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The Chameleon's Natural Habitat
Last Updated:
2024-12-19 13:37:52Related chapters
She's No Beauty Queen I'm Trying To Be A Decent Sister
They didn’t bother doing initials with Aria’s plate since it literally had her name on it but as everyone else began finishing up, they put theirs on the bottom of things as well. She couldn’t help but notice that Angel put ‘AT’ instead of ‘AD’. She wondered if it was because she was in disguise today or because she knew she would be changing her last name eventually anyway.Her relationship with Eddie did seem to be a lot better than it had even the last time Lily saw the two of them together. They might be moving in the right direction. Since Angel seemed to think she was stuck with him forever, that was a good thing, wasn’t it? They may as well try to make the best of it.When all of their pieces had been handed over to the woman behind the counter, they were told to come pick them up the following Saturday. With that out of the way, they went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.“It’s my birthday so I’ll eat red meat if I want to,” Angel declared after ordering a steak.Lily felt
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Glasses
Lily turned beet red. She actually remembered that because she had borrowed a burn she saw online to reply to that boy’s ridiculous comment. She hadn’t remembered when it happened though. Of course it would have to be the year Mark was in her class.“You remember that?!”“Yes, because it was amazing.” He turned to Eddie and said, “Her glasses fell off while she was doing a cartwheel and some kid in our class said she looked better without them. She said that he looked better without her glasses too.”He snorted. “Wow. Way to sock it to him. I almost feel sorry for the guy for daring to cross you.”“I was fourteen!” Lily protested, still blushing fiercely.Angel chose that moment to return to the table and looked between everyone in confusion. “What are you guys talking about over here?”“Lily’s colorful past,” Eddie informed her.“Stop ganging up on me,” Lily muttered. “There’s nothing wrong with being against sexist tropes like ‘women are only pretty when they aren’t wearing glasses.
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Best Birthday Ever
This was possibly Angelina’s best birthday ever despite the fact that she ended up briefly thinking about her time in the birdcage again. She got to do something fun with her family and feel like a normal person for once without worrying about her image or what people might want from her. Today was all about what she wanted to do and that was great!She was touched that Lily bothered getting her a birthday present at all but she truly did like it. Emerald green was one of her better colors. She had worn it more than once during the evening gown portion of a pageant.Mark didn’t get her anything but she hadn’t expected him to. He was already catering to her whims semi-frequently because of Eddie. All she wanted from him was his presence today.Angelina couldn’t help but wonder if something happened between him and Lily because she was near positive he liked her but the atmosphere between the two of them was distinctly stilted. She was able to recognize that because of all of her time i
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen We're Quite A Pair, Aren't We?
Angelina was still trying to process the fact that her fiancé was willing to give her a no-limits vacation for her birthday. He had never done anything like that before. Then again, they hadn’t been all that close before despite living under the same roof.He had never signed anything with a heart before either. He probably didn’t feel embarrassed about it now that she already knew he was in love with her. That sap.She couldn’t deny that her entire body had been flooded with warmth most of the day because of how he went out of his way to make her birthday special. Normally, he only did cake and presents with Aria at home.Once the baby was in bed for the night, she managed to catch Eddie in the hallway and hugged him tightly. “Thanks for today. It meant a lot to me.”He hesitated for only a moment because of her surprise attack before wrapping his arms around her. “I’m glad you had fun. So, what do you want to do now? There are still a couple of hours before we usually go to bed.”An
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen I Was Waiting For You
Edward wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think about the new developments with his contract fiancée. Obviously, he was thrilled things were so much better than before but Angel still hadn’t set any concrete boundaries or talked about her feelings at all so he had no idea what she was thinking.In the past slightly more than two weeks, she had slept curled up in his arms every night because she was too afraid to sleep otherwise, done most of her homework in his office, accompanied him to a business dinner pretending to be his secretary, and asked him to come with her on pageant-related business. All of that was so far outside the bounds of their usual relationship he was having a hard time keeping up. That didn’t account for the handholding, hugging, cuddling while watching TV, or light kisses either.What on earth was going through that woman’s head? She even touched him casually like elbowing him in a teasing way and giving him a high five when he managed not to knock over the rath
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Mommy's Busy
Angel headed into the bathroom to get all of the hairspray and makeup off of her and came out in only a towel because she had forgotten her pajamas. She was really trying to kill him tonight, wasn’t she?Edward flopped backwards onto the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. She was barely starting to trust him again so it was unfair that she had to go and tempt him like this twice in such a short timeframe.She came back out in her pajamas toweling off her wet hair and finally noticed there was something wrong with him. “You okay?”“Never better,” he lied.“Well, you should get under the covers instead of lying on top of them. It might be summer but the air conditioning is on and I have wet hair so I need to be under them. Holding me might be kind of difficult if you aren’t too.”Edward did as she said as he drowned in his own guilt. She would be horrified if she knew what he had been thinking the past fifteen minutes or so. She was still traumatized by what happened and turned to h
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen I Know You Don't
Angelina forced herself through a very long day of schmoozing the day before the Miss Teen California pageant. The morning got off to a rough start because she truly thought Aria would come wake Eddie up before anyone came looking for her and she was running late getting ready anyway.She woke up twice in the night because of nightmares and was so tired that she slept through her first couple of alarms, burrowing into Eddie’s chest as if that would make them stop blaring at her. Unfortunately, that didn’t work and she had to get up anyway.The hurt that flashed across his face when she essentially banished him so she wouldn’t get in trouble bothered her all day. She hadn’t meant to come across so harshly; she just didn’t want to get in trouble so close to the finish line!Miss Americana was only a few weeks away at this point so she couldn’t fail now when she had come so far and given up so much. He would understand that, wouldn’t he?Angelina was worried that he wouldn’t. The guilt c
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Don't Leave Me!
