Chapter 3
I looked up at my dad.
I grabbed his hand. "Dad, I'm sorry. I don't want to be like this, but I can't be as overbearing as Emily. I don't have anyone supporting me. Everyone knows..."
I was on the verge of revealing that Emily was his illegitimate daughter.
My dad snapped, "Who says you don't have anyone backing you up? You're my daughter. Everyone in Riverdale has to give me, Richard Newton, some respect."
He stepped right in front of me.
"Are you the one who wants to hit my daughter?" he demanded.
Lily was stunned by the hostile expression carved into my dad's face.
She was momentarily speechless.
Instinctively, she tugged at Alex's sleeve.
Alex finally softened his tone. "Sophia, it was all a misunderstanding. You totally had a reason to get mad and hit someone. I'll get your bestie out for you right now."
"Don't be angry, and Mr. and Mrs. Newton, please don't be upset either. You guys know how close Sophia and I are, how could I ever bully her?" he added.
I snickered quietly between my parents.
He didn't notice.
He was too busy explaining himself.
By then, the hotel manager had already rescued my bestie, Mia Walker.
She was covered in bruises, her makeup completely ruined, but when she saw me, she was still holding back her tears.
She was worried she'd jinx the wedding, that she'd bring bad luck.
"Sophia..." Mia whispered.
She murmured that she couldn't be my bridesmaid after all, there wasn't enough time left.
"They wrote all over my face with a marker, and it won't come off..." Mia whispered.
I took a look at her.
Someone had scribbled a big "bitch" in black marker right across Mia's face.
You could tell she'd really tried to wash it off.
But you could still make out the letters.
Tears were still clinging to her cheeks. She'd gotten up early with me, only to end up like this.
Meanwhile, Lily was still gossiping with her posse.
Every now and then, they'd snicker and point at Mia.
"Sophia, let her take my place for now. Don't let this mess up your wedding," Mia said.
My parents were at a loss for what to do.
Even though they really didn't like Lily, she was the only one who was actually dressed up, in a gown with the bridesmaid badge pinned on.
My mom tugged my hand. "Just make do with her?"
I shook my head.
"Someone, go get the makeup artist, and then head to the boutique to get Mia a new dress. Make sure it's beautiful and classy," I said, "We'll start the ceremony as soon as Mia's ready..."
Alex was the first to object.
"Are you crazy? You're really going to delay the whole wedding for a bridesmaid?" he demanded. "And Lily's already dressed up. Can't she stand in for Mia? Come on, don't be so rigid about this."
As soon as Alex finished, Lily stomped over, clearly annoyed. "Can you stop crying already? It was a joke. Seriously, it's not a big deal. Stop being so dramatic. Ugh, I can't stand you girls making such a fuss over nothing."
Without waiting for her to finish, I grabbed Mia and pulled her straight to the lounge.
It didn't take long before the makeup artist and the new dress arrived.
The makeup artist had to scrub for ages with remover, but finally, the ugly word disappeared for good.
While Mia was getting her makeup done, a steady stream of people kept coming over, all trying to talk me out of it.
Finally, my half-sister Emily showed up.
She was decked out in a fancy designer dress, and when she pushed the door open, she called out in her trademark sugary voice, "Sophia."
I glanced up at her. "What do you want?"
She walked over, putting on that fake caring face again. "Everyone's waiting outside, and there are a ton of Dad's business partners here, they all dropped everything to be here. If you keep dragging this out, it's gonna make our family look bad."
I looked at her and couldn't help but laugh.
"Does our family really need my wedding to make or break our reputation?" I shot back. "Seriously, have you ever seen a wedding where the bride's dad shows up with his mistress and their love child in tow?"