Chapter 43 Have You Thought Of Leaving?

• EVELYN
• I pictured the dress I’d worn that night—a soft, delicate thing my mother had inherited from her own mother and renewed by an excellent seamstress who had woven thousands of crystals and precious gems into its skirt. I was the center of everyone’s attention, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I fidgeted absently all night, hoping the time would pass quickly.
• Cole was supposed to meet me right before the ceremony, before the midnight bell struck to announce my maturity, and before the doors to the wedding hall opened—where Jack would be waiting for me.