Eddie sighed. “I don’t hate you. I shouldn’t have left like that but you hit a sore spot and I couldn’t handle it. I’m sorry.”Angelina wiped her eyes and looked up at him. “You really think I don’t need you?”“You’ve made that glaringly obvious over the years. I thought things were cleared up between us but then you went and said it straight to my face. What else am I supposed to think? I…I don’t think this is working. When the deal is done you should go do whatever you want. You can visit Aria whenever but…do it when I’m not around, okay?”The tears came back full force. After everything they had been through he was throwing her away!“You just said you don’t hate me but now you’re trying to get rid of me?!”“I can’t keep dealing with your mixed signals knowing you don’t actually want me around! My heart has already been through a blender because of you and I can’t deal with it anymore. I thought it would be better having you in any capacity than not having you at all but I was wron
Last Updated : 2024-12-19
Latest chapter
She's No Beauty Queen Incredibly Grateful
Lily and Mark had a small simple wedding at a garden venue. Angel convinced her to let her apply light makeup for the occasion with the rationalization that she would only be getting married once. It did make her stand out in the pictures so she supposed that was something.All of their friends and her family were there to support them. Aria was the most adorable flower girl ever and her nephew Hunter was the ring bearer. Angel was the matron of honor and Randi and Genevieve were her other bridesmaids. Mark’s best man was Eddie and two of his bowling friends rounded out the wedding party.They went on their honeymoon to Hawaii where they took another submarine tour and hiked what felt like every inch of the island of Maui. Lily was happy but exhausted by the time they got home.Despite experiencing a major life event, not much changed in terms of work or their general schedules for another year when she got pregnant with their son Damien. Her job was kind enough to let her take a year-
She's No Beauty Queen I Thought You Would Never Ask!
Lily inhaled deeply and let the smell of the salty air soak into her soul. It was impossible to worry about anything right now when she was this relaxed.“You certainly seem happy,” Mark noted with a smile as they bobbed in the water.“I am. No one ever wants to go swimming with me. Thanks, Mark. Today has been wonderful and it’s not even over yet. You spoil me too much.”“There’s nothing wrong with a little spoiling.”Lily knew it was pointless arguing with him so she let it go and closed her eyes as she floated there. The ocean was oddly tranquil today. There were hardly any waves at all, which was perfect for swimming.She wasn’t sure how long they stayed in the water like that enjoying the quiet and each other’s company but, eventually, they headed back to shore. He read a book on a towel while she took a nap and let the sun soak into her soul.When she woke up, she felt more at peace than she had in ages. Her boyfriend had planned the perfect day for her. At times like this, it w
She's No Beauty Queen That Wasn't Like Her
Lily’s ongoing struggle trying to be okay with Mark not wanting to move forward in their relationship became more difficult as time went on. On the rare occasions she tried to bring it up, he would quickly change the subject so she gave up after a while.That wasn’t like her. She was so frustrated she was ready to blow a gasket but didn’t want them to fight.So she ambled along expecting nothing knowing that was all she was going to get. It didn’t help that Angel was pregnant with her second child and very excited about the fact. She would be having a boy this time and she and Eddie had already decided to name him Eli.Aria had hoped for a sister but was still looking forward to having a baby to play with even if it was a boy. She was a good kid and Lily had no doubt she would be a great big sister.As much as she looked forward to meeting her new nephew, it got her wondering if she would ever be able to have a child of her own. Her twenty-fifth birthday passed recently and Mark still
She's No Beauty Queen An Irreplacable Existence
Patience wasn’t Lily’s strong suit. Mark hoped Donovan got back to her quickly because he didn’t want to prolong this more than necessary. Mark didn’t want to ruin the surprise either though. If she knew what he was planning in advance, she might get suspicious.Thankfully, Donovan’s family was available two weeks from then. And so were two spots for what Mark was planning to take Lily to do. He booked the tickets immediately so now all he could do was wait.He already knew his girlfriend would accept his proposal but he was still anxious. Who wouldn’t be asking such a loaded question to the person that mattered to them most?At least she didn’t seem to have caught on yet. She chatted normally on their longer-than-expected drive down to L.A. due to traffic. They didn’t arrive until nearly 2 AM so it was a good thing Eileen told them where the spare key was kept in advance so they could let themselves in.An air mattress had already been set up for them. All they had to do was flop ont
