THE NEXT DAY
MORNING
Lily heard humming repeatedly from her sleep, she tried to ignore it but it got louder every second and it was disturbing. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up to see Nora going through a bag on her couch and humming.
“Nora.” Lily called tiredly and she turned to her.
“Oh, hey Lily.” She called happily and Lily slowly got off the bed. She felt pains in her feet as she walked closer to Nora but she ignored it.
“How are you here so early?” Lily asked as she yawned.
“Early? It’s not early. It’s past 10:00 am.” Nora replied and Lily mouthed a ‘woah’
She must have been so exhausted for her to wake up this late, and she also slept late.
Lily’s eyes moved to the bag and she noticed there were different fancy dresses on the couch and there were still more in the bag.
“What’s with all these dresses?” She asked and Nora smiled at her.
“It’s for the ball. You have options and you have to do some fit-checking for a few.” Nora replied and Lily sighed.
“Shouldn’t I be worried about the decorations and all?” She asked concerned.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Have got everything covered.”
“Okay.”
“Have you gotten the dance steps perfectly?” Nora asked. Lily remembered how she and Axel danced in the ballroom.
“Ye… yeah.” She replied.
“Great, now you have to do something.”
“What?” Lily asked and Nora handed her her phone. Lily took it and stared at the screen, it had different names with little pictures of each person there.
“What is this about?”
“Those are the lists of guests that are coming. You have to memorize their names and know their faces so you can welcome them.” She explained and Lily scrolled through the list, it was a really long list and her eyes widened.
“What? How am I supposed to know all these before it’s time for the party? Why didn’t you tell me about this yesterday?” She asked worriedly.
“I just got the complete list this morning. Now, take your time in learning them. I need to get something real quick, I will be back.” Nora said and rushed out of the room before Lily could say anything else.
“Oh God.” She mumbled and slowly took a seat.
***********
Lily paced in the hallway as she tried to memorize the names of the guests she had left, it had really been a long day and it was finally time for the party. The guests were already arriving and she had to be there early before the room would get crowded.
She hasn’t seen Axel all day and Nora has been helping. She was already dressed in a beautiful gown, her hair was styled by Nora and she had a light makeup on. In short words, she looked stunning!
“Lily.” She heard Nora call her name and she turned to see her. She was also dressed already and Lily couldn’t help but feel jealous and admire her.
She wondered how beautiful she would have looked if she lived a proper life while growing up.
Nora noticed Lily was staring at her and she gave her a questioning look.
“Is something wrong?” She asked and Lily shook her head with a light smile.
“Nothing is wrong. You just look so perfect.” Lily complimented and Nora smiled.
“You look amazing too.” She replied and Lily nodded.
“Thanks.”
“The guests are arriving, Axel will be here soon. You have to wait for him because you have to show up together.”
“Okay.” Lily replied, nodding her head.
“I need my phone.” Nora said and took her phone from Lily which made her gasp.
“What? I am not done memorizing the names.” She said in fear
“It’s okay. You don’t have to greet everyone.” Nora chuckled and gave her a comforting smile before walking away.
Lily breathed out nervously and continued pacing, she mumbled the names she had memorized as she did.
She suddenly heard footsteps and she turned to see Axel. He had a fancy tuxedo on which fitted him perfectly. Everything about him was so perfect that she got lost staring at him.
“It’s Sherman, not Sheeman.” He said as he got closer to her.
“Huh?” Lily asked, confused.
“The name you were mumbling. It is pronounced as Sherman, not Sheeman. Mr. Sherman has a wife and two kids and he is coming from New Jersey.” Axel said and Lily exhaled heavily and nodded.
“Yeah, thanks.” She mumbled.
“Ready?” He asked and she nodded in response.
She couldn’t tell if he was happy, excited, or sad. He had a plain expression that confused Lily.
They both walked down the stairs and headed to the ballroom, they got closer to the room and Axel held her hand.
“Don’t mess this up. Nothing must go wrong this night.”
“Yeah, I know.” She replied nervously. They got into the room and Lily put a smile on her face as everyone’s attention drifted to them. The first family that approached her were the Martins and she could recall their name.
She welcomed them and moved to the next guest.
She welcomed a few more guests before welcoming Axel’s parents. She kept looking around the room to see if she could find Nora but she couldn’t.
As expected, Axel’s stepmother wasn’t pleased to see her. Lily wondered why she hated her so much.
The party went on and everything kept going smoothly, Axel left Lily to go attend to some of the guests and she kept doing what she had to do too.
It was time for the dance and Lily was nervous. There were couples on the dance floor already and she stared at them, she watched as they danced so effortlessly.
She was glad Axel wasn’t around, it meant she could avoid dancing. She stood in a corner and sighed in relief since no one was noticing her there, she needed some time alone.
“Hiding?” She heard a voice ask and she flinched. She turned to see Axel.
“N… no. I… I wasn’t hiding, I didn’t see you so…”
She trailed off when she had no idea of what to say.
Axel ignored her frightened state and held her hand, he pulled her gently to the middle of the room where other couples were dancing.
They both started dancing and the rest of the couples left the floor for them, Lily was nervous and scared, she feared she would embarrass Axel and his family.
Luckily, she didn’t, the dance ended and she hurriedly let go of Axel and walked away from him.
She walked towards a table that had different drinks on it, she needed to calm her nerves and she wanted a drink so bad.
She got to the table and noticed everything there was alcohol except water, she couldn’t take alcohol so she poured herself a glass of water.
She gulped out of it and sighed in relief.
“Lily, right?” She heard someone call and she turned to see Malia. Lily was surprised to see her because her family’s name wasn’t on the guest list.
“How are you?” Malia asked with a smile and Lily nodded in response.
“Fine.”
Malia took a step closer to her and giggled. Lily raised her brows wondering what was funny at the moment. She ran her eyes on Lily’s dress and Lily did the same, she was pretty but not up to what Lily could admire.
She had too much makeup on which made her look like a clown and her dress was just manageable. She wasn’t bad at the same time she wasn’t looking good for a wealthy person.
“So you are really married to Axel.” She said with a chuckle. Lily didn’t say a word, all she did was stare at her.
“I must admit, I am surprised. I can recall you showing up in our house a week ago begging and… ”
“Do you have anything else to say?” Lily cut her off. She is trying her best not to recall what happened the past week and she wouldn’t want anything to make her think about it.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have a lot to say.” Malia replied as her fake smile was replaced with a glare.
“Axel is supposed to be my husband. I am supposed to be married to him, the fancy dress you are putting on is supposed to be mine. Do you even know how much the dress is worth?” Malia ranted and scoffed.
“I don’t have any idea of what you are talking about. Please excuse me.” Lily said and tried to walk away but Malia blocked her path.
“I wasn’t done talking to you, bitch.”
“I really don’t have the time to… ”
“Guess what Lily? I will ruin this little happiness you have.” She cut Lily off and looked around, before Lily could blink, Malia held her hand and poured the water in the glass on herself.
She let out a scream which got the attention of everyone. Lily’s eyes widened in shock as she wondered what the hell just happened.