Dirty Halo: a forbidden royal romance by East Evie

Author:East, Evie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evie East
Published: 2018-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It’s 11:55 a.m. and I’m pacing outside the closed parlor doors. I refuse to step into that room until it’s absolutely unavoidable.

“She bamboozled you into this too, huh?”

I look up at the sound of Chloe’s voice and see her leaning against the wall, watching me ping-pong back and forth. Judging by the warm look on her face, she’s not holding a grudge about the Owen incident.

I smile back at her. “Bamboozled is too nice a word for what she did.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better or worse?”

She laughs, a light tinkling sound. “Neither. But it’s the truth. After a while, you’ll develop a sort of sixth sense for Octavia’s schemes. And once you can anticipate your opponent’s moves… it’s much easier to evade them.”

I shake my head tiredly. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this life.”

“No one’s ever ready for anything. You just suck it up and do it and hope that eventually the pieces fall into place. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.”

“That’s your best advice? Suck it up?”

“Hmm…” She thinks about it for a moment. “Yep.”

“Chloe, have you considered a career writing greeting cards? Since you’re such a fountain overflowing with heartwarming wisdom?”

“You never know, it could be my true calling. Watch out, Hallmark, I’m coming for you!” Her head tilts. “And, as a side perk, can you imagine the look on Octavia’s face if I told her I was getting a job? An actual job?”

I gasp. “Like a common peasant?”

“A working schlub!” She throws a hand over her heart. “The outrage!”

“The scandal!’

“The horror of it all!”

“Oh, the humanity!”

We both dissolve into giggles.

“Word of advice? When we’re in there, try not to let Octavia rattle you,” she says when we’ve caught our breath. “The more you let your anger show, the happier she’ll be. She’s like some mythological hell-beast that feeds on misery.”

“It would be easier to ignore her if she wasn’t threatening people I care about.” The clock on the wall begins to chime. I glare at it, as if that might somehow stop time. “Guess that’s our cue.”

“Don’t worry,” Chloe whispers conspiratorially, stepping up to my side. “I have something that’ll make this experience a lot more enjoyable.”

“Cyanide?” I ask, only half-joking.

“Better.” She pulls out a small plastic baggie, glances around for Simms or one of the ever-watchful housekeepers, and dumps its contents into her palm. “Take one. Thank me later.”

I blink down at the two innocuous-looking gummy bears. “What are they?”

“Just a little something to take the edge off. I call them Octavia-Tamers. Makes her at least somewhat bearable to be around — especially while doing something this odious.”

“Will it really be that bad? Picking out a dress can’t possibly take that long, can it? I figured twenty minutes, as a generous estimate.”

Chloe snorts. “Oh, you’re so new. It might be cute if it weren’t so tragic.”

“Forty minutes?” I grimace when she shakes her head. “An hour?”

“Try two hours of dress selection, followed by another two hours of custom tailoring.

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