Page 19 of Reveal Me
She was the one I would spend the rest of my life with. The one I would protect, love, and cherish. But I was still trapped in this cycle of uncertainty, of not knowing if she felt the same way. And that fear, that uncertainty, gnawed at me, made me hesitate.
Chapter 13
Niamh
My steps were quick. But they didn’t feel like they were taking me anywhere. I was just trying to outrun the chaos in my head.
Last night… Goddess, it had been everything. And nothing. Dion’s touch, the way his lips had tasted, the way he made me feel. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop replaying every moment of it in my head. Every touch. Every sigh. The way he kissed me, like I was something he needed—something he couldn’t get enough of. And yet... he’d slept with someone else.
I gripped the edges of my sleeve, my nails digging into the fabric. He’d slept with another woman. The words twisted inside my chest, leaving a bitter taste. I’d been warned. Told that Dion was a player. That he didn’t stick around. That he used women like a game, a conquest.
The reflection in the mirror was hard to look at. Because she was the other woman. Just as furious as I was at Dion, I was just as furious at her. At me.
I’d set the whole thing in motion. I’d changed myself to see if he would bite. And he had.
But he didn’t know. He didn’t know that it was me. He thought I was someone else. Even though I was still me.
Goddess, now I was confusing myself. I started down the hall to Stella’s rooms. I had to get this face off my face.
I could still taste him on my lips. Still feel the ache he’d left between my thighs after he’d stretched me out. Still felt the bite between my ass cheeks that let me know he would go all the way around to fifth base.
I could still feel the warmth of his body next to mine as we lay side by side in my bed. He hadn’t held me at night. That was why it was so easy to slip away in the morning.
When I saw him again, I was going to reject him. But I was going to do it withmyface. Was I going to tell him I knew for a fact that he was a cheater? There was no need, really. I didn’t owe him any explanation. But I did wonder if he’d go looking for this face…?
I pushed open the door to Stella’s room, my pulse racing. My bestie was standing in front of a mirror, the dress designer adjusting the fabric of her wedding dress. I paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of her.
Stella radiated joy. Her face was lit up with a happiness I envied. It made the tight knot in my chest ache even more.
I wanted that. I wanted to feel that kind of happiness, that kind of peace that came with knowing you’d found your person. I wanted to find someone who would look at me the way Oz looked at her. It was clear that the man was completely devoted to her.
The dress designer adjusted the fabric and looked at Stella thoughtfully. “If you’d like, I could add a panel here,” she said, tugging at the side of the gown. “It would slim down your curves a bit. Give it a more streamlined look.”
“I don’t need to hide anything. Oz likes my curves.” Stella’s grin was wide, as though she was thinking about just how much her shifter liked her curves. She sniffed the air then. “Dion, are you peeking? You’ll piss Oz off if you see me before he does.”
“It’s not the king, your highness,” said an attendant. “It’s your fairy friend.”
“Hey, girl. I’m still getting used to this panther nose of mine. I could have sworn I smelled Dion.”
I chewed my lip. Trying not to betray myself. Trying not to let the tremble in my fingers show. Instead, I quietly stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind me. “You look beautiful.”
“I know.” Stella beamed. “You ready to try on your bridesmaid dress?”
“Can you change me back first?”
Stella exhaled, relieved. “Oh good. I wasn’t happy with the changes we made either, honestly. It felt… off. I’d rather you look more like you for the ceremony.”
The attendant and designer helped Stella out of her dress. The designer carefully took the garment and went into another room to work as Stella slipped into a day dress. She came over to me and got to work on my appearance as a new attendant pinned and stitched the bridesmaid's dress on my body.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
I blinked at Stella as her magic darkened my hair. “What do you mean?”
“You seem… different.”
“Different how?”
“You seem more mature.”
