to the doors. The Holidays—this time without any blizzard to stop it. Two servants were waiting to open the doors in the chilly, wet winter cold. Dressed in their finest holiday best of red and green, and sporting the little Santa hats that Tansy made everyone wear.
They always itched and had to be painfully bobby-pinned.
My eyes slashed to the side, to the shadows Grayson and I had slunk into when Josephine had made this very same entrance. Our bodies were a wispy memory in the snow, shimmering like a mirage.
My heart pounded loud in my chest, each thump whispering one name.
Grayson.
Two weeks without contact, two weeks to worry.
Grayson.
Two weeks to wonder if I had ruined everything.
Grayson.
We stopped just before the double doors, but this time they didn’t lead into a midnight Scotland castle. Instead, the golden-hued world of Crowne Hall awaited me.
And Grayson.
The longer I stared down the golden hall, the more it stretched and warped with the plastic smiles of the rich elite. My heart stood on a precipice, waiting for the one smile I’d missed like air.
West snatched my chin between his hands, dragging my eyes to his. “Ready, Angel?”
His brown eyes dug into mine.
Was I ready for this? To commit to how many months without a voice. Months where I might have to sleep in the bed of my villain, to save my hero.
Grayson said if there was even a one percent chance of failure, he’d make us do it his way. If there was even a hint that West was hurting me… Would he really be okay with this? But I would do so much more if it meant I could give Grayson and our child the happily ever after they deserved.
I took a breath, then nodded. West dropped my chin, and we entered Crowne Hall.
I just hope Grayson can forgive me.
Ten
STORY
My heart leapt at each new voice or footstep.
“Oh, hey Grayson, long time.”
I jumped out of my skin, jerking to the side to follow West’s gaze. But there was nothing, no one there, just more partygoers dressed in their finest black tie.
“You’re transparent, Angel.” He laughed.
I fought the urge to grab the nearest server carrying out the used small forks and stab him in the neck.
“Westley du Lac!” West turned his attention away from me as someone who looked to be his father’s age approached him. He clasped West’s right hand in a forceful handshake, barely glancing in my direction, and they proceeded to talk.
I was once again an outsider looking in. No one paid attention to me, the girl at West’s side.
Seen, but not heard.
I could barely see anything, the veil was so opaque. My world was flushed in colors of silver and white. Occasionally people glanced at me, like the man speaking with West, but no one gave any mind to why a girl would be so covered up.
Thanks to people like Lady Gaga, this wasn’t weird.
It was fashion.
As West and the man droned on, I looked for Grayson, and I thought reckless things. All around me, people were on their phones. Taking selfies next to the six-foot-high present pile, or the croquembouche expertly designed to look like a Christmas tree with ornaments.
I wondered how easy it would be to just…snatch one. My gaze traveled back to the croquembouche, stomach growling.
Fuck.
I was starving and I had to pee. I always had to pee now.
How disgusting was it that the only question I was relegated was How may I serve you?
What if I have to go to the bathroom?
What if I need something to eat?
Just like that, I was once again thrust back to the beginning. Holding in my pee, stomach growling, at the service of one cruel boy. Unlike Grayson, West didn’t bring me spaghetti, he didn’t notice my stomach growling.
He didn’t put blankets on me at night.
If you need anything, tell me.
Because the truth was, no matter West’s pretty words, Grayson wanted all my words, and West only wanted my silence.
The man talking to West left, and I looked around to be sure no one was watching or could hear me. “I’m hungry.”
His eyes narrowed, as if trying to read my thoughts.
Finally, as someone else approached him, he said, “Then go eat, Angel.” But as I was leaving, he grabbed my bicep and pulled me back, hissing in my ear, “But don’t forget who you belong to.”
“I won’t.”
Grayson.
Always Grayson.
He let me go with a harsh shove, and I made my way to the long, glittering gold table. All around me, beautiful rich