Page 32 of Worship

I should have told herimportanttypically meansdramaticin Gabriella’s language.

As I stroll into the cafeteria and spot her sitting at the table wearing the finest ensemble and sparkling like the Eiffel Tower, I want to turn and walk back out. She spots me before I can retreat, waving me over.

Knowing I have no choice but to suffer her annoying presence today, I go over to her, cringing when she assesses me. “You look dreadful. And what happened to your wrists?”

Sitting down, I tug my sleeves down to cover the bandages. “Tried to slit them with a plastic knife at dinnertime.”

Reaching out, I grab the coffee I know she won’t drink and down it. It’s lukewarm and disgustingly bitter, but I need it if I’m going to survive not strangling her to death during this conversation.

“Oh, Heidi,” she says, her eyebrows pulled together irritably. “Don’t be disturbing.”

Her being here bright and early is disturbingme. “I fell off a chair, don’t be dramatic.”

“Ashley is back tomorrow. I will see to it she sees you immediately. You’re getting worse.”Great. Just what I need. “Don’t look so bored. There is a reason for my visit. A serious matter, in fact, as you are invited to the wedding after all.”

My eyes narrow suspiciously. “I thought I was disinvited?”

“Well…” Her face is tight. “Elise wants you there. She’s insisted… And what princess wants, princess gets.” There’s sourness to her tone, and I know it’s because Elise has her daddy wrapped around her finger. Much to Gabriella’s chagrin, as this is one competition she will never win.

As for being invited to the wedding, I can honestly think of nothing worse than attending the event with her ratbag fiancé, Scott.

“Lawrence wants me to make it clear to you that if you ruin the day in any shape or form, that will be the end of it, and you will be on your own.” She pauses before revealing the next bit. “Elise wants you to be her bridesmaid.”

I lean back in my seat. “What?”

“Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you are. But since it’s her big day, it’s imperative that she’s happy. Youwillbe her bridesmaid and tell her you’re delighted that she’s asked you to be part of the wedding.” Funny how she doesn’t want me in her world, yet her stepdaughter does. What a predicament for us both. “It was Scott’s idea. Another reason for you to agree. His family is worth millions.” My back stiffens, but she doesn’t notice my reaction.

Fucking Scott.

Elise’s fiancé is rich, gorgeous, and a demon. One time, not that long ago, I had to beniceto Scott Link.It was Elise’s twentieth birthday, and she had extended the invitation to me. I didn’t want to go, but Blake forced me, telling me to go and spend some time with my mother and the new family I hadn’t seen in forever.

Even now, the details are blurred, but seeing Gabriella’s life had tipped me over the edge.

During the years spent with Blake, I’d clung to the hope that she was working on getting me out, as she told me when I was younger. Though, as I walked through the door and saw her dressed in a form-fitting silver gown, so beautiful and radiant, something had shattered inside of me.

Because I’d been holding onto a lie.

While mingling with guests, her hand proudly placed in the crook of Lawrence’s arm, her smile dropped when she saw me. Excusing herself from Lawrence and his friends, she rushed over and grabbed my arm.

“What thehellare you wearing?” she hissed venomously, pulling me upstairs and down the hall. “You look like a whore.”

I was wearing a black dress with heels. I knew it was short, but it was the best item in my wardrobe of other terrifying outfits. We ended up in Elise’s bedroom, leaving me standing in the middle of the room, she yanked open the closet.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, not able to comprehend how much of a stranger she was to me then. How…distant.

She wasn’t trying to get a life for me. Us. She was living in it by herself and had been for a while. “Wipe that lipstick off your face and put this on.” She shoves something at me, but I can’t look down to see what, my heart shattering. “When you come downstairs and meet Lawrence and Elise, do not tell them about the…wayyou live orwhoyou live with. If they ask, you were living with your father, who kept you from me as punishment for leaving him.”

She was about to walk away when I asked, “What about Nicole?”

She stopped in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder at me, her response was so detached I wondered where the hell my mother had gone. “Who is Nicole?”

With that, she walked out, leaving me staring after her with my heart on the floor. And I knew she was no longer the mother I knew.

As I was about to unzip my dress, there was a knock. A young man with hair the color of sand and light eyes barged in before I could tell him I was in there.

“Oh.” He stopped when he saw me standing in the middle of the room. “I’m sorry. I was looking for my girlfriend. This is her room.”

I swallowed, my throat closing in, not knowing what to say or do. “Um…”

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