Court Out - By Elle Wynne Page 0,108

than how I’m going to look today, but every girl has their price.

I bite the bullet and strip down to my underwear. The new dress doesn’t have a zip so I’m forced to drag it on over my head, doing untold damage to my already offensive hairdo. The material is stretchy, but even with the generous give of the cheap fabric it has to be at least two sizes too small. I’m past caring now. I know I look like a purple sausage roll, but I’m too pissed off to even bother worrying about it. I storm out in to the bedroom and to my surprise find it deserted.

Luckily, my shoes have remained the same and not morphed into something to match my ensemble so I slip them on and make my way downstairs.

The entrance hall has been transformed by the addition of hundreds of cream roses and it’s clear that some serious money has been spent to dress the house. I check the clock on the wall, twenty five past eleven. The ceremony is due to start at half-past; Serena wanted an early start to ‘Get the ceremony out of the way’ so she could spend the rest of the day in full-on party mode. I can see a flash of white tulle at the end of the corridor so hastily make my way to where I assume the bridal party are.

From the muted sounds the other side of the door, I assume that the guests are seated inside and are awaiting the start of the nuptials. As I round the corner I stop, dead in my tracks. There’s Serena, adjusting her father’s bow tie. There’s Marsha adjusting the small train on Dianne’s long, lilac, silk gown. An exquisitely tailored, designer-made, simple, elegant gown. Marsha is in an identical piece and they both look beautiful with understated hair and makeup. Serena turns round to face me and gives a nasty laugh.

“Oh, there you are! You’d better take your seat. I think Sebastian is sat in the second row on the right hand side.”

I pause, confused. “What? Serena, what’s going on?”

“Oh Lauren, you didn’t really think that you could be my bridesmaid, did you? I mean from the sounds of it you’re headed straight for prison when they convict you of trying to bribe a juror! You can’t really expect me to have you stood next to me in the wedding pictures, I mean, how could I explain that to the children when they grow up?”

I’m struggling to find any words to form a cogent sentence. Marsha and Debbie look beyond mortified but Serena’s dad is looking like he completely agrees with the apple of his eye.

“Why, why didn’t you tell me this before?” I manage. “Why dress me up like a really bad Dolly Parton tribute act?”

She laughs again, a cold, mean noise.

“Well, Ewan insisted that you had to be invited and of course, he relies a lot on Sebastian, so you had to be here,” she muses. “And as for the outfit, well, between you and me, I thought it was high time you had a make over.”

I can feel myself begin to shake in anger. My options are simple. I can smack her right in her smug little face, thus putting me at risk of further criminal charges, tell her I know about her and Rivers, endangering the investigation that might exonerate me, or I can smile and walk past her to join Sebastian inside. Whilst every fiber of my being is itching for the first two options, it’s sadly a no-brainer.

I turn to face her, hands clenched together in a desperate bid to stop them making a break for freedom and trying to throttle the bitch. I take a deep breath and in the most calm and serene voice I can muster, manage to speak to her at an acceptable volume.

“Serena, believe me when I say that everything coming to you is completely deserved.”

Her father smiles at me in satisfaction and Serena for an instant looks confused but after a millisecond, her expression switches almost instantly back to the patronising smile she was wearing before. I smile back, flip them both the finger and walk past them to open the main door into the ceremony room.

Chapter Twenty Six

You could literally hear a pin drop. The room has quietened in expectation of the bride and on seeing me the guests are stunned into silence. I make my way down the long aisle which seems like it goes