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“I can’t kick her out. You know your father has a sweet spot for this worthless street urchin,” Aurora replied.
“Please. I have receipts. I didn’t steal those,” I pleaded.
“I have something else in mind,” Aurora said, her excitement setting me on edge and making my blood run cold. Before I could do anything to stop her, my stepmother grabbed a pair of sewing scissors. I watched in horror as she cut through the material of the jacket, then the shirt, and then the breeches. In no time at all, she’d destroyed the whole outfit. All that was left of it was strips on the floor. There would be no wearing it or returning it.
My eyes watered, and I tried to blink back tears.
“Let that be a lesson to you, you ungrateful wretch. Now finish your work on our dresses. You’re confined to your room for the night,” Aurora continued. She stared down at me as I reached for the remainder of my riding outfit, and she laughed.
“I hope you have a miserable rest of yourbirthday,” she added.
With unending spiteful arrogance, she swept out of the room, and my sisters followed, leaving me to cry alone.
* * *
The rest of the day passed by slowly. I did as I was told and finished altering their dresses to the best of my ability. None of them uttered a single word to me, basking in their smug smirks as they enjoyed my misery. When the time came for the ball, I was banished to my room, and I felt a sort of relief that at least I’d be alone. My closet had been rifled through, but it appeared that Mackenzie had missed some things in her messy search.
She hadn’t found my boots, or the expensive bottle of champagne either.
Without a second thought, I popped the cork and took a big swig. In a fit of defiance, I slipped my riding boots on. I had drunk about a third of the bottle when I peeked out of my bedroom door. I had expected my stepmother to post someone there to make sure I stayed put, but there wasn’t anyone around. When I ventured out further, I realized that the whole house was empty. Trina wasn’t even in the kitchens, and I guessed it was because she was at the charity venue working there.
I was already feeling the effects of the champagne underneath my skin. Slightly buzzed, I made my way out the back door and stared at the stables. It was like they were calling my name.
FuckMackenzie.FuckAurora, andfuckBentley. Fuck themall. It wasmybirthday.
I was going to do what I wanted when there wasn’t anyone here to stop me. Aurora wasn’t going to be checking the cameras tonight. She’d assume I’d be obedient, plus she’d probably be too busy getting donations and trying to pretend that she was something of a socialite in this dog-eat-dog high society.
Emboldened, I strode forward in my riding boots. It was a gorgeous night out, with the stars sparkling high overhead. The full moon was bright, casting an ethereal glow across the grounds.
Out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck the tree right in front of me.
I jumped with a shriek, almost spilling the bottle of champagne as I fell right on my ass. I scrambled backwards as sparks flew all around me, then looked up to see a suddenly cloudy sky. The air whipped around me, dropping the temperature at least fifty degrees, enough to make my teeth chatter. The wind picked up even more as the chill intensified.
What the fuck was happening?
All at once, the sky opened up, and I was surrounded by a blizzard, a white wall of snow swirling all around me so thick that I couldn’t see the stables in front of me or the house behind me.
I hadn’t drunk that much. I shouldn’t bethiswasted.
I cried out, the cold biting through the thin fabric of my t-shirt. Quickly, I untied the hoodie around my waist and pulled it on, but it didn’t do much good because snow got in between the layers, which only resulted in making me colder.
I staggered and suddenly the world disappeared from beneath my feet. Frantic, I dropped the bottle of champagne and whirled around, trying to catch hold of something as I started to fall.
I should have hit the ground, but I never did.
My whole world went white, and then I started to feel faint. I tried closing my eyes. A wave of dizzying lightheadedness hit me, and I passed out.
* * *
What the hell?
Why was it socold?
It didn’t make any sense. It was just the start of summer in the Hamptons. Everyone was breaking out their cute little summer dresses, sunglasses, and flip flops. I had always had poor circulation in my toes and my fingers, so I always dressed a bit warmer than most to counter that, but this was something else.
My teeth chattered and a hard shiver raced down my spine. My body was trying to warm me up, but it wasn’t really working. I wrapped my arms around my chest and rubbed my arms, trying my best to help the process along.
What could possibly explain this? Had I just gotten too drunk and fallen asleep in the walk-in fridge or something?
