Page 120 of Ruthless Prince
Arranging my face into a pleasant expression, I opened the door to see a petite blonde standing in the hall, clutching a large black case. Her red lips were curved in a bright smile, but it faded when she caught sight of me, and her face twisted with shock anddismay.
At first I was confused by her reaction, but then I remembered I wasn’t wearing any makeup. There were old bruises on my face, and my legs and arms were even worse, covered in mottled marks and cuts from previous punishments and torture sessions. It was lucky the woman couldn’t see my back and inner thighs, because then she’d be trulyhorrified.
“What happened to you?” she asked, eyeswide.
I forced a smile and waved a casual hand. “I had way too much to drink the other night, and I thought it would be a good idea to wander through the gardens when I got home. I wound up tripping and falling in thepond.”
The story slipped off my tongue easily. It made me wonder when I got so good atlying.
“Oh no, that sucks! Are you okay?” The blonde’s brows knitted in concern as her eyes roamed over my bruised armsagain.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. I just bruiseeasily."
She nodded slowly, shoulders relaxing. “Well, I know it’s your engagement party tonight, and it’s not really my place to judge, but jeez… maybe you should go easy on thebooze?”
I kept the smile pasted on. “Oh, Iwill.”
I wouldn’t have a choice. Logan would undoubtedly watch everything I ate and drank tonight like a hawk to make sure I didn’t do anything to embarrasshim.
“Anyway…” The woman held up her case and smiled again. “Don’t worry. I’ve got everything you could possibly need to make you look perfect. By the time I’m done with you, it’ll look like you’ve never had a bruise in your life. I’m Amber, by theway.”
“Sounds good,” I replied, standing aside to let her in. “I’mWillow.”
“I know,” she said, blushing slightly as she stepped inside. Her eyes widened again as she looked around. “Wow. This is the coolest room I’m ever seen. You’re so lucky,girl!”
I swallowed thickly. “Thanks.”
I led her into the bathroom and watched as she set herself up at the vanity, pulling out all sorts of compacts, bottles, and brushes. When she was ready, she told me to take aseat.
“Okay, let’s do this,” she said, brandishing an egg-shaped sponge. “Are you excited for theparty?”
I gritted my teeth and forced yet another fake smile as she dabbed makeup primer all over myface.
“Yes,” I said. My cheeks burned with shame as memories from earlier seeped in despite my best attempts to keep them at bay. “I can’twait.”
23
Willow
The engagement partywas just as much of a nightmare as Iexpected.
My mother and the Thornes made speeches where they acted like total phonies, everyone simpered and cheered them on, and the cameras flashed over and over, capturing our supposedly perfect evening for the newspapers and gossipblogs.
After the speeches were done, the bullshit kept coming. I had to put my shoulders back and smile endlessly as Logan and I spoke to everyone on the glittering guest list—members of Congress, senators, philanthropists, ambassadors, socialites, and worst of all… our so-calledfriends.
When I spotted Teddy Rutherford coming toward us, I thought I would be granted a few moments of reprieve from all the fake smiles and sycophantic conversations. He was the son of the previous president, and while we didn’t know each other very well, we’d always managed to get along when we were forced together by our parents at politicalevents.
As he drew closer, I noticed how awful he looked. He was far too thin, and his skin was pale and greasy. The death of Rutherford Sr. seven months ago had obviously affected himterribly.
“Hi, Teddy,” I said with a guarded smile when he reached us. “How areyou?”
“Shut up, cunt. I’m here for Logan, not you,” he said before tipping his head back to down the contents of his whiskeyglass.
My jaw dropped. “Excuseme?”
Logan glared at him and stepped forward, holding one arm out to shield me. “What the fuck did you just say toher?”
Teddy slapped Logan on the shoulder. “Come on, man. I was justkidding.”
