Chapter 1

Can one day really change your life forever?

Can one person lose everything they ever had twice in a lifetime?

Do happy endings really exist?

These are all questions I, Leila Clarke, never thought I would face, and yet somehow fate weaved its spell and turned my life upside down for the second, third and fourth time.

It all began when I was thirteen, but I won’t take you down that memory lane just yet. We can save that for later when it becomes an integral part of my decision making. For now, I am going to take you back to the day where fate weaved its second spell, we are going to go back 2 years and 4 months.

This day was like any other ordinary day. I woke up, I went to work, I had my lunch, and I went home. I love working and studying, anything to help me progress my skills in life in the subjects I love the most. At the time, I was working for a large company as an admin and PA for the operations director. Outside of work I was studying art and design as I loved to draw at school but hated being told to do specific pieces. That evening when I arrived home, my roommate, Claire, was grinning like a cheshire cat. Barely had I managed to put one foot inside the door before she was in my face waving a card at me.

"You’ll never guess what!” she exclaimed.

“If I'll never guess then there is no point in me guessing is there?” I sighed and placed my laptop bag down at the side.

“I had a visit from mother earlier and she wanted to know if we were interested in going to the Thorns charity event next Saturday!”

The Thorns are well known for their status and money. 20 years ago, Richard and Lesley Thorn invested in setting up a local apple orchard and cidery and opened Thorn cider. Before long they had expanded across the country. Their brand quickly hit shelves across all supermarkets and stores in the UK. Although their wealth has grown, the family stayed local and chose to run the local site as opposed to moving away. Their children head up different sectors of the UK business. Each year they hold a charity event of some sort, Claire’s parents are always on the invitation list due to their own wealth with their Fashionational clothing brand. There have been times where that invitation has been extended to Claire and her brother Dan. This was one of those times.

I collected the card from Claire’s hand. It was as fancy as all previous invitations I had seen. It was very formal and was more suited to a wedding invitation but that was the Thorns style.

Dear Thomas & Susie Smithe,

You are cordially invited to attend our annual charity event.

This year's event is a masquerade ball and silent auction.

We would like to extend this invitation to your children also.

Saturday 14th May 2023.

Thorn country manor house

7pm.

RSVP necessary.

Claire could not stop beaming at me. She loved fancy events and parties and attended as many as she could over the years. Although Claire was wealthy thanks to her parents' company, she was very independent and worked for everything she had.

"Please tell me you have not roped me into this event?” my heart sank a little as I realised why she was looking at me the way she was.

“Leila Clarke, you are my plus one!” she exclaimed.

“No, no, no, no, and NO!” I stamped my feet as I walked away.

“Leila, please?” she begged.

“No, you know I hate going to things like this. I am always out of place; I don’t have the monetary background your family has so I can’t contribute in a way that would make a difference.” my voice could not have been more deflated.

“You don’t need to, joining in counts. To be honest I'm not expecting to be able to put any worthwhile bid on the auction as you know most people will blow the equivalent to our yearly salaries on one item at these things. However, we can go, dress up, have some fun, put some silly bids on items we know we won’t win and have a great night.”

“And how do you suppose I pay for the fancy dress, mask and shoes this event is going to require? You know I don’t get paid until the end of the month and everything I have left I need to save for my course material that I still need to get.”

“I have put your name down so I will buy your outfit. We are doing this, and we are shopping this weekend whether you like it or not.”

I knew there was no way of arguing with her as I would not win. I had no choice but to concede.

Looking back at it all now though, if I had somehow won the argument and not gone, how different my life would have been.