Chapter 0039
“We were told that the plan had changed,” the hairdresser n–sponded weakly.
“You might as well finish it now that you’ve started. I’ll be back in 10 minutes,” Isaid before walking out the door.
I needed a moment to regain my composure. If I wasn’t careful, I would reveal too much. My anger at Amanda would seem like an overreaction, and while some people would forgive that, seeing as the wedding day is extremely stressful, it would look bad to others.
I needed to make sure my reputation didn’t take any damage. I knew what I had to do. After taking a few moments to calm myself, I walked back into the room.
It looked like Amanda’s hair was finished, straightened, and twisted into a complex braid. Her makeup looked exceptionally beautiful with bright, eye–catching tones. She looked at me when I entered.
“We’ve just finished,” she said.
“You look good,” I said meekly. “I’m really sorry that I lost my temper. It’s just, this morning has been so stressful, and I’m so scared.”
Amanda looked at me suspiciously, but she must have noticed the pitying looks the other women were giving me as I wrapped my arms firmly around myself.
“What do you mean, scared?” she asked.
“I’m afraid that if things go wrong again, like they have been lately, that I’ll embarrass David in front of the king and ruin everything. Today is so important. We have to make such a good impression, and I’m just so scared of messing something up. That’s why I asked you to come early today. I really needed your support, and instead of helping me…” I let my words trail off.
“I wasn’t deliberately trying to upset you,” Amanda said uncertainly.
“Then why,” I asked, motioning to her dress, “are you wearing a white gown almost identical to mine?”
She looked down at the dress, which was partially hidden under a black hair cape.
“It’s not white,” she said. “It’s silver–blue.”
“It’s close enough,” I replied. “Why are you wearing that instead of the dress we agreed on?”
“I can’t afford the dress you picked,” she snapped. “I asked for help paying for it from my family, but my mother wouldn’t agree. She said that if she spent so much money on a luxury item for me, she’d have to do it for all of my siblings, and that simply wasn’t possible. This was the only thing I could get. I had to borrow it from my sister.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I asked. “I could have helped you pay for the dress, or we could have picked out a different one together.”
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” she said.
“Aren’t we friends?” I asked.
Amanda looked at me, and I could see conflict in her eyes.
For a moment, I wanted to believe that it was possible to change what had happened between us, just like I had been able to change other things in this new timeline. But after the hatred I had seen on her face in my original life and after what she had done to me, I knew I couldn’t allow myself to trust her, no matter how much I might
want to.
Chapter 0039
+25 BONUS
“The guests will be arriving soon. Why don’t you go downstairs and help greet people?” I said, looking away from
her.
Amanda left the room without another word, leaving me standing alone with my conflicting emotions warring within me.
I sighed and sat in the makeup chair.
“It will take us a moment to get ready to start,” the hairstylist said.
“That’s fine,” I replied.
I pulled my phone out and started to scroll as I waited. My heart dropped as I saw a post Amanda had made just moments ago.
It was a selfie of her w
of her with her hair and makeup completed, wearing her dress. She must have taken it in the hallway after she left the room.
There were dozens of likes already, and people were leaving comments complimenting her.
“You look gorgeous!”
“Are you a movie star?”
“You’re going to steal the spotlight!”
I glared at the screen. There was no denying it now, Amanda’s goal was to upstage me at my own wedding. I couldn’t let her get away with it.
