Page 45 of Twisted Lies

LILY

Entering the dress shop, I’m overwhelmed by white. From pure white to ivory to cream, it is a never-ending sea of white. I hold the door partially open for a moment, debating running till I’m caught.Last night it was decided I would find a dress for the fake wedding.

“Good morning,” the cheerful young attendant says, grinning as she slides around the checkout counter. “Welcome to Wedding Bliss. How can we help you?” Steph, her name tag reads. Letting the door and my escape slip through my fingers, I wait for it to shut. I am buying another moment. I could kill Elijah. This was his damn idea, and at the very least, he could be tortured here with me. Instead, he has another meeting. Dress shopping is just another ploy to have the Families believe we’re engaged. I think it’s going to the extreme, but Elijah believes differently.

“Ah, yes. I’m looking for my wedding dress,” I state rather stupidly, as it’s the only option here. Steph claps her hands in glee as if this is the first time she’s heard the news.

“Congrats! When’s the big day? Where did you meet? Big? Small wedding? What’s the budget?” she gushes, tugging me deeper into the store.

“Ah…a few weeks. Work. Small. I don’t have one,” I say, attempting to answer all her questions.

Her smile grows larger when I inform her there is no budget. Elijah just said to get whatever I liked and handed me the card.

“What do you like?” she asks, running her fingers over the dresses we pass.

Good question. I haven’t really thought about that. A wedding was never in the cards for me. I never had any interest in tying myself to one person, always ready to remake myself. I was free and liked it that way. But this wedding is fake, and I need to keep reminding myself that. When this is over, I’ll go on my way. The more time I spend with Elijah, the harder it will be to leave. He’s gotten under my skin, and I find myself missing him and thinking about him when he’s not around.

“No problem. We’ll just start trying things on and find a style you like and go from there. We’ll find you the dress, don’t worry,” she says, piling dresses in her hands, leading me to the dressing room. Looking at the pile in her arms, I regret not looking online before coming. It’s going to be a long day.

Steph leaves me standing in the back of the store in front of a large mirror as she once more tries to find the perfect dress, as she calls it. I already tried on five dresses and am tired of this task. None of them said anything to me but fake. It’s as if all the dresses know this isn’t a real wedding.

“Why don’t you try this one?” a voicenotbelonging to Steph asks from behind. Turning around, I’m shocked to see a beautiful blonde woman. She’s short, but her black heels make her legs appear to go on for miles. I don’t know how she stands in those shoes, let alone walks in them. Her intelligent eyes seem to take everything in a glance. In her hands is a simple mermaid wedding dress with silver gem lines. “Go on. What do you have to lose?” she says, raising an eyebrow and stepping closer.

“Good point.” I give a weak smile as I take it from her hands. “Do you work here?” I ask, trying to find a name tag.

The woman laughs. “No. No. I only just moved back home and was wandering around when I saw you in the window in that horrendous large dress and thought I would save you.”

“Oh. Thank you. That one was the worst.”

She nods her head to the side as I slip into the dressing room. Quickly changing, I step back out, expecting to feel the same way I had about all the others. Taking a step back, I look into the mirror. The feeling of dislike does not come. I look different in this dress. My fingers trace the decorative pattern, and I know out of all the other dresses in this store, this is the one. Even if I never walk down the aisle, this is still the only dress to walk out with. All the others would be yet another lie.

“It’s perfect for you.”

“Thank you,” I say, glancing down at the dress before pulling the price tag up. $2500. “It’s amazing but too much,” I say, moving back toward the dressing room, wanting to get it off. I can’t bear to look at it anymore, knowing how much I want it. Elijah had said it didn’t matter, but surely he would be pissed that I spent that much on a dress for a fake wedding. The woman grabs my arm as I move around her.

“I’m sure your soon-to-be husband would pay double to see you in this dress. It appears to be made for you.”

“It’s not…I…can’t. I’m sure there’s another one. Thank you,” I say, smiling but firmly brushing her off. It’s not her fault; she had found me the perfect dress only for it to be too much. Closing the curtain, I tug the dress off and try to catch my breath. Everything feels out of control. I still can’t believe I’ve agreed to this plan. There’s no way it’s going to work. No one’s going to believe he’s going to marry me. Why would anyone believe that? Feeling done with the day, I put on my jeans and sweater and step out. Steph has appeared with more dresses.

“Thank you for your help. I need to leave for the day, but I’ll contact you after I give the options some thought.”

Her mouth forms a large O before she says, “But I thought you had already found your dress. The woman paid for it. Said it was a wedding gift. I was putting these away.”

“What?” I ask, shocked. Why would she do that?

“Yeah, she left a note and paid cash,” Steph adds. I follow her to the counter, where she hands me the receipt and note.

The dress was made for you.

Enjoy your big day. -R.

Flicking the paper between my fingers, I fight with myself, unsure of what to do. “I’ll take it. Thank you.” I smile at Steph as she starts getting the dress packed. It’s already been paid for. It would be an insult not to accept the gift from a stranger. I’ll tell Elijah about it tonight. He’ll have different thoughts, I’m sure.

* * *

ELIJAH

Stepping away from the real estate agent, I answer the phone. “Any news?” I demand.

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