Page 76 of Forbidden Dark Vows

“You look beautiful.” She stands aside and gestures for me to look in the mirror, and I think she must say that to all the brides. It’s part of the job—she won’t get her commission if I don’t buy the dress.

I force myself to stare at my reflection, starting from the floor and working my way upwards. The dress is stunning. It’s like something from a fairytale, you know, the one where the poor servant girl wins the heart of the prince, and they live happily ever after.

But when I reach my face, it doesn’t look like me.

Who is this woman staring back at me, her face pale, her eyes wide, and her lips parted like she’s about to scream? I turn away from those dark eyes. “I have to go.”

I push my way out of the fitting room, the dress squashed in at the sides to accommodate the doorway, and stumble into the waiting room where my mom is on her feet. She gasps, hands clamped over her mouth at the first glimpse of her daughter in a wedding dress.

I stop dead. I can’t tell if she loves it or hates it, but I realize that I want her to love it. I want her to cry real tears and tell me that I’ll be the most beautiful bride ever. But instead, she says, “Oh my God, Ruby, what have you done?”

Huh?

I peer down at the dress as I hear a rip from the waistline. “No,” I mutter under my breath. “What’s happening?”

I’m frozen, my feet taking root through the floor, growing stringy tendrils and keeping me here to witness what’s unfolding. My belly is swelling, growing larger by the second, stretching the heavy fabric, diamantes pinging everywhere. One hits me in the eye, and I try to bat it away, but the dress is so tight that I can’t move my arms.

Then there is a horrendous rip, and the dress gapes open to reveal my swollen tummy. Pain tears through me, dragging me onto my knees.

“Mom, help me.” I’m sobbing. The baby is forcing its way out of me, tearing my body in two, and I don’t even know how I got here, how any of this happened. “Mom, make it stop.”

“It’s okay, sweetie, I’m here.”

“Mom?” She sounds far away, and I can hear her, but I can’t see her. “Mom? Where are you?”

“I’m right here. It’s okay, Ruby, I’m not going anywhere.”

A cool hand strokes my forehead, and I lean into it, trying to find her, waiting for her to make it stop.

“You’ve been dreaming, Ruby. The fever is making you delirious. Wake up, and I’ll give you some painkillers to bring your temperature down. That’s it, sweetie.”

I follow the familiar sound of her voice out of the bridal store, which disintegrates around me, and back into my bedroom. When I open my eyes, it’s dark. My bedside lamp is on, making a golden puddle of light on the floor, and the curtains are closed, making the room appear half the size.

“It was only a dream, Ruby.” Mom’s face appears above me. “You gave me quite a fright. Sounded like you were fighting off a monster.”

The dream—nightmare—breaks into tiny, jagged fragments that fall away as I focus on my mom’s soothing voice. My pulse slowly regulates, my breathing becoming more normal. I can only remember snippets, the torn wedding dress, the assistant’s heavy beige makeup, the pain tearing me apart.

I blink. I dreamed that I was pregnant. No, not just pregnant, I was giving birth right there in the bridal store wearing the dress fit for a princess.

Pain rises in my stomach again, and I roll onto my side retching into a bowl that has somehow materialized next to the bed while I’ve been sleeping. I grip my mom’s hand and close my eyes waiting for it to pass.

“Mom, what’s wrong with me?”

“I don’t know, honey. I’m going to call the doctor.”

I nod, clinging onto her with my eyes. “Did Harry call?”

She blinks, her expression faltering. “He did.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him that you were sick.”

There’s more, but she’s holding it close to her chest.

“What? What is it?”

“I begged him to come, Ruby, but he said… He said that he’s too busy right now.”

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