She's No Beauty Queen Alright Then, Be Mysterious
Talking to Angelina about her seizure frequency being pregnant only made Mark feel worse because he knew Lily wanted multiple kids. She would be putting herself at risk more than once and he wasn’t sure he would be able to live with the anxiety. As it was, he wasn’t sure how Edward was able to do it.Maybe that was who he needed to talk to in order to ease his fears. Someone who had been in the position he would potentially find himself in twice.Mark knew that it wasn’t fair to leave Lily hanging forever. He wanted to spend his life with her, he truly did, but he needed to get his fears under control first.“How do you handle knowing your wife could have a seizure any time?” he blurted when he and Edward were in the car on their way to a meeting the day after his conversation with Angelina.He didn’t seem terribly surprised by the question. It seemed that she had told him what they talked about yesterday. “I don’t know. I guess I’m used to it by now. She did have one within five minu
She's No Beauty Queen Her Heart On Her Sleeve
They exchanged numbers and Angelina excused herself to get back to work. She should be able to focus now that she had gotten a bit of a break. It was nice knowing that at least one of her former associates was doing well these days. She hoped they were all able to find things that made them happy the way she had.Mark didn’t even look up when she came back in. He was that focused on his work. She wasn’t able to catch his attention at all until she called his name three times after finishing what she needed.“Sorry, I was in the zone. Are you ready to go?” he asked sheepishly.“Yeah. Thanks for sticking around.”Angelina felt a bit guilty to be inconveniencing him like this but at least he already knew Eddie was a worrywart when it came to her. That was why he wasn’t letting her drive on her own.He didn’t say anything until they were nearly back at her house. “Hey…um…do you always have seizures when you’re pregnant?”That was completely out of the blue. Why would he ask about that?“T
She's No Beauty Queen Small World, Isn't It?
Over time, Taylored’s customer base did grow, if not as quickly as the owners wanted it to. Genevieve and Lita got a huge order to make costumes for a local theater company’s production of The Music Man and that kept them pretty busy for a while but that wasn’t the only big thing happening.After a few months of actively trying, Angelina found herself pregnant again. It was a much happier experience this time and everyone was excited about it. Particularly Aria. She was thrilled at the prospect of having a little brother or sister because a lot of her friends had them.She asked a million and one questions about what she dubbed “our baby.” It was adorable.Though her emotional state was much better, things weren’t too different physically than they had been with Aria because she had to change her medication again and that took getting used to. At least she was planning on it in advance this time and did it before getting pregnant rather than after.She was fairly miserable but hated b
She's No Beauty Queen Me Too
Angelina had been rather busy preparing herself for the grand opening of their shop Taylored and didn’t notice her twin’s distress. Lita’s son was named Taylor so it was a sort of play on his name and the fact that they were tailors on top of designing custom clothes.By the time Genevieve graduated, everything was just about ready to go. Their grand opening was the week after and they had already gotten an impressive amount of advertising done so there should be a decent turnout. It didn’t hurt that they had a great location where they should get a lot of traffic.Having a real estate mogul for a husband could be surprisingly helpful. Before this, she never thought she would utilize his skills for finding great locations.Angelina went to the grand opening for a while since Aria was playing with Emma. Preschool was out for the summer and she missed her friends already. She was such a social little thing.She thought it went pretty well, all things considered. A lot of people came in
She's No Beauty Queen You Know I Thrive On Chaos
Genevieve caught a real break when Angel met Lita. She never would have suggested going into business otherwise but the three of them got on like a house on fire.Lily had been surprised to say the least and asked her twin about it. She smiled softly as she explained that all she ever wanted was to make a difference for people like her and this gave her the chance to do so without taking her away from her family for long stretches of time unlike her original dream.She certainly seemed excited about it. Talking about her potential business venture made her much more enthusiastic than usual. It was cute.Angel had made her own friends too in the various clubs and classes she had joined trying to figure out what she wanted to do so she joined Lily’s friends maybe once a month these days. Lily was happy for her. She deserved to have a life of her own after living someone else’s dreams for so long.Lily looked forward to seeing where this clothing business went. She had already commission
