Chapter 4

A week later, the charity dinner rolled around.

The whole fever episode was behind me, and I was back to being another office drone, clocking in, slacking off, and checking my bank balance.

I didn't want to come tonight, but the comments spamming, "You gotta stick to the plot, or Emily will stir things up."

Alright, whatever.

I dug out a black evening dress from my closet; I had no clue when I bought it, the tag was still hanging there. I snipped it off, threw it on, and gave myself a once-over in the mirror. 'Eh, good enough,' I thought.

When I arrived, the place was a sea of people.

Rich folks everywhere, champagne flowing, and fake smiles as far as the eye could see.

I grabbed a glass of juice and retreated to a corner, keeping up my act as the invisible girl.

Emily was rocking a pale pink gown that swept the floor, looking like she'd stepped out of a fairy tale. She was on Alex's arm, smiling sweetly and greeting everyone as they made their way through the crowd.

The comments were flying.

[That dress is gorgeous, but it looks like a pain to walk in.]

[If it was easy to walk in, how would she trip?]

[LMAO, we've got a prophet here.]

I was watching the comments, and I really laughed out loud.

Then Emily walked over, with a plate of cake in her hands.

I glanced at the cake, then at the path she was taking, thinking, 'No way.'

Yep.

She "accidentally" tripped, and the entire plate of cake smeared all over my dress.

Chocolate cake.

My black dress was now smeared with a heap of brown frosting and chocolate shavings. It was such a disaster, I couldn't bring myself to look.

"Oh no," Emily exclaimed, covering her mouth, her eyes going wide as saucers. "Lucy, I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean to."

The whole room went dead silent.

Everyone's eyes bounced between me, Emily, and the pile of cake on my dress.

Someone whispered, "Isn't that Mr. Kingston's girlfriend? Who's the other one?"

"Oh, that's the one from the Shaw family. She used to always chase after Mr. Kingston."

I glanced down at my dress.

Black dress, chocolate cake, and frosting dripping down.

Emily kept up her act. "Lucy, is that dress a knockoff? I heard the real deal goes for over $30,000. The material on yours seems kinda off."

I looked up at her.

She gave me this innocent look, her eyes practically saying, "Hey, no offense."

People around us started snickering.

I shot a look at Alex.

He was standing not far away, champagne in hand, watching the whole scene unfold without moving a muscle.

The comments were going wild.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!]

[I can't take this anymore.]

[Lucy, go off on her. I'm rooting for you.]

[Are you seriously gonna let this slide?]

I set my juice down.

Emily stepped back half a pace, looking even more like she hadn't done anything wrong."Lucy, don't be mad. I was saying..."

"Yeah," I nodded with a smile. "33 dollars, free shipping from Amazon. Want me to send you the link?"

Emily stood there, stunned.

The people around us were caught off guard, too.

"Yeah, the fabric's definitely off." I glanced at my dress. "The real deal costs a fortune; no way I can afford it. So, Ms. Lane, you interested in chipping in and getting me the genuine article?"

No one said anything.

I smiled and turned, walking toward the restroom.

I overheard people whispering behind me.

"She's not mad?"

"Did she get a personality transplant or something?"

"She used to freak out at times like this."

I pushed open the restroom door, stepped inside, and closed it behind me.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

The cake was still smeared all over my dress, frosting dripping down like some kind of performance art.

I grabbed some tissues and started wiping.

But the more I wiped, the messier it got.

The stream of comments started flooding in.

[Lucy...]

[Poor thing.]

[Go ahead and cry if you want.]

[No one's gonna laugh at you.]

Standing in front of the mirror, I wiped the frosting off my hands.

"I'm not crying," I said.

[Then...]

"I think." I looked at myself in the mirror. "She's really not worth my time."

[Who? Emily?]

"All of them," I replied. "Emily, Alex, even this place, none of it's worth it."

The comments froze.

I took a deep breath in front of the mirror, wiping most of the cake off my dress. There were still some stains, but at least the frosting wasn't dripping anymore.

"Just wait and see," I added.

[Wait for what?]

I was waiting for the day they all crashed and burned.

The comments froze, but I knew they were still watching.

I fixed my hair, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Back in the ballroom, Emily was still in the middle of the crowd, smiling sweetly and looking perfectly composed. Alex stood beside her, champagne in hand, occasionally leaning in to listen to her.

I walked past them, heading to grab a fresh glass of juice.

Emily spotted me and paused for a second, probably surprised I was back so fast and looking so chill.

"Lucy," she called out, "is your dress okay?"

I turned to look at her. "Yeah, it's messed up."

A hint of smugness flashed in her eyes. "Oh, should I buy you a replacement or something?"

"Don't bother," I said. "I wasn't planning on wearing it again anyway."

She froze.

I smirked, picked up my juice, and strolled away.

The stream of comments started flooding in.

[That smile is seriously creepy.]

[Is Lucy about to go evil?]

[She's not turning evil; she's finally awakened.]

[Looking forward to it.]

I headed back to my corner and kept sipping my juice.

Emily kept sneaking glances at me, probably trying to figure out what I was plotting.

I wasn't plotting anything.

I was tired.

I was done pretending.