Page 11 of Knot Your Business

First mistake.

Actually, the first mistake was thinking that Rylan might actually be a decent match for me at the gala last night. Or maybe it was circling back after I realized Jasper hadn’t noticed me just in time to hear him tell Rylan to stay the fuck away from me. Though really just being at the goddamn gala at all was obviously a bad decision. And then having to have Faedra pull me out of the bathrooms once I’d gotten enough control over myself to not weep hysterically where someone might actually see was certainly on my list of experiences I didn’t want to repeat. Ever.

So, really, answering my phone without making sure it isn’t my fucking mother is so low on the problem list right now, I can’t even manage to muster up the automatic defensive walls I wear around my heart any time we’re interacting.

“What the hell was that dress, Violet Fallon?”

Her voice is shrill and borderline hysterical, which means whatever photo she has pulled up has been the center of her attention for longer than the last five minutes.

“Good morning,” I say, ignoring her question.

What time even was it? Could I manage to drop back to sleep before having to grab our flight back to LA later this morning? And what the hell was my mother doing up so goddamn early?

She sucks in a breath before clicking her tongue against her teeth.

“When your father told me the cost of the dress you ordered, I assumed it would be presentable at the very least. You’ve lost all access to your trust until further notice, young woman.”

I hold back a sigh and sit up.

Joke’s on her. I haven’t touched that damn trust since the day I moved out of the house and into my small freshman dorm room with Faedra. I had to nearly drain my savings account to pay for that dress. Or at least, I would have if Father hadn’t stepped in and insisted on paying for it.

“You know these matches are incredibly important, Violet. It’s the single most important thing you will accomplish in your life. Scarlett was fit for a damn prince when I was finished with her.”

Where the hell were we, regency England? She acts like we’re part of the ton and she gets one chance to marry us off or something.

Sure, Scarlett looked amazing. She always did, the perfect canvas for our mother’s machinations. For all the good it did her.

I bite my tongue before I let slip my sister’s secret. It’ll be out soon enough, I suppose. Assuming the Council processes dissolutions as quickly as they do matches. Though I’m not holding my breath on that front.

“You will make a damn laughing stock, I swear. How dare you do this to me? I expect a formal apology posted by the end of the week.”

The line clicks dead, and I drop back onto my bed, keeping my eyes closed.

A few minutes later, there’s two soft knocks on the closed bedroom door.

“Violet?” Faedra’s soft voice soothes out the barbs left over from my mother. “The ride share is going to be here in about fifteen minutes. You good to go?”

I roll out of bed and throw on a set of leggings and my favorite UCLA hoodie, not bothering to actually brush my hair before pulling it into a claw clip. When I open the door, Faedra’s dressed similarly, though her hoodie is cropped and sports the logo of the Minnesota Wild. Shout out to Papa that I even know what team it is.

I pull out my phone and send him a quick message.

Headed back to school. Love you.

And then I send one to my father, too. My dads will know what it means.

The dress was perfect. Thank you. ??

You were gorgeous, darling. So proud of you.

“Good to go,” I say, not bothering to try for peppy. I shove my phone into the pocket of my hoodie.

Her lips twist into a frown, her eyes growing worried, but she nods. “You’ll talk to me if you need to, right?”

I blow out a breath and smile, relaxing as she visibly does, too. “Of course, Fae. You’re my best friend.”

I’ve done my best to forget Rylan for the last six months. Well, six weeks, at least, since finding out he stopped working at the Haven. And I’ve tried especially hard the last several days since the gala on Saturday, when I was confronted with his beautiful green eyes and that damn snake tattoo that haunts my fucking dreams.

Have I been successful?

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