but then again, her commission checks easily supported her love of all things that were currently in fashion.
“Then what are you doing here?” Elle volleyed back, arching a brow.
Penelope was no stranger to working long hours, including weekends. It was why she was so successful as a commercial real estate agent. But her friend also liked to have fun outside of the office and was always trying to make sure Elle did the same. Unfortunately, Elle didn’t have a whole lot of playtime in her life, not when she was desperately trying to save the firm from bankruptcy.
“I’m here because I want to make sure my best friend isn’t working herself into an early grave.” Penelope walked around to Elle’s side of the desk and sat down on a very small surface not covered by files or paperwork and crossed her arms over her chest. “In fact, I’m here to kidnap you because you have a formal fairy-tale ball to attend tonight and I want to make sure you go, because you deserve to have an enjoyable night out that’s all about you.”
Elle exhaled a weary breath and sat back in her chair. When the gold-embossed invitation to the exclusive Wilder Way ball had arrived at her childhood home—which she currently shared with her stepmother, Helena, and two stepsisters, Claire and Gwen, since her father’s death over two years ago—she’d barely had a chance to let her excitement bloom before Helena snatched the invite out her hand, then rushed off to tell her daughters that they were finally going to attend one of the most lavish parties of the year.
Elle honestly had no idea how they’d gotten invited to the opulent ball in the first place, when the Darians were far from rich, powerful, and influential. The donation to attend cost a small fortune, and she could only surmise that her manipulative stepmother had something to do with it, though surprisingly Elle’s name had been included when Helena was all about exclusion when it came to her stepdaughter. But a few days later, when Elle came across the invitation again and pulled it from the envelope, she realized that the reply card that had been tucked inside was now gone.
“Where is the RSVP card to the Wilder Way ball?” Elle asked her stepmother. After giving it some thought, she’d decided that attending a fairy-tale ball would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience she didn’t want to miss out on.
Helena glanced up from the book she was reading on her chaise lounge in the living room, her dark eyes unapologetic as she petted Lucian, the gray cat curled up in her lap that Elle privately called Lucifer since the feline was as mean as the devil himself to everyone except Helena.
“I already sent it out, Elaina,” she replied casually and shrugged. “I figured you weren’t interested in attending since you usually spend your Saturdays at the office, so I went ahead and RSVP’d for myself, Claire, and Gwen.”
Anger and frustration tightened in her chest, and maintaining a calm composure took effort. “Maybe you should have asked me?” Elle suggested.
Helena sighed in annoyance, as if Elle was nothing more than a nuisance to her. “Well, it’s too late now, Elaina. The RSVP card has been sent.” She lifted her book back up to read, dismissing Elle and the entire conversation as insignificant.
It had taken every ounce of control Elle had possessed not to snap at her stepmother for being so thoughtless . . . except she’d learned that Helena was a master at twisting things so that Elle would end up looking and sounding petty. It was always a no-win situation with her stepmother, who’d become so cruel and contemptuous toward Elle since her father’s passing, and it was a waste of breath to argue with her. And until Elle figured a way out of the financial strain Helena had managed to put both the house and business under, she was stuck living with the woman, Claire, and Gwen.
Elle returned her attention to Penelope and smiled wistfully. “As much as I might want to go to the ball tonight, there are two major issues keeping me from attending.”
Penelope tossed her silky black hair over her shoulder and flashed Elle an optimistic grin. “Trust me, there are no obstacles we can’t overcome. One way or another, we’re going to make this happen.”
She appreciated her friend’s positive attitude, but there were some things that couldn’t be changed at this point. “It might be difficult for me to actually get into the ball,” Elle told her. “While the invitation was addressed to the Darian family and had my name on it, Helena conveniently left my name off the RSVP card, which is what matters.”
“She’s such a bitch,” Penelope said vehemently, having witnessed the harsh way Helena treated Elle on a regular basis. “Why didn’t you tell me what she did?”
Elle shrugged. She’d confided in
Penelope over her initial excitement of getting an invite but hadn’t had the courage to tell her friend that the opportunity had been literally ripped from her grasp by her wicked stepmother. “Because it was just another malicious and hurtful incident in a long line of them, and there wasn’t anything I could do to change what she’d already done.” And unlike her stepsisters, Claire and Gwen, throwing a tantrum wasn’t Elle’s way of dealing with disappointments.
