The Luxury Scandals (formerly:The Billionaire's Girl)| BWWM

The Golden Bridal Shower

"Oh, girl, you seriously look hella hot" Normani smiled as she looked at the end result that Giada and her did, to make Esther look as 'perfect' as possible.

Esther smiled, looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was straight, like always but had bumped ends. Esther was wearing a shoulderless jumpsuit that was white, black, and gold paired with a simple white bag, some silver jewelry, and white high heels.

"Yup, I look good" Esther exclaimed.
"Good? Girl don't compliment my work of arts ever again" Giada playfully said.

"Do you think it's good enough to-"
"Forget the goddamn article, you worry too much, damn." Giada interrupted her words, Normani looked at her, her mouth dropping open.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say! You really are like me!" Normani said, putting her arm around Giada.

The door knocked.
"We have to go. I'm giving you five minutes" Cecelia talked from outside.

~

Henry stared out of the balcony door's window, still annoyed at Esther. Something about her actually trying to make the marriage seem real annoyed him, mostly because it annoyed him the marriage wasn't real.

Henry was a strong believer that love should be real. If humans are forced to feel love, it should be real.

And the lack of realness annoyed him. Not to forget, Esther in general annoyed him. Everything she did, from her scratchy voice to her attitude to anything else made him mad.

"Wow you seem pissed" Amy-Leigh talked walking into his bedroom. Henry turned around to her. "Shouldn't you be in the car?"

"We're all waiting for Esther to get ready." Amy-Leigh explained, making Henry roll his eyes again and look back to the window. "Of course you are," he muttered, more to himself than to Amy-Leigh. His irritation was palpable, simmering beneath his cool exterior.

Amy-Leigh, petite and always full of energy, seemed a stark contrast to Henry's brooding presence. She watched him for a moment, her brows furrowing in concern. "Henry, you can't keep this up. It's not healthy."

"And what would you suggest I do, Amy-Leigh?" Henry turned to face her, his deep-set eyes filled with frustration.

"Honestly, I don't know," Amy-Leigh admitted, looking slightly uncomfortable. "But you're not going to find any answers staring out the window. Maybe you should...try and get to know her"

"I've tried," Henry replied, his voice laced with bitterness. "All she does is worsen the situation. She doesn't want to face the reality of our situation any more than I do."

Amy-Leigh sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, if you both keep avoiding the issue, nothing's going to change."

Henry didn't respond, his gaze returning to the scene outside the window. Amy-Leigh watched him for another moment before shaking her head and leaving the room, the quiet click of the door leaving him alone with his thoughts.

In the silence, a bitter truth resonated within him.

~

Esther smiled sweetly as she talked with some of the women who presented themselves at the bridal shower. The location was beautiful, a sky-high dim-light restaurant with white tables and food that cost more than Esther could even fathom.

As she held her best friend's hand, she talked to a lady, feeling confident about the night. It was going well, and soon the gifts were going to be opened.

"So, Esther, how exactly did Henry fall in love with you? I mean we all knew he was a hopeless romantic but he also was really picky. How do you meet every criteria?" A lady asked Esther.