Tella Ashford's low-profile life takes an unexpected turn when she strikes a deal to fake date Pembroke's golden boy, Finnegan Reed. All she wanted was to get through boarding school with her two best friends and, maybe, catch the eye of Spanish roy...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Tella's Pov:
January 9th, 9:30 pm:
I promised to attend the charity event tomorrow night, even though I'd rather hide under my duvet for the next three weeks. Being a chronic people pleaser meant I could never say no without feeling the guilt gnawing at my insides. I hated disappointing anyone, even if it meant sacrificing what I wanted. It was a terrible feeling, but at least it kept me from being the target of anyone's ire—until now.
To make up for the night I had just ruined, the one where I wanted to focus on myself, I decided to skip school tomorrow. Just a little breather to gather my thoughts and try to feel less like a mess before walking into the lion's den, where everyone's eyes would undoubtedly be on me. Fantastic.
I sighed, wallowing in self-pity over the situation I had somehow managed to create. But deep down, I knew it was my fault. My brilliant plan had backfired spectacularly, morphing into something I hadn't expected at all. I tucked myself into bed, dreading the fallout that awaited me tomorrow, but I had no choice but to face it. No two ways around that.
---˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧---
January 10th, 5:00 pm:
I wasn't exactly brimming with excitement about attending the event. The thought of entering a room full of eyes fixed on me felt akin to stepping willingly into a lion's den. However, Ara and Zoe had been utterly relentless, and a promise is a promise. Flat on my back, I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, silently wishing time would slow down just a bit so I could avoid the inevitable.
Meanwhile, my roommate Sophia was in the throes of a fashion crisis, trying on dress after dress. "I look hideous!" she whined, despite looking effortlessly stunning in every outfit she paraded before the mirror.
"Sophia, for the hundredth time, you look gorgeous. Just pick one already!" I groaned, struggling to muster the energy for a dramatic eye roll. She shot me a theatrical, exasperated look, then resumed her quest for sartorial perfection.
As for me, I was utterly clueless about my attire. Zoe and Ara had insisted on choosing something for me but were acting suspiciously secretive about it. Just as I began to stew in growing anxiety over their choice, the door swung open with a flourish. "We're here!" Zoe announced, grinning from ear to ear, with Ara following closely behind, both arms laden with bags overflowing with dresses, makeup, and hair tools.
"Hey, girls!" Sophia chirped, still admiring herself in the mirror as though her mini runway show had gone unnoticed. "What's with the wardrobe explosion?" Ara asked, eyeing the clothes strewn across Sophia's bed.
"She's been at it for an hour," I said with a smirk. Zoe rolled her eyes at Sophia's dramatics before turning to me. "Alright, Tells, are you ready to become the belle of the ball?" I groaned, "I am so ready," my voice dripping with sarcasm as I gave her a half-hearted smile. Zoe was having none of it. "You've been sulking all day! Time to snap out of it, princess," she said, adopting a mock stern expression.
