AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sucking in a breath, I turn toward the door as the saleswoman slips inside carrying three gowns. The first one she slips on easily slides down my body, and I instantly feel at peace. This is it. I don’t even have to ask to see myself in the mirror because I know this is my dress.
“Look at yourself, Claire,” the saleswoman murmurs, her voice soft and almost sweet.
And if this were a real marriage to a man I loved, I would probably appreciate the emotion that is rolling off her. At this point, it doesn’t really matter how I feel. It’s just a dress, except I want to feel everything.
Facing the mirror, I lift my gaze and study my reflection. My eyes move from top to bottom, then back up to the top again. It’s stunning. This gown is a fit and flare, plain silk, off the shoulder with gathering and draping at the chest.
It’s beautiful, and I feel beautiful in it. Real wedding or fake, I’m not sure I care. I just want this dress. For the first time in my entire life, I feel… gorgeous. All the negative things that have been drilled into my head by my mother, they just vanish. The dress soaks them up, chews them, and spits them out.
My boobs look amazing. My waist appears almost impossibly small. I have an hourglass shape in this dress, and I feel elegant. I don’t care if my mother hates it. I don’t care what anyone thinks because this is my dress, and I feel amazing in it. It fits as though it was made just for my body, nobody else in the whole world.
Together, we walk out toward the mirrors, and I stand on the small pedestal as I look at myself from all different angles, still loving every single one of them. My mom and sister are quiet, then I shift my attention toward their reflections.
My sister is crying, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “You look really good,” she says.
“Yeah?” I ask.
Then she wipes the tears away and narrows her gaze on me. “I’m surprised you look so good. It doesn’t even show the pooch of your stomach. I’m jealous.”
Wrinkling my nose, I try not to show just how her words make me feel. I tell myself it’s just because she’s young and my mother has influenced her heavily. In fact, of the four of us, Shelby is more like my mother than anyone, and Bryson is like my father. It’s me and Andrew who are the odd ones out.
“How much is it?” my mom barks.
The sales consultant starts telling my mom all the specifics of the dress, who designed it, that it’s couture, all of that business, then she drops the price tag. My heart slams against my ribs at the actual cost of the dress. It’s more than my car.
“This one is twenty-two thousand dollars.”
My mom’s lips curve up into a smile, and she slowly stands to her feet. Her entire demeanor has changed. Gone is her annoyance at me or the dress. It’s no longer existent. She clears her throat, then touches the fabric at the back for just a split second before her hand drops.
“We’ll take it. Have it altered. We need it in three weeks,” my mother announces.
The consultant’s eyes widen, and she opens her mouth, no doubt to protest the timeline, when my mother’s gaze cuts to her. “Is that a problem?” She dares her to say it is.
“No, it’s not. I’ll send alterations right up.”
And that is that.
I now have a dress for my wedding to a stranger.
COLEMAN
I should have gone homeand stayed there as soon as I got a look at her. My mission should have been over, but I can’t leave this woman. Even if it’s just for a few weeks. I can’t let her out of my sight.
I’m afraid I’m becoming obsessed with her.
And I fucking like it.
Sitting outside of her brother’s apartment building, I think about turning away and going back to watching her, but after seeing them at the club together, the way he just turned and left her there alone, I need to get a feel for this guy.
I’m guessing it won’t be positive, but I want to know for sure. Hopefully, I don’t kill him where he stands. I’ve been trying to keep some sort of self-control, but it’s slipping. In fact, I’m not sure I ever really had it to begin with.
Closing my eyes, I think about Shiloh. Just like always, a wave of disgust washes through me at the thought of her, but then I remember what it was like to be with her. I did like her.
She was wild and free.
She knew what she wanted, and she took it. Whether that was in business or in the bedroom. But our families fucked us on that deal, and I don’t think she ever knew why we were coming to kill her. Not really. She just knew that her time was up. Maybe it’s better that way. She lived and died on her terms.
And unknowing of the disgusting truth.
