Chapter 7 Manipulation

Her blue hair clashed horribly with the orange and pink dress. The purple eyeshadow made her look bruised, and the lipstick was smudged at the corner of her mouth. Her whole face looked... loud. Wrong. Like she was trying to be someone else entirely.

"I... I look awful," Pearl whispered.

"What?" Kaylee frowned. "No, you don't. You just need to get used to it. It's a bold look."

Pearl took a step closer to the mirror, eyes filling with tears. "I look like a clown."

"No, you don't!" Kaylee suddenly snapped, her voice trembling. "I worked so hard on this! I stayed up last night picking that dress. I brought everything for you. And now you're saying it's bad?"

Pearl turned to her, startled. "I... I didn't mean it like that."

Kaylee's eyes shimmered, and her lips quivered. "You always do this... You ask for help and then hate everything I do! I try to make you pretty, I really try, but it's never enough for you!"

"Kaylee..." Pearl tried to explain, but Kaylee cut her off.

"I just wanted to help my best friend! But maybe I should've left you in that dumb t-shirt, looking all sad and invisible. I should've known you'd just blame me for everything!"

Then she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands and turning away.

Pearl's heart twisted. She didn't mean to hurt Kaylee. Maybe she was being ungrateful. Kaylee did try, right?

"I'm sorry," Pearl whispered, reaching out and gently touching Kaylee's arm. "I really am. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Kaylee sniffled loudly. "So... you'll keep the outfit?"

Pearl forced a smile. "Yeah... I'll keep it."

"Really?" Kaylee looked up, her cheeks tear-streaked.

Pearl nodded, even though she felt like hiding in the janitor's closet for the rest of the day. "You're right. I just need to be confident."

Kaylee smiled weakly. "Good. I knew you'd understand."

As they walked out of the washroom, Pearl kept her eyes on the floor, cheeks burning with shame. Every step felt heavy. The dress scratched her skin, and her lips felt sticky and strange.

She wanted to cry.

But she couldn't.

Not while Kaylee was smiling beside her.

"Is that Pearl? My god, she... she looks weird!"

"I thought the baggy clothes were the extent to which she could stoop, but these clothes... just what kind of aesthetics does she have?"

"I don't know. She looks rather funny! Like the clown from the IT movie! Hahaha!"

The sound of laughter and comments directed at her made Pearl want to shrink; however, Kaylee didn't give her the chance and dragged her to the ceremony.

It was 4 pm. The ceremony will officially start from 6 pm, and everyone will find their mate at 8 pm.

The ceremony was going to take place in the backyard of the Moonveil Academy.

The backyard was decorated with strings of fairy lights that glowed softly against the darkening sky. Tall lanterns stood in each corner, flickering with enchanted blue flames.

Rows of chairs surrounded the grassy center, where a moon-shaped platform was set for the Moon Goddess's blessing. The entire place shimmered with excitement and magic, and Pearl felt like the only thing that didn't belong.

She clutched the skirt of her dress nervously, trying not to look at anyone, but the whispers kept following her like shadows.

"Why is she wearing that?"

"Did she fall into a box of crayons?"

"Poor thing thinks she'll get a mate like that?"

Pearl's face burned. Her hands were clammy, and the sticky lipstick made her lips feel weird every time she opened her mouth to breathe.

Kaylee, meanwhile, waved cheerfully at everyone, acting like nothing was wrong.

"Oh! There's Lucy!" Kaylee said, pulling Pearl forward again. "Come on, let's say hi."

Pearl wanted to turn and run the other way, but she didn't.

Lucy stood by the refreshment table, surrounded by a group of girls who were laughing at something she said. Her hair was curled perfectly, and her lavender dress sparkled under the lights like stardust.

The moment Lucy saw Pearl, her eyebrows jumped.

"Wow... Pearl... you look... unique." Lucy commented, and the other girls giggled. "Let's stick from here on since you are here already. Can you get us lemonade? I feel thirsty."

Pearl could only nod under the expectant gaze of others. She fetched lemonade; however, the request didn't stop there.

In the next 3 hours, she was like the personal servant of Lucy and her friends. From starters to juices, they kept on making requests.

The ceremony had officially started one hour before. However, the main stars of the Moonveil Academy hadn't arrived till then.

It was only when the 15 minutes were left to the ceremony that Camilia arrived in a beautiful V-neck bodycon reaching till her knees.

Her hair was braided into a French fishtail and styled into a Lake fishtail bun.

She looked ethereal. Many of the girls flocked to her and started to ask,

"What about Maya? Is Maya not going to join us?"

Camila gave a polite smile and shook her head,

"Something urgent came up."

"What can be more important than the mating ceremony? Don't tell me she doesn't even consider her future mate Aiden important!"

Camila chuckled,

"Don't worry, she will join later. And Aiden is very important to her."

Just as she finished her sentence, Aiden walked in. He was wearing a black tailored suit that fit him perfectly, with silver embroidery along the cuffs and collar, the mark of the royal line. His dark hair was slicked back, and a silver crescent moon pendant gleamed at his chest.

The moment he stepped in, the atmosphere shifted.

All the girls straightened their backs. Whispered gasps floated in the air.

"He's here!"

"Oh my gosh, look at him!"

"He looks like a prince out of a fairytale!"

Pearl froze.

Her heart stuttered in her chest as she caught sight of him. He was even more handsome than she remembered, tall, sharp-jawed, and commanding. Even the breeze seemed to hush when he passed.

Aiden's eyes scanned the crowd, searching for someone.