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Chapter Thirty-Two
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A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Three
I hid in my room for as long as I could. I didn't want to come out and go to dinner, but I didn't really have a choice. Dinner was already scheduled to be a celebratory meal in the dining room. The king and queen mother were to be there.Except we didn't have anything to celebrate. I'd failed my job today.I put on clean clothes. Sophie had laid out a tea length dark blue dress with lace overlay and long sleeves this morning. I wore it with stockings, as per her instructions. I put my hair up in a neat bun, hoping that the simple style would be acceptable. My makeup was light and natural, just the way Sophie had taught me.At least I could do that right.A knock on my door summoned me to dinner.“It's time, Ms. Miller,” Mr. Irson's voice called through the door.I hurried over and opened it.“Thank you,” I told him. “I'm mostly ready.”He smiled and looked me over. “You look lovely,” he said. He frowned slightly at my feet. “No heels?”I shook my head. “Not if I don't want to embarras
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Four
Dinner was a quiet and terse affair.Liam pointedly never looked at me. The Queen Mother watched her sons with sad eyes. She attempted small talk twice, but when no one helped her continue the conversations, she quickly stopped.Freddie tried to answer his mother, but Liam shot him such deadly looks that he quickly stopped talking at all.I had nothing to say. What could I possibly have to say?“I'm so sorry I went to a kegger once in college. If I had known those pictures would come back to haunt me, I would have stayed in my dorm room and never left.”It wouldn't have fixed anything.So, we ate our delicious food in the awkward silence of silverware and chewing.“Freddie, I would speak with you,” Liam announced, setting down his knife and fork on the empty plate.“I'm actually rather tired,” Freddie tried to say, but Liam cut him off.“We have things to discuss.” There was no arguing with the King.Freddie nodded, his face pale. He carefully placed his silverware and waited for Liam
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Five
Wind shook the windows and promised rain when I found Freddie leaning against the wall next to the door to my room. His back was pressed against the wall, his long lean legs angled into the middle of the hallway. His shoulders slumped and he had his head leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked as exhausted as I felt.“Hey.” I took the spot on the wall next to him, close enough to touch. The hallway was dark with the incoming storm. The lights hadn’t yet been turned on, giving us the illusion of privacy in the gloom.“Hey.” He didn't move his head off the wall or open his eyes.“You okay?” I asked, moving my hand to find his. All happy thoughts of my Stair Walk vanished. He looked so pale and exhausted. Sad and overwhelmed.“We should run away,” he said. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. “We should just leave. Just get in the car and go.”I had to admit that I liked the idea, but I knew it wouldn't work. The trade deal, Liam, and his responsibilities he
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Six
I was glad for that stolen night. I didn't care that we'd broken the rules. I'd held onto him, feeling his warmth seep into me and give me strength. Strength to get through this. Strength to know that we loved one another enough to get through this.I didn't get to have five minutes alone with Freddie for the rest of the week.The Duke pulled him into every meeting, every information gathering session, every new change no matter how small, everything. Suddenly, Freddie was integral to everything. He had no spare time. Not even in the evenings when he was supposed to be with me.Freddie ate dinner with the Duke so they could plan their negotiations. Those first few nights where we'd eaten in his rooms felt far away and long ago.The few times he ate meals with his family, he looked tired and worn. The conversations were never personal, especially not with Liam at the table. I'd look across the table and he'd smile, but we'd never get more. He'd kiss my cheek and disappear back to the o
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Seven
Freddie kissed me before the door had even clicked shut. His kiss was hungry.“God, I could just take you here,” Freddie groaned, his hands tightening on my waist again.“We only have five minutes. You're not that fast,” I told him. I pressed my half naked body into him, feeling the heat of his desire against my bare hip. “Although I am really tempted to try.”He chuckled, the sound low and rumbling. He sighed, not letting me go, but not instigating further.“You should put your skirt on or I'm never going to be able to stop,” he said after a moment. He kissed me again before forcing himself to take a step back.I slid on my skirt and he sighed as I settled it around my waist.“I never would have caught anyone but you like that,” he said, looking at me wistfully.Something about his words pricked at me.“What? What do you mean?”He shrugged. “I don't know anyone that would let themselves be caught without a skirt.”“What?” I asked, going still.“It's just that no Paradisian royal woul
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Eight
The ball was tomorrow and I was about ready to puke.Tomorrow, all my hard work would pay off. Tomorrow, I would do my Stair Walk and officially be accepted into the Royal Family's inner circle. Tomorrow, I could kiss Freddie on the cheek in public. We could hold hands and go on dates again.I clung to the idea that we could go back to normal, even though normal in this place would still be very strange.I practiced walking down the stairs in my pink heels for two hours straight just after lunch. The surprise benefit was that my butt was in the best shape ever from the constant up and down of the stairs. I hadn't tripped once so far and actually felt semi-confident.Sophie had me wearing a bedsheet as a dress so that I could practice without ruining the actual dress. I didn't blame the florists setting up flowers for staring at me as I went up and down the stairs wrapped in a white topsheet.I felt like an American ghost haunting the Paradisian Palace- out of place and completely ridi
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Miss Zoey Miller of the United States of America.”My name echoed out over the staircase. It sounded so strange to have my country listed after it. I wasn't competing in the Olympics. I wasn't even really there to represent the US, but it did mark me as different.The beautiful gold and marble steps led to a rounded lobby. Two huge white wooden doors stood open across the space, showing off a massive ballroom. The ballroom glittered with silk from a hundred dresses. Candles flickered in alcoves and the sounds of music filled the air.It was everything I had imagined from watching Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast.I took a deep breath and stepped forward.I had imagined that everyone would stop and stare. That the music would falter and the dancers would turn from their partners and gaze up at me. That I would see the Prince and we would make eye contact and the world would watch in a loving glow as we found one another.No one looked. Freddie wasn't even in the
A Midwestern Cinderella Chapter Forty
Freddie brought me out to the side of the dance floor. He didn't bring me to the center though, but to a small space off to the side. It almost felt like we were hiding. Freddie was supposed to dance in the center where everyone could see him, but he'd taken me to the side of the dance floor near the edge and against the wall.Like I wasn't good enough to be seen with him. Like I didn't matter enough to take center stage.We'll have more privacy this way, I told myself, trying not to see the worst. Besides, you hate being the center of attention.It felt good to be in Freddie's arms. Soft music drifted around us, changing from a waltz to a foxtrot.Foxtrot was my worst dance, but I didn't want to pull away from Freddie. I didn't want to disappoint him. I'd already disappointed him last night. I didn't want to do it again. I managed thirty seconds of terrible dancing before I stepped on Freddie's foot.He winced, gasping hard enough that the dancers next to us glanced over. The heel of
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