Chapter 5

“This won’t do.”

Back in my room, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were hollow and red and my skin was shockingly pale. My head hurt, my body hurt and my mind hurt. Knowing the past or the future, I suppose, I could not afford to mate with Cassius but I also could not annul the engagement on my own, not without Cassius’ consent. The only other way was for my father to step in and I had vowed to keep him out of all this.

This was the mess I created and the last time he tried to clean up my mess, he had his throat cut. I swallowed through my dry throat.

 “No, this won’t do,” I muttered to myself.

“Miss Persephone?” Sylvia knocked on my door. “Emma is here for the final dress fitting.”

“Send her in. Have someone prepare tea and some snacks. She must have set out without breakfast to arrive here this early.” My fingers drummed against my chair handle.

This would not do.

Cassius was one of the most powerful men in the Deimos kingdom now and I made him. I built him with my hands from scratch and now I was trapped with no one but myself to blame.

 “Annulled engagement,” I mumbled. “To avoid a path of doom.”

I have no intention of letting you go.

“Ha.”

“Good morning, Miss Persephone.” Emma Rose and two of her attendants greeted as they stepped into the room.

Thinking of my past life, I realized I was more foolish than I first thought. I was not unilaterally clinging to Cassius, no, he was also clinging to me. He knew of my feelings and he used them against me. He kept me by his side for my father’s powers and he did not care a hoot about me, not even as a friend because if he did, he would at least be interested in who I had fallen in love with. To Cassius, I was nothing more than a tool and it didn’t matter if I suffered as long as I was by his side to be used. I did not know when he started to see me this way. Maybe even from the first day we met.

Since I knew Cassius, I always tried to do something for him to maintain my relevance to him because he had others but he was the only one I had. I did not want to be abandoned so I bent over backwards and did everything for him and all he had to do was smile at me and offer words of comfort. All he had to do was be my friend - or pretend to be.  

 “Miss Persephone?” Emma Rose called my name with a voice filled with displeasure.

This was a woman who made the Luna Queen’s wedding dress, a famous designer in the kingdom who I had hounded my father to bring to me to design my engagement dress because I wanted to look good for Cassius. I wanted him to take one look at me in a beautiful dress and fall in love with me.

A fool.

“Yes, let’s see the final dress,” I responded without a smidge of interest.

I can’t forgive. I can’t forgive you, Cass.

 No doubt April deceived Cassius. She deceived us all so when I woke up with resentment in my heart, when I looked at Cassius’ face and imagined stabbing a dagger into his heart, I squashed those thoughts. I wanted to survive, to escape the death flag, but now, a fire burned in my heart.

They killed me. April and Cassius. And now I wanted revenge. I deserved revenge.

“Ha!” I exclaimed. The ladies working to present my dress halted. Emma’s hands shook as she turned to me, trying to mask her irritation.

“Is it not to your liking?” She asked in a mild voice.

For the first time since they presented the dress, I took a proper look at it. My heart sped up at the painful memories this dress evoked. I died in this dress.

How could I let Cassius be after what he did to me? He shackled me to his side and together with his mate, destroyed me and my father. How could I let them be happy?

No, they did not deserve happiness.

This engagement may just be what I needed. If I was just a tool to Cassius, a tool he knew loved him and he chose to exploit that love, then I would be the tool that destroyed him. He would keep me by his side for as long as I was useful and when he reached the pinnacle of success, he would throw me away. And what would happen to my father who would stand in his way?

“This is a mess,” I leaned my head back, my eyes closed to hold back tears.

“Pardon?” Emma’s sharp voice cut through the air.

“Miss, are you not satisfied with the dress?” Sylvia asked.

 I dragged my father into this mess and although I was ready to be buried under as long as I took Cassius and April along with me, I had to protect my father. He had protected me my whole life and did not deserve to die because of his silly daughter.

“No,” I muttered, finally opening my eyes.

“Pardon? I made all the adjustments you asked for –“ Emma went off on a long rant that didn’t hide her annoyance.

Cassius was my Alpha which meant he had a tangible amount of control over me and he would not break off our engagement. If he was going to keep me shackled to his side then I would destroy him from his side. The closer I was to him, the better.

“Even if it’s the last thing I do…” I must get my revenge.

April and Cassius. Cassius and April. I’d make them pay.

“Miss Persephone, I have worked hard with my team, day and night, to create such a luxurious dress for you. Even the Luna Queen who is my most –“ The designer’s face had turned bright red, her ears red and her words low snarls.

“Thank you, Emma, you did well.” I smiled at the woman snarling at me. It was a cold smile. I felt the chill as my lips moved up a fraction.

“I – You –“ The woman stuttered.

“Do you want to try it on?” Sylvia asked, looking anxiously from me to Emma who was muttering under her breath, so low that even I could not pick up the words.

“‘No, there is no need for that. I trust Emma and her team so it must be a perfect fit.” I appraised the gown.

The dress was made of pristine white silk and the finest white lace the designer could get her hands on; I made sure of that. Glistening gems decorated the skirt of the dress and the beautiful lace and delicate embroidery accentuated the top.

This dress has been in the works for three months with five fittings so far. At every fitting, I found something to complain about, something I needed added or taken off. I critiqued the dress until Emma went red in the face but she always came back with an improved version.

The awe I felt when she brought this dress to me in my past timeline made my heart ache. Excitement bubbled in my chest the first time I saw it. That day, I rushed to get changed into the dress, my heart beating a harsh rhythm of excitement. All I could think of then was how beautiful I would be on the day of the ceremony and how I would steal Cass’ breath and heart in such a magnificent dress.

“It’s truly breathtaking,” I confessed, running my hands against the soft lace decorating the dress. “But I am afraid if I wear such a dress, I might blind the guests.”

“Oh no, only your beauty can dazzle on that day, miss!” One of Emma’s aides gasped, clapping her hands in excitement. “This dress does not hold a candle to your beauty.”

“Oh, you flatter me.” I brushed aside her comment. “But I’m not confident enough to wear it. I feel rather insecure that on that day, only my dress would shine. If my mate becomes more enamoured by my dress than my existence on that day, I may cry.”

“You want another dress,” Emma said with a blank face. Her attendants’ smiles froze.

“I want another dress.”

It was only six days to the engagement but Emma could not refuse. She was making an insane amount of money from this commission and as the most talked about woman in the kingdom, second only to the Luna Queen, I was also a good fit to showcase her masterpiece.