Page 84 of Veil of Vengeance

“I like simple dresses, but I really like glitter and sparkles as well.”

She taps a finger on her chin, her eyes narrowing on the row of dresses.

“How about you have a look around here, and I’ll grab some of our one-of-a-kind dress designs from the back.” I nod at her, and she gives me a smile before heading down the row of dresses. Flipping through them, I sigh heavily when I can’t concentrate because of the pulsing migraine. I press my eyes closed and count. One, breathe, two, breathe, three. Releasing a another breath, I open my eyes and flip through the princess silhouettes. I pause on a pure white sweetheart neckline with sheer off-the-shoulder sleeves. I try to get it out but fail, and one of the attendants comes rushing to pull it out for me.

“Thank you,” I say. He nods, holding the dress over his arm.

“I’ll place it in the dressing room for you, Miss Moretti.”

Inara comes toward us, pulling a rack with a couple of different dresses in garment bags.

“Did you find any that caught your eye?”

“Yes. This one seems to be my style.” I gesture to the dress in the male attendant's hand. She smiles at him and thanks him for helping me before grabbing the dress and hanging it on the rack handle. We make it to the waiting area, and both Mom and Gloria are sitting, talking to each other in hushed voices.

“Oh, have you found any that you think are suitable for the wedding?” Gloria asks me when I walk by them to follow Inara.

“Yes, I did. I’m just going to try one on, and we’ll go from there,” I tell them both. She nods and turns back to my mom, who gives me a smile before going back to their conversation. I step into the changing room, which has a floor-to-ceiling wall mirror, the lighting bright enough to blind anyone.

A round table and a small stool are in the corner of the changing room. Some white clips are placed on the round table, and Inara pauses next to it with the rack, unzipping the garment bags before looking back at me.

“I’ve unzipped all the dresses. Try on whichever one you’d like. If you need any help, I’ll just be outside. Tap on the door, and I’ll come in.”

I thank her as moves past me and out the door, shutting it gently behind her.

My head drops between my shoulders, and I look at my reflection. The thick concealer is still intact, none of the exhaustion showing, and the blush adds some color back into my pale face. Looking back at the dresses, I sigh once more and begin to strip. I pinch my arms, and the weight gain is noticeable. I really need to get my anxiety under control, or I’ll have an unhealthy obsession with food again.

The dress I picked is really pretty and has a very elegant look to it, but I can tell that it isn’t the dress for this kind of wedding. I knock on the door twice and step back. Inara opens the door, poking her head in.

“What can I help with?”

“Could you please put the clips in the back of the dress?” I ask. She nods with a kind smile, and I turn around. She steps closer with two clips in her hand after grabbing them from the round table. Once she’s done, she looks at me through the mirror, and I run my palms down the front of the dress.

“I like it, but I love the silhouette more than anything else.”

“Yes. A-line silhouettes are very popular with our young brides. If you’d like I could pull out some more dresses,” she suggests, but I shake my head.

“No. The ones we have out are fine for now. Thank you.”

She smiles and moves to the side so I’m able to leave the dressing room. Gloria and Mom are both still talking, but they pause and look at me as I step toward the podium positioned in front of a long mirror.

I face them, unsure how they feel. Mom’s eyes are glazed over, her fingertips pressing to her quivering lips. On the other hand, Gloria assesses the dress with narrowed eyes before shaking her head.

“It’s too simple. Valentina, I’m sure you’d find a more suitable dress from Vera Wang or Schiaparelli,” Gloria says. Mom looks apologetic, as she probably thinks that this is the dress I want.

“I think we’ll find something we can both agree on in this boutique. But I agree this dress isn’t exactly suitable for a wedding between our families.” I step off the podium and head back to the dressing room, but Gloria’s voice stops me.

“You could try to lose some weight before the wedding. You look quite pudgy.”

My eyes sting and my fists clench around the dress as I try to calm my breathing. The room falls into a tense silence, and I look back at her.

“You might want to keep that kind of ‘advice’ to yourself, because I’m a healthy weight for my height.”

I don’t wait to see her reaction and trudge toward the dressing room, Inara following behind me. The rest of the fitting goes by in a quiet blur, nobody agreeing on any of the dresses. That is, until we get to the second-to-last dress. It’s sparkly with a V-neckline and beautiful, sheer, off-the-shoulder puff sleeves.

When Inara comes into the changing room, she pauses for a second before asking me, “Would you like me to get the matching veil for the dress?”

She hurries off after I nod, only to come rushing back in a bit out of breath. She comes up behind me and places the sheer sparkly veil in my bun, adjusting it until she deems it perfect. The veil is long and drags behind me as I make my way to the waiting room and stand in front of my mom and Gloria, who are both silent.

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