The Taste of Silver | Fortune's Fool #2

08 | villain of ethereal

I looked at myself in the mirror.

My face fell in disgust as I let out a screech of annoyance.

It just didn't work. It was wrong. Just so wrong. The length was fine but my hips didn't fit the middle and my chest didn't fit the upper region. I looked like a stick wrapped up in a satin curtain.

Ugly.

Instead of making me look ethereal, the gold fabric dulled my brown skin making me look like a withering flower. I looked like the villain of ethereal.

The words that'd I'd been hearing repeatedly recently at home sprung to mind. She never said it. She was far too gracious for that. Her face said it all and that was what I hated even most. It gave away all the words she never said.

You're losing weight Talisa. You look gaunt. Your face has gone in. You've lost all your curves. Your figure's disappeared. You used to look more healthy.

What's going on?

Tell me what's happening.

What's wrong-

My hand had balled up tightly into a bony fist as I scowled angrily, a tornado ravaging within me.

-with you?

I bit down harshly on my lip to stop it from trembling before I hit my hand again and again on the cushioned stool in the corner of the changing room. My chest heaved up and down as I shrieked, digging my nails into my head.

God, I was so done with everything.

"Talisa?' A gentle feminine voice questioned from outside. "Are you okay? Does the dress fit?"

"No, it damn well doesn't," I hissed out after taking a deep breath and calming myself. "Go get me a different one."

There was a slight pause. "But which one?"

"I don't care! Just anything, for God's sake. Just go!" I spat before murmuring under my breath, "So stupid."

From behind the curtain, I could hear the sound of heels fading away before they got louder again. "Arlo gave me this. He said he thinks you might like it." Ashlei stuck her hand through the gap in the curtain, handing me a second dress.

This one was rich bottle green with silver embellishments. It was exactly what I'd pictured previously but compared to the gold one, it fell short. A scowl fixated on my face, I tried it on before letting my seafood eyes tightly inspect myself.

It looked good on me and fit. That was all I gave a damn about at this stage. In the next fifteen minutes, I bought the few thousand-pound dress.

I'll sort out shoes another day.

"Come on, let's just get some food. I know a place," Arlo grumbled, evidently beginning to get annoyed. I had to say, he did have a commendable amount of patience. Most men would have left us by now. From the same shop, he had bought a suit for the ball but had decided that he wasn't going to show it to us until Saturday, the day of the ball.

We followed him towards his sleek white Mazda and I sat shotgun. "I suppose the whole of the year will be there," Arlo said curtly.

I wasn't an idiot.

I knew he was trying to find out if Gabriel was coming. Considering he had been the one to find me a dress, I took the bait. "Yeah, all of our group is going and as far as I know, the entire year too. Apart from Nicole who has got to go to New York for one of her dad's conferences."

"So that's around 90 people," Arlo stated, turning the steering wheel right.

I shrugged my shoulder indifferently.