Novel-novel oleh Love Titus

ADRIENNE Arlene, despite all her protests, still helped me pick out a dress. For some reason, she’d gone with the color black, the kind that swallowed light. A single strap of diamonds held the dress up, leaving one shoulder bare. The bodice clung to my ribs and waist, and the skirt pooled at my feet, parting just enough to flash the silver blade of my stiletto. “You look like a goddess,” she said as she did the last touches of my makeup. “Stun Eddie speechless then walk away. He’ll definitely regret letting you go.” Now that I sat in the car which slowly drove me to the gala, I wanted nothing more than to still be in bed. I didn’t want to attend a gala and I definitely didn’t want to see Eddie again. But I didn’t have a choice. I needed this. I had made up my mind. Somethings simply had to be faced. I took a deep breath in as the car stopped in front of the venue. A lot of people were already gathered outside, cheering at their favorite celebrities and holding up banners and

ADRIENNE “I’m in town, miss Hanson and I thought to reach out to you. I hope you’ve been well? Three years ago, when you chose to walk out such a promising career, didn’t think to advice you against it. Honestly, I believed it was your choice to make and hoped you were happy with it. But these last few years, my conscience has continued to bug me which is why I’m reaching out again with another opportunity for you to shine. There’s a show coming out soon where you can showcase your culinary skills. I hope you can give it a try – best, Mr. Hubert.” I stared at the email, reading and rereading it’s content before finally typing out a reply. “Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Hubert. I’ll have to get back to you on that. And since you are in town, I hope we can meet sometime? Yours, Adrienne Hanson.” Once I sent out the reply, I heaved a sigh of relief and picked up my phone, only to be shocked by the trending headlines and hashtags. #LydiaInternationalSensation #Lydiaa

ADRIENNE To say I was shocked to see her standing in my front door would be an understatement. Why was she here early? Did Eddie know she arrived earlier than they planned? My eyes narrowed at her but that didn’t seem to faze her. The smug on her face only seemed to deepen. Ignoring me completely, she strolled into the house, pushing past me like she owned the place. I gritted me teeth, clenching my fist to keep from lashing out. “What are you doing here?” the question escaped my lips before I could stop myself. Lydia turned around sharply, an innocent smile flirting up her face. “Oh,” she said softly, a spark of amusement dancing in her eyes. “Eddie was expecting me to arrive tomorrow. But I planned a small gift for him.” She shrugged. I swallowed the lump in my throat, gripping my luggage so tight my knuckles turned white. Even now, when I thought I’d let go of everything , I couldn’t help the jealousy that surfed in my chest. Lydia was beautiful, even more than she

ADRIENNE “Lydia is coming back?” the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. I hated how weak and stupid I sounded, but I couldn’t take it back. Eddie gave me a look like I was daft. He probably thought I was and that was why he never took me seriously. I’d spent three years trying to read Eddie Quinn, and I was no closer than the day I’d met him. “Yes, Lydia is back. You know she has been abroad. Her father insisted she finish her degree before…” He trailed off, as if the rest of the sentence didn’t need saying. Before she moved in. Before she took her rightful place by his side as the love of his life. Lydia Warren . For some reason, my mind kept circling back to her. I’d only seen her in photos and interviews on television, but everyone in our circles knew Lydia Warren – beautiful, classy, utterly devoted to Eddie in a way that made me feel like an intruder in my own engagement. “You’ll have to keep this from my grandfather, of course. I’ll pay you, if

ADRIENNE The first time my supposed ‘fiancé’, Eddie Quinn touched me in all of the three years we were together, it felt like punishment. That realization hit me long before his hands ever did. The night ended like every other night. The water rushed over me, hot and unforgiving, and for a few minutes, I let myself pretend it could wash away more than just the day. Three years of this. Three years of standing beneath a spray that never quite got warm enough, in a penthouse that never felt like home, waiting for a man who never looked at me twice. The bathroom filled with steam, soft white clouds wrapping around my silhouette and blurring the world beyond the glass into nothing. Here, I could almost forget. Forget that I was Adrienne Hanson, the invisible fiancée. I turned off the water and reached for a towel just as – “Click.” The sound of the door unlocking reached my ears, followed immediately by the door swinging open. My heart stopped. I spun around, clutching