The Me You Stole ✔

Borrowed Time 2

2

"The first of the month." Andrea lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, bandaged from head to toe. She lumbered to her feet.

With great care, she peeled the white cloth away from her mummified chest down to her thighs. Her blood boiled with each layer she pulled back. She had asked for three things changed, with minor body fat reductions. Despite Andrea having begun the surgery in private, Marian had found out and specified a deep reduction instead.

This had better last, because I'm never going through another fat-reducing procedure again. She can go to hell. Never again.

Body bare, Andrea gasped, taken aback at what she saw.

"Perfect." The flawless skin below, free of swelling and discoloration, calmed her.

After dressing in black, she turned to put her hand against the wall adjacent to the door and said, "System, mirror."

The concrete surface below her fingertips turned silver and solidified into a reflective surface.

"Wow," she said. Even Andrea's face, one of the few things anyone ever complimented, looked better.

She leaned in closer, noticing that whatever the medic put to cover the mole under her right eye was wearing off. Not even the beauty mark Andrea had asked to part with had been removed. They hadn't honored any of her requests.

"That's okay," Andrea told herself. "Maybe it won't matter to Reed. System, adjust the setting. Not just the face, but a full-body mirror. Make that the new default."

"Command confirmed." The reflective area extended to the floor.

At least the damn computer can follow instructions. Minor operation, my ass.

Reluctant, she turned to get a better view of her backside and let out a weak sigh. They hadn't changed it, not even slightly; it's still exactly the same.

"What the hell? I said...fine. Forget it. The rest of you looks okay, Andrea."

She looked good from the front, she decided, and that was enough.

"A strong businesswoman must keep up appearances. You should never be mistaken for the staff." She thought of the quote from the business archive.

Change. Not only did she intend to fight Marian for her title, but she'd also lined up a safety net. Reed...the sort-of-but-not-quite boyfriend she'd been putting up with. Sure, Reed wasn't the most attractive man around, or friendly, but his family had some power, and he'd already hinted at his interest. It could work. It would work.

With a sense of determination, Andrea grabbed a small data diskette from the nightstand and read it through. Invoking the rights of the heir-in-wait. The data tablet in hand, she turned to leave the room. "Good-bye, Johann Andrea, the punching bag. Hello, Johann Andrea, the heir-in-wait."

Thirty days since the funeral; twenty-five days since the operation; ten more minutes before Marian finds out what I'm capable of.

With perhaps the exception of Marian's cold black heart, everything could change. Andrea could change, too.

As she walked past the numerous pillars in the long hall, her body felt different, she felt ready for battle. The thirty days had passed, as was tradition for showing respect for her grandfather's death, and Andrea knew that the gloves were about to come off. Knowing Marian, they'd no doubt come off and land right across Andrea's face.

Yes, today Andrea felt invincible. In the distance Gulliver took careful strides. It was strange to see the servant in this area of the house so early. When Andrea passed by, Gulliver came to an abrupt stop and turned back the way he'd come. Even he could sense it; the servant could feel the heir-in-wait's new found power.