Chapter 13. His Smell

Lara’s auburn hair falls beautifully over her bare shoulders. Her skin is flawless. The pale blue material of her gown had turned her eyes a deep cerulean shade. Her fingers trace her collar bones lightly, her coral-polished nails glistening as the pearls droop from her ears.

Her reflection in the vanity is a vision, an apparition of beauty. She could see her parents standing on each side, their hands resting reassuringly on her delicate shoulders. But their skin doesn't touch hers, they pass right through, a reminder of her true reality. She blinked back tears, clutching both pendants hanging around her neck to find a life force within them.

The neckline of her ball gown swoops in a heart shape. Her pale mounds of cleavage teased the air. The gown was sent by her soon-to-be husband as Rose warned her to quit fighting her fate. Michael Watson is their savior, or so her stepmother believed. He has been sent like an angel, and who were they to turn away such a blessin