Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“ W hat about this one?” Delilah asked, turning in front of the mirror. The dress hugged her curves in all the right places, but it was a bit too similar to the last one.
“It looks the same as the one before,” Sebastian groaned, running a hand down his face. “Why am I even here?”
“I need a man’s opinion,” Delilah replied, her tone teasing.
“Please, Ruiz, the last thing you’ve ever needed is a man’s approval,” Sebastian shot back though his frustration was softened by a faint smirk.
“I like this one better than the last,” Lilia chimed in, attempting to be helpful. They had been in the boutique for two hours, and the afternoon was slipping away.
“I’m going to stretch my legs,” Sebastian grumbled.
Lilia shook her head, hiding a smile as she watched him walk away. She waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Delilah. “You know he adores you, right? I don’t understand why you two won’t just date.”
Delilah raised an eyebrow. “You seriously want to talk about men that ‘adore’ us right now? Where did you and Augustus sneak off to the other night?”
Lilia flushed, looking down at the clothing rack she was sifting through. “It’s not the same thing.”
“Isn’t it?” Delilah pressed. “He’s been in love with you his entire life, Lils.”
“He’s Willow’s,” Lilia said, shaking her head as if to clear the thought. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You let her have him. And you sat there and buried your feelings for years. She’s gone now, Lilia. He isn’t hers anymore. You can’t keep letting her control your happiness.”
Lilia knew that Delilah was right. It was a truth she tried to ignore time, and time again—burying it beneath guilt and some failed attempt at loyalty to Willow. But it was hard, finally being in control of your life when it felt like it wasn’t yours for so long.
“What about this one?” Lilia held up a black strapless dress, hoping to shift the conversation.
Delilah pursed her lips. “No.” She shook her head, dismissing it with a wave. “I wore one like that for a gala with my dad a few years ago. I want something more original.”
She shot her an exasperated look but kept searching through the racks.
“Wait,” Delilah said suddenly, her voice cutting through the air.
“Did you finally find one?” Lilia asked with a hint of relief in her voice.
“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head. “Do you remember that video that we found of Willow?”
“Yeah, what about it?” Lilia asked, turning to face her,
“The bed she was on—I’ve seen it before. A few years ago, my dad had a banquet in Boston, and the hotel we stayed at had a bed just like that.”
Lilia frowned. “What would Willow be doing in Boston?”
“Maybe it was the only place she could meet up with the guy she was seeing? It was far enough outside of town that no one would know who she was. It’s perfect.”
“I still don’t understand how she could cheat on him. She didn’t even care about how it would make him feel. No guy is worth that, no matter how good the sex is.”
“Willow liked to play games. She lied for sport.”
“Do you remember what happened to Eden, from freshman year?” Lilia shook her head. “We let her get away with so much. She treated everyone around her like they were nothing, even us. But we were friends with her for all these years. What does that say about us as people? About who we are? People look at us and we’re just the dead girl’s friends.”
“She made us feel important, like what we had was special. In the end, she just ruined us forever.”
They were horrible people. Pawns in a chess game. They had no identities of their own; defined by their family’s wealth, and their academic success—Willow. Even now, when she was gone, dead and buried, they were still hers.
“Sometimes I feel like we’ll never be rid of her,” Lilia murmured. “She owns us.”
To the grave—she had made them a promise.
Who knew three words would mean so much?