ENGAGEMENT PARTY

ELODIE'S POV

I sat on the chair, trying to conceal the rage I was feeling inside as Eloise ranted about how breathtaking I looked and how stunning I would look on my wedding day.

The cream-colored dress I was putting on was long-sleeved and even turtle-necked, covering the bruises on my body. Eloise was the one who chose the dress for me. I hated the dress, even in my previous life but then I had to wear it because she chose it for me. I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

In my previous life, today was one of the worst days of my life. I was humiliated in front of hundreds of guests when an unknown hater poured a bucket of oil paint on me. But now that I think about it, Eloise must have been the one responsible. She was the only person who could have access to oil paint considering she was a well-known artist just like our father.

How did I not even see that? How dumb was I?

But this time around I am not going to let that repeat itself. I have already planned out how today will go and I will make it go according to how I want it to. I am going to turn the tables on all of them.

"Eloise,"

"Yes, Sis?" She answered with a broad smile that looked too sincere to be just an act. Now I understand why I never suspected her for once. Wow, she should have become an actress instead. She was pulling her role way too perfectly. 

"Do you mind leaving me for a second? I want to be alone."

"Of course, Sis. Take your time. I will be back to escort you, okay?"

I nodded and she left after giving me a kiss on the cheek. I too left the room through the balcony. I needed some fresh air because I was starting to feel suffocated in that room. I headed to the garden to lease out the anger that had built up inside of me.

I needed to calm down and calculate each step I was going to take today if I wanted my plan to work. So without thinking twice, I screeched out:

"You'll are all fucking piece of bastardized animalistic imbeciles! Fucking shit-like moronic, useless, incompetent fools! I hate each one of you on a different kind of level and I swear on my life that I am going to ruin all of you! Bastards!" 

By the time I was done, I was already breathing heavily, my whole body trembling. But it felt so good to finally let out everything that was building up inside of me. I feel much better now and my heart feels lighter now. 

Well, not until I heard someone clapping and footsteps approaching. I turned immediately only to see the hottest, most breathtaking man I've ever seen in my entire life standing right before me with a sly grin on his face.

"Wow Elodie, that was heart wrenching to watch" He chuckled and leaned forward. His chuckle vanished in a split second replaced with a deadly glare "Tell me, who hurt you this badly?"

Wait! Hold on! 

How does this man know my name?

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" I demanded with a glare making him let out a soft chuckle.

"Who doesn't know Elodie, daughter of Alpha Zayne and the talk of the town's soon-to-be bride?"

"Height: 5'7. Crystal blue siren eyes and hair. Aspiring to be a markup artist and designer. Humble and down to earth. Should I continue?"

This man knows way too much.

"What are you doing here?" 

"Trying to gather some thoughts until a certain someone ruined it"

I let out a scoff. "You're gathering your thoughts in my garden?"

"I just happened to come across it" He shrugged indifferently.

Who is this man kidding? The only people who have access to this garden are the members of the Moonstone household. Not even the servants are allowed in here to talk more about a stranger.

"So you were invited to the party and of all places you happen to stumble upon mistakenly was here, at the inner part of this huge mansion?"

"Stop kidding yourself Mister and tell me who sent you here. Was it my father or Eloise?"

"You're quite fierce. More fierce than how most people described you to be. I like that."

"What?" I scowled at him. Wait.

"Are you a stalker or something?"

He scoffed and leaned more forward. "If I am a stalker, will I admit it?"

Well, he has a point. But!

"Relax, Elodie, not everyone one are shit-like moronic, useless, incompetent fools."

This man is trying to play with me. He is indirectly telling me that he knows this secret about me hating my family and that I wouldn't want another ear hearing. I didn't realize I had this ugly deep scowl on my face as I glared at him until he commented.

"Tonight is your party. Try loosening up the muscles around your face before you get wrinkles overnight"

He turned about to leave but all of a sudden stopped.

"One more thing, Elodie. That dress... isn't your style. Today is your day, you should do what you want to do, not what you're told to do."

"But of course, who will take the advice of a stranger? It was nice meeting you. Let's come across each other some other time." He waved and left.

What a weird man. But who is he and what is this dark aura I sense around him? Why do I feel like I've come across him before in my past life?

I went back to my room and stood in front of the mirror, studying my reflection. As much as I hate to admit it, that weird man was right. This isn't my style.

This isn't what I want. All my life I have lived trying to please Eloise and because of that I only wore clothes she chose for me, ate only the food she prepared for me, and went only where she permitted me to go. I've never for once decided what I wanted.

It has always been my dream to be a famous make-up artist and a designer. In my past life, many people praised me for being naturally talented in that aspect yet I barely made a dime from it because my parents weren't in support of it. Because of that, I had to drop out and forget about it.

This time around I am going to ignite that crazy talent inside of me. I am going to make a grand entrance tonight. I took off the gown and sat down with the make-up kit right before me.

A few minutes later I was already smiling in satisfaction as I studied my reflection once again. For a moment I couldn't believe this was me. With the help of makeup, I was able to cover the bruises in my body. I turned the cream-colored plain gown into a body hug sleeveless gown with a big love-shaped opening at the back that stopped right above my curvy waist. At the front was a modest split making the dress look fantabulous.

Yes, this is me, the real Elodie.

"Let the showdown begin" I grinned and walked out of the room majestically.

As I climbed down the stairs, all eyes turned towards me. They all widened in surprise, a loud gasp erupting from the audience.

"Is that that Alpha Zayne's daughter, the bride?"

"Am I the only one seeing this? She looks different today"

"She looks breathtakingly gorgeous!"

"Wow, she is stunning!"

"And beautiful in every way!"

"I never knew Alpha Zayne had a daughter this hot!"

The comments from everyone were already making my pride rock high. I looked up at Eloise who was gaping at me with eyes almost popping out of her socket. She had turned pale in shock. At the other side, were those iced blue and green eyes scowling at me: my parents. They weren't happy at all to see me dressed like that but not like I cared anymore.

"Elodie, what happened? Didn't you like the dress I chose for you?" Eloise approached after gathering herself back together from the shock.

"It was making me uncomfortable so I decided to change the dress into something lighter and more exposed. There's nothing wrong with that, no?"

"Of course not, Sis. If that was the case you should have just told me and I will get a lighter cloth for you instead of putting yourself through such stress"

"It's nothin', Eloise. You've done more than enough for me today. I can handle this at least" I held her hand and squeezed it lovingly.

"So tell me, how do I look?"

With a broad smile on her lips, Eloise answered "You tend to turn even rags into something gorgeous. That's how unique and beautiful you are, Sis"

Tsk! That wasn't the reaction I expected. She is a great pretender. That's fine with me because I know that deep down she was burning in rage and dying of jealousy yet she can't even express her emotions. Two can play the game then.

Eloise escorted me to the bastard, Alastair, who couldn't stop staring at me with his jaw almost touching the ground. Just the sight of him made my stomach churn and anger swelled up inside of me. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to keep my rage in check.

The party began with my parents introducing me and Alastair to some of the guests. After 30 boring minutes, the main ceremony began. Without wasting any more time, I grabbed a microphone.

"Attention everyone! Before the engagement ceremony continues, there's an announcement I need to make...