ログインVioletThe tension in the room was palpable, and I felt like an intruder once again. Was this yet again going to be a déjà vu where Elijah and his siblings fight and I was reduced to a helpless spectator?The night Cassie and Elijah had a verbal spar had soured their relationship to an extent, and I wasn’t even sure who was coming now.Lady Aurelia feigned being completely oblivious to Elijah’s words and looked around before muttering.“The flowers complement everything, right?” She asked nobody in particular. I was sure she was ignoring me, so I tried not to butt in.Elijah kept staring at her with narrowed eyes, so Lady Aurelia moved her attention to Cassie with a hopeful expression.Cassie nodded upon realizing she was supposed to fill in the awkward silence.“Yeah, it does.”“Do you think we should have gone with pink instead of purple orchids? It would have gone well with your dress?”The two kept talking for a while as Elijah sighed audibly and then slowly let his back rest on t
VioletLady Aurelia’s voice echoed through the huge hall, and for a second every gaze turned to her, maids and servants included.Elijah shook his head slightly and pulled his hand away.“I am not”But Lady Aurelia didn’t let him brush her question away. Instead, she reached forward, grabbed him by the wrist and pushed his sleeves up.It revealed several thin white scars running all over his arm, disappearing under the crisp fabric of his shirt.“Did you get in a brawl again by chance, son?” She asked, raising his arm and tugging the sleeve further down.Cassie came running over to our side and stared at his arm, just like I did.There were several scars on his arm and a few deep ones near his wrist. The scabs were still fresh and looked like they might open up again if touched.“Did you get attacked by a bear in the forest?” Cassie asked in an alarmed voice.Meanwhile, my gaze stayed glued to his arms and then flitted to his chest. I hadn’t really paid attention before due to my nerv
VioletI stared at him for a while again, just a few fleeting seconds, to assess what he thought about me in this dress.It felt like having his opinion would matter because he belonged to this crazy family after all. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo or a long coat from the last century either.And his tattoos did poke out from under his sleeves and the topmost open button of his shirt. He hadn’t bothered to stick to the dress code, if there was one.I almost felt the need to run back to my room and change into something more comfortable. But I had already slipped my hand in his.We started walking down the corridor, and I was acutely aware of the way my arm rested on his after linking it.The touch was gentle and barely there, yet I recalled the way he had held me through the flight as I sobbed into his chest.There were so many things I wanted to ask him, so many things I wanted to say, but somehow it felt he was in no mood to talk.He walked stiffly beside me and kept looking straight ah
VioletInstead of nervousness, I felt dread.But I pushed the door open quietly, praying to not find the maids waiting for me, to let just this night be over so that I could return home.I had barely texted mom after my arrival here and thankfully she hadn’t pestered me about returning soon.Family dinners at my home were filled with joy and laughter, not this soul sucking exercise.I sighed as I looked at the maids, all five of them smiling at me.My gaze slid past them to the bed and that was when I noticed the dress.It had been laid out carefully across the covers, the fabric fanned in graceful folds as though someone had taken their time arranging every inch of it. A soft ivory tone, neither too pale nor too bright, with a faint sheen that caught the dim evening light. The neckline looked modest, the sleeves gently structured, and delicate embroidery traced the hem in tiny flowers.Beside it lay a pair of shoes with low heels, polished pearl white with narrow straps and a slender
VioletI followed the trail of sunlight down the staircase Cassie had told me led toward the courtyard, my hand brushing along the cool stone railing for balance. Halfway down, I spotted movement below and slowed instinctively.Cassie stood near the bottom of the steps, back turned to me, as though she were waiting for someone.And for a moment, I didn’t recognize her at all.Gone were the ripped black jeans she loved wearing, the oversized bomber jacket with mismatched buttons and little enamel pins attached to the collar, the scuffed sneakers that squeaked whenever she got too excited and ran ahead. Gone was the sharp ponytail she usually twisted up in a hurry when she was in a mood to argue with someone or drag me into one of her impulsive decisions.Instead she looked like she had stepped out of an old painting.Her dress was a deep burgundy shade, layered and frilled, the fabric heavy and rich, cascading down in structured waves around her body. Balloon sleeves puffed at the sho
VioletSo there had been a change again. Not that anybody thought it was important to let me know of it.So much for me being a guest of honor and not being made aware of these frequent changes. But I kept that thought to myself.Though, neither Cassie nor Elijah had mentioned anything requiring an attire that looked like it belonged in a royal portrait.Two more maids moved behind me with the quiet precision of people who had rehearsed this a thousand times. One gently gathered my hair, running a comb through it with such care that it almost made my chest ache; the other examined my nails, holding small shades of polish up to compare tones against my skin.“Perhaps a soft rose,” she suggested kindly. “It complements the color Lady Aurelia envisioned.”Lady Aurelia envisioned a look for me without even having seen me in person.As though my appearance had already been decided without me.“I was thinking maybe… something simpler?” I said cautiously. “Maybe a neutral shade.”The two ma







