Chapter 126: What Normal Feels Like

Chiffon, satin and sparkles fell around my hips and legs in a bouncing, flouncing swirl of blue. I barely noticed. I was too busy trying to breathe inside the form-fitted shell of the bodice, squeezing me so hard I actually looked like I had something called cleavage. Real diamonds glittered in the mostly ignored holes in my ears. Why did I insist Mom let me have my ears pierced when I was ten? This was probably the first time they'd seen earrings since... okay, I couldn't remember when.

But the crowning jewel of this whole affair? My long brown hair sat in glossy, elaborate curls, a few dangling down the side of my face while the rest foamed over in a frothing pile on the top of my head.

Darling.

And then there were the shoes. Shiny silver with more sparkles. Heels adding at least three inches to my height while pinching my toes, making the balls of my feet ache just looking at them.

I'd never in my life worn that much eyeliner. Or foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter, mascara,