Chapter 86

• In a shadowed corner room of the Carter farmhouse, far from the cheerful bustle of wedding preparations, Anastasia paced like a caged panther, her bridesmaid gown discarded in a heap on the floor. Fury etched her features—makeup untouched, hair disheveled—as all her meticulously laid plans crumbled on this cursed day. Howard's changing, slipping from me, all because of her. That witch Charlotte has bewitched him already.
• The door swung open, and Karla stepped in, elegant in her soft blue attendant's dress, her brow furrowing at the sight. "Anastasia? The ceremony's in twenty—why aren't you ready? And... what's wrong? You look ready to murder someone. Anastasia whirled, eyes blazing, unloading her rage. "Wrong? Everything's wrong, Mom! This farce of a wedding—it's ruining him. Howard's not himself. Distant, soft, changed. Ever since that gold-digging Charlotte wormed back in after her 'accident. 'She's poison, destroying his life, turning him into a lovesick idiot!"
• Karla nodded vigorously, eyes narrowing with her own deep-seated hatred for Charlotte's "beneath us" background, adjusting her diamond necklace with a sniff. "Absolutely, darling. Howard was blind to her kindness from the start—low-class trash thinking she belongs in our world. He's ruined already.