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1
ANNALISE
“Stop looking so worried.” I throw my dark hair over my shoulder and grab the glass in front of me before bringing it to my lips, resisting the urge to moan at the taste. This is, without a doubt, the best champagne I’ve ever tasted. I wonder how much it cost. “The rich are never worried.” I cast a glance over to my best friend, Sienna, who looks like she could have a heart attack from anxiety any minute now.
“How would you know?” Even though a mask is covering her face, I can already picture her ginger eyebrows rising as she asks the question. “You’ve never been rich.”
I roll my eyes. “This is supposed to be a fun night. You’re going to make it look like we don’t belong.”
“We don’t belong,” she reminds me. “We didn’t get an invitation.”
“They don’t know that. Besides, you cooked the food, so that’s good enough.”
Sienna looks like she’s about to say something else, but I stop her, pushing my glass of champagne into her hands. “Take a sip of that and stop talking.” I pat the seat beside me to tell her to sit down, before turning back to the bar and gesturing the bartender over.
He smiles brightly. He’s the only one not wearing a mask…probably because he isn’t rich. He’s a good-looking guy with bright hair and an even brighter smile, but he looks like the kind of boy you settle down with. And, I’m not the settling down type of girl.
“What can I get for you, pretty lady?” he asks flirtatiously.
“How would you know I’m pretty?” I cock my head to the side, deciding to engage with him. It’s either that or more trying to talk Sienna off the cliff. “This mask covers up most of my face.”
“With a voice like that, there’s no way you aren’t.”
His comment makes me smile. “Two more glasses of champagne, please.”
With a grin still on his face, he looks at me incredulously before grabbing the bottle. “Are you sure you can handle all of that, little lady?”
“It’s not all for me.” I nod over to Sienna. “But trust me, I can hold my liquor.”
He laughs and pours the two glasses before pushing them toward us. Then, he leans over the counter. “If that changes, you know where to find me. I’d be happy to give you a ride home.”
Would he still be flirting with me if he knew I didn’t come from a background full of dollar signs?
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I throw one more look at him before I stand up, moving away from the bar and grabbing Sienna’s arm. “Come on. There’s so much to see.”
I’ve never been to any event like this before. A masquerade ball is something out of fairy tales, and I don’t plan on wasting a single second. The place is decorated beautifully with not a single thing out of order. I can only imagine the price tag on everything.
The ice sculpture made to resemble two swans creating a heart with their necks…likely ten grand on the small end. The fire lilies and orchids staged beautifully around the event room…there are a few thousand bouquets I would guess. And don’t even get me started on the silk tablecloths with even nicer ornaments on top of them.
But, to the people here, a few tens of thousands of dollars is nothing. Every man is in a designer suit, and the women are wearing dresses that cost more than what I make in a year. Their hair is pinned up beautifully and delicate masks cover their features.
There’s a string quartet playing the most soothing music. None of them are wearing masks either, but I highly doubt having them come here to play live was anywhere near cheap.
“What are we supposed to do?” Sienna asks, eyeing me curiously.
“Mingle,” I answer surely, smiling at her.
“But, I don’t?—”
I cut her off. “Look, Alfred dumped you. He found another girl, cheated, gaslit you and everything else. This is your chance to take your power back…have a nice time and forget all about him. Be a different person tonight, and then go back to the real world tomorrow.”
I don’t mean to be so abrupt, but it’s the only way to make Sienna stop overthinking everything. I want to have a fun night, which can’t happen if every five seconds she’s complaining about how worried she is.
She bites her bottom lip nervously, deep in thought, before finally letting out a sigh and nodding her head. “Okay.”
“Yay!” I exclaim. “Now, let’s go grab some of those rich snacks.”
There’s a table beside the dance floor—which nobody is dancing on—full of food, most of which I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen before. I decide to take one piece at a time, considering it looks like the food is just decoration for everyone else here, since hardly anybody is eating.
