#Chapter32: Young Lady in Red

Mom puts makeup on my face carefully since I’m not used to doing it myself yet. With a last flourish, she finishes my eyeliner and takes a look.

“Perfect. I’ll add a little blush and mascara, then put on the cover spray. Remember not to get your face wet afterward if you can help it.”

She finishes a little bit later, then takes off the towel we used to protect my dress. I hear her step back, but then she stops moving.

My eyes blink open after a bit, ready to ask what was wrong. It’s strange seeing her without my curtain of my bangs since they’re pinned to the side with a homemade rose hairpin.

She’s just standing there, a hand to her lips as she gazes down at me with watery eyes.

“Oh, honey...”

Mom insisted on paying for me to have my hair done before the party. Since it would be something that lasts longer than a dress, I decided it was okay. So, just a few hours earlier, three women at a salon worked hard to tame my wild hair into something much less hectic.

They cut my bangs shorte