Page 81 of Tarnished Queen

25

BELLE

“That’s for me?” I ask the delivery man, who’s waiting impatiently for me to take the huge, flat box from him. “Are you sure?”

“Are you Belle Dowan?” he asks. “Yeah? Then it’s for you. Can I leave it here?”

“Sure, Yeah. But… you’re sure this is for me?”

He sighs and holds out his scanner and a pen. “Listen, I get paid to deliver the packages. All I know is that one has your name and address on it. Please sign so I can leave.”

I sign my name and close the door behind the man. I’m about to call Nikolai at the office and ask what it is when I see the name listed as the sender.Beatrice Aguilar.It hits me all at once.

“The dress,” I breathe.

With everything else going on, I honestly forgot Nikolai and I are getting married.

A couple days ago, I would have chucked the box in Nikolai’s room and left it for him to deal with. He’s the one who is enforcing this marriage. He’s the one who wanted me to get fitted for this dress. Let him deal with it, right?

But things have changed.

I carry the box back to my room immediately, rip the lid off, and lay the dress out on my bed. I want to try it on, but I want to do it right. I change out of my black bra and panties and into a lacy white thong. The dress has a built-in bra, so there’s no need for that. And even if it didn’t, the bodice is all sheer panels and beautifully intricate lace. I wouldn’t want to ruin the design with any visible undergarments.

I should probably ask for help with the dress, but I do my best splaying it out on the floor and stepping into it. Slowly, I slide the material up over my body.

I have to say, Matteo may have been inappropriately flirty, but the man knows what he’s doing. The fit is perfect.

The hem is a little long since I’m barefoot, so I grab my white heels out of the closet and try them on to make sure the length will work okay. The last thing I need is to trip over my dress as I’m walking down the aisle.

I buckle the strappy shoes on and then walk slowly towards the full-length mirror. As I move closer and closer to my reflection, I bring my hands up as if holding a bouquet. And my chest tightens.

The dress looks beautiful, yes. And I feel great in it, sure.

But that isn’t causing the burble of emotions inside of me. No, it’s the fact that, in just a couple days, I’ll be walking towards Nikolai just like this.

And he’ll become my husband.

A smile I can’t contain spreads across my face. I lookradiant. I never knew it was possible to see “happy” until this moment. But I can see it in every single inch of me. Glowing. Shimmering.

“I want this,” I whisper aloud, letting the words shiver over my skin. “I want to marry Nikolai Zhukova.”

I’m still riding the high of my admission and admiring the delicate lace work of the dress when I hear footsteps moving down the hall.

Elise has been scurrying around the mansion like a mouse the last couple days, only creeping out at night for sustenance. Otherwise, she stays locked away in her room and refuses to talk to me. The heavy footfalls probably don’t belong to her.

Then the door to the room next to mine opens, and I panic.

Nikolai.No one else—aside from me—would go into his room. They wouldn’t dare. But he’s supposed to be at work. Nikolai is scheduled to be in the office all day today. He can’t be here.

“Belle?” Nikolai calls.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I hurry back towards the closet, fumbling with the few buttons I managed to close on the back of the dress.

Nikolai was there when the dress was getting fitted, but it all feels different now. I don’t want him to see me in it until our wedding day. I want it to be special. Call me stupid, call me old-fashioned, I don’t care. So much of me is exposed to him at all times. He can see everything there is to see. So this—this one little thing, this one silly thing…

I want to keep it to myself until it’s time.

“Belle?” he calls again, his voice closer. “Where are you?”

---