Chapter 18
1497words
She smoothened out her dress and relaxed her shoulders. She was about to step in when she felt a presence beside her.
"Were you going to go in without me?" She immediately snapped her head to the side, and Asher was staring down at her, both brows furrowed. Her eyes immediately darted behind him, searching for who she assumed he'd be coming in with, but she was nowhere in sight. She looked back at Asher, and frowned.
"What are you doing here, alone?" His frown deepened and he turned his head slightly to the side before looking back at her.
"Alone? I'm right here with you, Lily, I'm not alone."
"You know what I mean." She gritted out, resisting the urge to stomp her foot.
Asher shook his head and shrugged, "I don't. What are you talking about?"
Lily narrowed her eyes and glared pointedly at him, before she lookedback again to confirm that she wasn't lurking somewhere in the shadows, ready to push her down when she walks in with Asher. Once, she confirmed that they were truly the only ones in the hallway, she sighed in resignation.
"Let's go in. We are already late." Asher nodded and offered his arm to her, and she stared at it like it was infected piece of wood. "What?"
Without giving her a response, he grabbed her arm and intertwined it with his. "Are we meant to walk in with our hands flapping?" Lily rolled her eyes, but adjusted her arm to lay more comfortably as they both made their way into the dinner hall.
All eyes were immediately on them the second they walked in, and Lily instantly wished she was in the Harry Potter world where she could just mutter a spell and teleport to another place. Just like she wasn't expecting the mass number of paparazzi, she thought the dinner was for a select few, but at least a hundred people currently stood in the hall.
Asher tugged her arm, drawing her attention to him. "Keep your head up and relax, these few seconds determine how you'll be treated the rest of the night. These people aren't just looking at you for looking sake." She gave him a brief nod, and did exactly as he said.
She imagined they were all bald with funny drawings on their faces, and that adversly eased the tension in her body. Her steps became a lot more fluid and smooth, and an actual genuine smile played on her lips as they made their way over to Mrs Darby.
"Lily!" Mrs Darby called out, pulling her into a quick hug as soon as she sighted them. "I'm glad to see you here."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs Darby."
"I told you to call me Gloria." She reprimanded with a smile, before turning to Asher who has been watching their interaction quietly with a smile on his face. "Mr Allard, it's a pleasure to see you this evening."
"Likewise."
"Mr Darby is over there by the bar, I believe he'll make a better company for the night, yeah?" Asher chuckled and looked at Lily, who returned the look as soon as she felt his gaze on hers.
"Well, I think I know someone else that might make an even better company." His eyes were trained on Lily as he spoke.
Mrs Darby's eyes darted between the both of them, and a small knowing smile curled up on her lips. "Well..." She started, and they both immediately looked away from each other, "I'll try not to keep her away for the rest of the night, but for now. I'll be stealing her for a little while." He nodded, gently letting go of her arm.
"I'll see you in a little while." He lowered his head to her ear level, and to anyone else it'd appear as though he was giving her a kiss but instead he whispered, "come find me if you need me, or anything goes wrong. I'll try to be within eyeshot as much as I can."
Lily's brows shot up at the tenderness and actual worry she heard in his voice, but she nodded nonetheless. Taking one of her hands, he pressed a firm kiss on it, leaving Lily dazed, before he nodded at Mrs Darby and strode away.
A dreamy sigh left Mrs Darby's lips as soon as he walked away, and she clutched into Lily's arm. "To be young and in love. A wonderful thing, yeah?"
Heat immediately crawled up Lily's face and she stared at her feet as if it suddenly grew interesting. There was no love between them, she knew that quite well, but the loud thumping of her heart didn't seem to, and her voice wouldn't't betray her excited heart, so just smiled and Mrs Darby squealed.
"Edmund and I use to be wild and in love in our prime if you know what I mean," she winked, and Lily's mouth dropped open once she understood causing her to laugh. " Oh please, I saw the tension between you two, I doubt it's any different."
"You will be surprised." A new voice pitched in and they both turned to identify the owner.
Annoyance and surprise swept through Lily once she turned and noticed Charlotte standing behind them with a smile. "Looks can be deceiving sometimes."
Mrs Darby stared between the two sisters confused and surprised. "Do I..."
"I'm Charlotte Morgan, Mrs Darby." She piped in before she could finish her question. "I'm her younger sister, and a huge fan of yours." She stretched out her and surprise coated Mrs Darby's face before a smile settled in, and she shook Charlotte's outstretched hand.
"Really? Two sisters that are huge fans of me. A blissful experience."
"Two..." Charlotte looked around confused before realization set in, "my sister said she's also a fan? Oh, I didn't expect that."
"You didn't know..."
"We aren't that close, Gloria. It's no shocker she doesn't know." Lily immediately said once she noticed the look on Mrs Darby's face. "If you don't mind, can you excuse us for a minute?" She asked, gripping Charlotte's hand, while making sure her nails dug into her skin.
Mrs Darby nodded readily. "Take your time. I'll go grab a drink." She nodded with a big smile, then proceeded to blindly drag Charlotte away, ignoring the confused stares of people.
"What on earth do you think you are doing, Charlotte!?" She asked, throwing her into the empty room she found.
Charlotte stumbled but she quickly regained her balance and shot Lily a dirty look. "I should be the one asking you that question! What do you think you are doing?! What do you think you are doing gallivanting around like you fit in, making friends with Mrs Darby, and parading with a man that is not yours!? How does it feel to live a life that's not yours?"
Lily took a step back in shock, and she stared wordlessly at her for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and relaxed. "Don't you feel stupid asking those questions?" Charlotte's eyes immediately widened. "You are the one that showed up here dressed like me, trying to do everything I'm doing, including stealing my husband! And I'm the one living a fake life? Don't you see how stupid that sounds, Charlotte?"
"Yo- Yo..."
"What?! For the longest freaking time, all you've done was take away everything I had and wanted, but it's about time you put an end to that show Charlotte. It isn't cute anymore." Sparing her one last glance, she turned to walk away, but Charlotte immediately grabbed her arm.
"Take. It. Back. Everything you just said about me, take it back! I've never stolen anything from you, if anything you stole from me! You took away the man that I was meant to marry! You owe me!"
Lily dragged her hand out of her hold, and glared at her. "You left him at the altar. No one took him away, you abandoned him. Like I said, enough with your pity party and your games. It's tiring now." She pulled the door open to walk away when she heard the sound of a dress ripping, and her heart immediately dropped thinking it was hers, but when she turned, Charlotte stood before her with a torn dress.
She opened her mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, but Charlotte immediately smacked herself, hard, leaving the imprints of her hand on her cheek and a gasp escaped Lily's lips.
"What do you think you're doing!?" She yelled, horrified at her sister's actions but instead of responding, Charlotte pushed her out the way, crying and screaming as she ran out of the room.
