Chapter 3 Unrecognizable

ELARA

I smoothed the invisible creases on the red gown I wore, my eyes catching the steady tick of the clock on the wall.

7 p.m. And Shawn wasn't here yet.

Did he seriously forget?

The birthday dinner had been scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m. We were already almost two hours late!

I picked my phone up from my clutch purse, uncrossed my legs, and dialed his number.

Surely, he couldn't choose Miranda over his own grandfather? Not tonight at least...

There was no answer the first time. None the second.

Impatience bloomed into a restless, prickling heat beneath my skin. I got to my feet, my fingers tightening around my clutch as I paced the sitting room and dialed again.

My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror of the west wing of the sitting room, and I couldn't help but smile at the transformation. I wondered, for a brief, fleeting second, what he would say when he finally saw me.

Would he rethink things? Would he-

Idiot. I cursed myself. I stomped both the thought and the dying embers of love that tried to swamp me. I didn't need his approval. And I definitely didn't want his love anymore!

I had to be strong. For me. And for the baby.

Finally, he answered on the fourth dial.

"Shawn..."

Music throbbed in the background of the call. Laughter. Then his mother's voice drifted through the line, clear enough to cut.

"Where is that peasant you call a wife? Did she forget what today was?" A pause, followed by a conspiratorial hiss. "I have told you to divorce her already... you are still going on with the plans, right..."

I inhaled slowly, forcing the oxygen into my lungs even as my chest tightened with a cold ache. So they all knew. The whole family was in on the plan to ruin me.

I ended the call without waiting for him to speak.

But he called back instantly.

"Elara, where are you?! Did you forget what today was?"

I snorted softly, the sound bitter in the quiet room. The fool didn't even suspect I might have overheard. He must be quite confident in my supposed stupidity.

"You mentioned we'd be going together," I said coolly. "Did you forget?"

A pause on the other end. Then Miranda's sickly sweet voice floated into the receiver, dripping with fake innocence.

"Oh, Shawny, come on, let's go see Grandfather. They're already bringing out the gifts..."

Shawny?

I scoffed. It sounded like the name for a lapdog-which, frankly, was exactly what he was to her.

"You went with Miranda?" I baited him, my curiosity thriving over my common sense. I wanted to see how far he would go to cover his tracks.

He cleared his throat, sounding slightly flustered, the sound of a man caught in a web of his own making. "We met at the office, so I came with her since she mentioned you invited her..."

I nodded slowly to the empty room. I never invited Miranda. In fact, I had started avoiding her months ago, ever since my instincts began screaming that she wasn't the "best friend" I'd known in high school.

"All the same, start coming," he continued, his tone turning dismissive and cold. "Grandfather is getting anxious. Should I send an Uber, since you can't drive?"

"No, don't worry. Enjoy the party. I'll be there in about ten minutes..."

Then he ended the call, leaving me with the dial tone.

Inhaling deeply again, controlling my emotions, I slipped my phone back stiffly into the purse, strolled to the dining area, and collected the meticulously packaged gift I had for Grandpa Max. Then, I walked out of the house.

On second thought, I turned back, headed to the basket of keys in the hallway, and picked the one for the red Porsche, Shawn's personal baby.

Might as well confuse them.

The compound was filled with a sea of guests when I arrived at the mansion ten minutes later. There wasn't a single place to park, but because the Porsche gleamed, one of the security guards-assuming I was some visiting dignitary or high-society heiress-cleared a path immediately.

I felt the weight of a hundred gazes as the guests turned to see who had arrived two hours late.

The guard respectfully pointed me toward a parking space right near the entrance.

When I turned off the ignition, I removed my sunglasses slowly. I was fully aware of the attention-on the car, on the flash of red, on the woman driving a machine worth more than most of their homes.

I could already see Shawn's mother approaching from the entrance, her spine stiff, preparing to act like a gracious hostess to a guest she didn't recognize.

This would be fun.

Another deep inhale. Gift and purse in my right hand, I pushed open the door and stepped out.

The guard bowed, the tips of his ears turning a bright pink as he hurried aside at the matriarch's approach.

He hadn't recognized me. None of them had.

Interesting.

"Hello! Welcome, welcome!" Linda beamed, actually looking beautiful in her own way as she waved me forward with a fake, practiced smile.

I couldn't help the smug smile that slithered across my lips. "Good evening... Mother..."

I watched the transformation happen in real-time, and it was glorious.

I watched her smile dry up and wither the second she realized who was standing before her. I watched the confusion taint her face as her gaze dragged over me from head to toe, taking in every expensive inch of the silk and the terrifying confidence in my eyes.

"Elara?"

"The one and only," I mused lightly, then looked past her at the watching crowd, my chin tilted high.

The whispers were already reaching my ears like the buzzing of a disturbed hive.

"Is that Elara Lindays?"

"I can't believe it. Has she always been this beautiful?"

"Is that an Areso gown? And those killer heels... oh my goodness..."

"Shawn really hid this beauty at home, and for what?"

"She's still a peasant though... from the countryside. What's the use of her beauty then..."

I tuned them out. Ignoring Linda's shocked silence, I started toward the heart of the party, where I was sure Grandpa Max would be waiting in his seat of honor.

But my movement snapped her out of her daze. She reached out and grabbed my arm, her grip tight and claw-like.

"Where do you think you're going? Why are you coming at this time, you stupid girl!"

I cocked my head slightly, staring at her intensely, but said nothing.

She must have been unsettled by the sheer coldness of my gaze, because she blurted out, "Do you think dressing to the nines will change who you are? Will it detract from the scolding you will receive from Shawn?"

How had I tolerated this for five years? I wondered, looking down at her hand on my sleeve with a sense of clinical detachment.

Slowly, I removed her hand from my arm, finger by finger. Then I glared at her-smiling faintly when she took a step back, shock flashing in her eyes at whatever cold steel she saw reflected in mine.

Then I walked away. I had to see Grandfather.

He was exactly where I expected, under a mini canopy where the elite guests stepped forward to present their offerings. When he saw me, he beamed, his face lighting up with genuine warmth as he called me over.

"My dear, you look gorgeous!"

I smiled, fully aware of Shawn staring at me from across the lawn, standing with Miranda, with the rest of his judgmental family. I was aware of Linda stepping into the canopy behind me, her face red with fury. Aware that we had suddenly, violently, become the center of everyone's attention.

"Thanks, Gramps. Happy birthday!"

I was just about to hand him my gift when Miranda closed the distance between us, her arms lifting as if to pull me into a sisterly hug.

I raised my hand, stopping her dead in her tracks with a single gesture.

"Stay away," I said coolly, the words loud enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly. "You smell like shitty perfume."