The Price of Gold | Fortune's Fool #1

43 | dancing with devils

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♥ louisa ♥

SLOWLY, I APPLIED a coat of blood-red liquid lipstick, watching intently through my dark fanned lashes as the substance softly but sharply traced against my round lips, encasing them in the rich velvet.

Giorgio Armani was the most reliable choice for today.

Hand resting upon the golden encrusted border on the mirror, I looked hard at the woman in front of me. From the gentle waves of her ebony black hair to the viper crimson shoes that were the same shade as the viper rouge on her lips, she looked utterly gorgeous.

More importantly, I looked like I had my shit together.

When humans attempted to pull themselves together, they would always fail and fall back into pieces. Again and again, they'd try but the result would always be the same.

Pieces.

"If only they would give up completely," I murmured under my breath. "Only then would they realise that the fragments wanted to be left alone to glue themselves together in a different form. To just transform into something new."

Rotating the tube of makeup shut, I placed it on my dressing table. "They're waiting downstairs, dearie," Maria said as she stood by the doorway of my bedroom. Taking one last glance at myself, I nodded and followed her down the marble stairs.

As I pushed open the door to the room, I saw there were two people inside as expected. The eyes of my mother raked through me, scrutinising my every move as I sat down on an armchair near them. My father had brought some documents along with him to pass the time and was busy scribbling his signature on the bottom corner of the pages.

"It took you long enough. What did you want, Louisa?" Gayane Darling asked, clasping her hands together. Her dark brown hair had been swept up into a bouffant making her look more intimidating than usual. "I've been informed that it is something to do with your engagement."

On the phone call that Mother made to me a little while ago, she made clear that she knew I wasn't up for marriage. She didn't know the real reason why but she was still aware of the matter nonetheless.

I stared back at her stubbornly while tapping my Louboutins against the floor. "Yes, it is."

"I saw the brunch reveal that you organised all over the media," my father said, dressed in his usual black suit. "Great work. People loved it."

He briefly nodded at me in acknowledgement before tidying up the pile of papers. "What is it that you wanted to speak about? I'd expect it to about the date of the wedding. It would certainly have to be next year once you've finished education. I was thinking of a destination wedding. Mr and Mrs Thornton said Logan was interested in the Caribbean as a potential option but I thought somewhere like-"

He loved talking about himself and I knew that if I didn't say something, he'd gladly talk for hours.

Taking a quick exhale, I got to the point. "I called you both here to tell you that I'm not going to marry Logan Thornton."

The silence was the only response I received.

Mother had raised an eyebrow as if surprised that I had the guts to bring this up meanwhile father looked speechless.

After a few seconds, the sound of his booming laugh followed, "What are you talking about? Of course, you're marrying Logan. You're already engaged." Dad cast a glance at Mum, pompously howling with laughter. "Look Gayane, our daughter's developed a sense of humour."