"𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲."
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Elena's life is flipped upside down when her sister runs away on her wedding day and she is forced to marry her husband who despises her.
He hates her with...
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|Elena Beaumont|
"On a scale of one to ten," I grumbled, looking at my reflection in the body length mirror and feeling even tackier in the maxi dress I wore, "how basic do I look?"
"Off scale," Ethan replied without any hesitation. "You look boring and you know it."
I looked at him with a scowl, my fully covered shoulders dropping. "I swear you're ten times grumpier and meaner than when I left."
My statement didn't seem to faze him even a bit as he stood before me in a neat black tux with his hands in his pockets. Puberty sure worked wonders because the person standing before me wasn't the Ethan I'd known five years ago.
He was a man now and with his humour buried somewhere beneath those layers of coldness, I barely recognised him.
"You don't expect things to be the same after disappearing for five years and showing up from nowhere like you'd gone to the grocery store for five minutes, do you?"
He was angry with me and rightly so. I didn't even know where to start after the way I'd left and no one was making it any easier for me. Was it worth trying if I planned on leaving again the next morning or even after the ceremony was over?
"You're angry with me and rightfully so," I acknowledged, picking up my diamond hoops from the dresser and slipping them onto my ears. "I'm shocked you're even talking to me given the oh-so-disappointed look on your face when you first saw me."
His initial reaction was still floating in my mind, the disappointment and resentment and saying it hadn't hurt even a little would be a lie.
Back then when I'd left, he'd only been twelve but acted maturely like he understood why I'd made that decision.
He'd told me he loved me and would wait for me to come back, but somewhere along the lines of growing up, he'd probably realised how selfish my decision had been and ended up loathing me me.
"Mom doesn't want you acting up or doing anything to draw attention," he warned me sternly. "She already has her hands full with the wedding and her attention would be the last thing you need."
"She made sure I get zero attention by giving me this unflattering dress, but anyway," I sighed, looking for any redeeming points to make me feel better, "the wedding is Delilah's, not mine."
I'd been surprised when Mom recognised me and acknowledged my presence though it'd been rather awkward and vile. She still looked at me like I was a disappointment, a disgraceful stray with no sense of duty to the family and that made me feel sick.
What was I expecting anyway after showing up on my own accord without a proper invitation from her and without a dress to top it off? Did I really trust her maternal instincts to have something reserved for her long-lost daughter or was I just a fool edging towards any angle that'd get me her attention?
