The girls glared at each other as I leaned back in my seat. The show was only just beginning, and the claws were finally coming out. This was what the game was all about, after all. The girls ripping one another apart.
“Eva’s father was a famous Dutch painter,” Violetta said, making a sad face. “He died much too soon, along with her mother. Our poor little Eva is an orphan now. But worry not, because her parents left her a sizeable fortune, so she’s well-taken care of to say the least.”
Eva was seething. I could see the tears gathering in her eyes as she stared at the other woman. I wondered whether she’d lash out.
“What you might not know,” Violetta went on, “Is that Eva’s parents died in a car crash, in a vehicle their dear daughter was driving.”
A murmur passed between the girls, which only served to encourage Violetta, and she kept speaking.
“Of course, given that she inherited their estate and everything they owned, it sparks a couple of questions, don’t you think?” Violetta finished coolly. “Maybe, Eva planned it all. The newspapers still aren’t sure. The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, but the rumors… the rumors will haunt Eva forever, won’t they?”
She sat down in complete silence, which was only interrupted a couple of moments later by the quiet sound of Eva’s sobbing. I knew the game we were playing would be harsh on the girls, and I knew I was to expect tears, but it didn’t make things any easier. Seeing a beautiful woman cry filled me with the need to try and make things better, but I resisted the urge.
Zara and Safiya followed, choosing Camellia and Asya respectively, and revealing Asya’s impending arranged marriage and Camellia’s abusive father. Next up, Kendy’s home country’s cruel ways were revealed by Monica. And next up, it was Amber’s turn.
She stood up, shaking ever so lightly. She wore a silky satin dress in a light pink color, printed with small white flowers. The dress had puffy half-length sleeves and buttoned all the way from the generously cut front to the bottom that hit her knees. She’d paired it with black boots, and wore a thick, creamy eyelash cardigan on top. She looked radiant, and the thought of an inner glow within her made me grin at her wickedly. Was it possible? Had I really knocked her up already? Was my baby growing in her still flat belly?
“I picked Safiya,” Amber managed shakily.
Her friend shot her a surprised look, but Amber wouldn’t look at her. She was trembling, her fingers shaking while she gripped the piece of paper in her hands. She wasn’t looking at it, though. She was looking at the ground, and it took me a few moments to realize the sheet of paper in her hands was empty. There was no writing on it.
“Safiya, Safiya,” Amber went on, her voice shaky. “A lot of us think she’s here because of ulterior motives.”
Her friend shot Amber an outraged look, but my girl studiously ignored it and went on as if nothing had happened.
“But there’s another secret Safiya hasn’t told us about,” Amber went on. “Another part of her story that she chooses not to reveal. See, Safiya isn’t necessarily interested in Olivier…”
We all stared at her.
“She might have an old flame that still holds her interest,” Amber said, her voice trembling. Her words may have been damaging, hurtful, but her voice was shaking, revealing just how upset she was with herself for doing this. “And that person… is a woman.”
With those words, she sat down, leaving the room simmering with unspoken tension.
“You dated a woman?” I asked Safiya sharply.
The Egyptian girl blushed, but met my eyes with undeniable force.
“Yes,” she replied coolly. “Is that a problem, Your Highness?”
“Yes,” my mother replied. “It’s utterly unacceptable.”
Safiya held her head high, returning my mother’s gaze.
“I don’t see how it’s anyone’s business, actually,” she went on. “All of us have our secrets. Just because you’re forcing us to drag each other’s dirty laundry through the ringer doesn’t mean we’re bad people. It says more about the women revealing these secrets. The women who would so freely break up a friendship… for a man.”
She glanced at Amber, and I witnessed their friendship break over one look. It was over between them. Amber had burned the bridge they’d built to the ground.
“Let’s keep it moving,” my mother replied icily. “Who’s next?”
A tall, feminine girl moved to the front. Her silvery blonde hair sparkled in the sunlight streaming in through the tinted windows.
“I’ll go next,” she said with a wide grin.
“You can step right up, Freya,” my mother replied.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Freya replied, curtsying in the Queen’s direction and earning a look of approval from her. “Well, I picked Amber.”
No surprise there.
“And I found out quite a few interesting things,” Freya purred. “Shall we get started?”
“Definitely,” my mother responded, shooting Amber a victorious look. “Freya, the floor is yours.”
Chapter Sixteen
Amber
My heart pounded helplessly as Freya stepped front and center, her devious eyes finding mine and daring me to stop her. Whatever she had found couldn’t be good. My past wasn’t pretty.
A part of me wanted to stand up and beg her to stop, but I knew she didn’t have a choice. The Queen had made it clear that we all had to play along with the challenge.
“Well, it seems like our friend Amber here has quite a lot to hide,” Freya said with a saccharine sweet smile. “Of course, we all know from the introduction, she doesn’t have a lot going for herself, does she?”
She pouted her lips, mocking me and throwing me a look that showed her pity.
“It must be hard,” she said with a sigh, shaking her head. “Living among us with nothing… with all these accomplished, beautiful women. Do you feel like you stand out, Amber? I’m sure you do.”
I ground my teeth together, refusing to take my eyes off her. She wasn’t getting to me. I wasn’t going to let her words hurt me. They were merely empty threats that meant nothing. Olivier had picked me time and time again, after all. He would never let Freya’s findings influence his opinion of me.
I remembered Safiya again, how I’d exposed the secret I’d promised to keep. A hot wave of shame flushed my body, and my bottom lip quivered. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.
Freya didn’t care about my obvious discomfort though. She just kept going, her smile growing wider by the second. She’d found something good, I just knew it. Something she was going to humiliate me with.
“Our poor little Amber grew up with nothing,” Freya went on. “Her family is dirt poor, and I’m sure that makes it a bit easier to understand why she’s so… common.”
I hated her. She was the competition’s equivalent of a mean girl, intent on hurting me and determined to bring me down. But I was going to strike back soon enough. I wasn’t going to stand around and watch her destroy me.