Chapter 4
“Sweetheart,” Eleanor said, pulling Linda into a tight hug. “Everything you want is yours. If anyone tries to take it, Mom will fight tooth and nail to get it back!”
She knew Linda must’ve been hell out there, during the past few years.
She didn’t want anything upset her again.
“Mom, Dad, you’re too good to me,” Linda said, her voice soft.
Linda’s heart warmed, a soft glow spreading through her chest.
‘They’re the only ones who ever really loved me,‘ she thought.
Last life, she’d been obsessed with Jasper, set on marrying him the moment she returned to the Preston family.
Now, she’d suddenly called off the engagement. No surprise they were confused.
Linda wasn’t in a hurry.
Jasper, that loser, was already history to her.
Linda sank into her parents‘ hug, savoring their warmth.
“Silly girl, you are our daughter. That’s just what we do,” Eleanor said, smiling.
“Linda, if you wanted the stars, I’d figure out how to grab them,” Charles said, his voice fierce with love.
Elaine, back from taking Edith to her room, came downstairs and stopped short at the happy family scene. Her hands balled into fists.
‘That love was mine,’ she thought, fuming. ‘I was their spoiled princess for twenty years. Now Linda’s taking it!”
Linda spent hours talking with her parents, the truth of her return settling in.
Eventually, her parents had work to do, so she went to her room.
Then, she met Elaine at her door.
She wore a soft, knee–length dress, her frame slim and delicate.
Her facial features matched her wardrobe.
Her face, small, with gentle, polished features, could make anyone feel sorry for her with one sad look.
That tear–shaped mole under her eye only added to her fragile vibe.
She was Riverdale’s darling, the stunning Elaine of the privileged Preston family.
Too bad it was all fake.
Her face, even her mole. She’d spent millions on surgeries, so there wasn’t a hint of the knife left.
“Something wrong?” Linda asked, frowning as Elaine blocked her path.
“Yeah,” Elaine said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her
eyes
fixed on Linda’s face. It was more perfect than even Eleanor’s. Jealousy flared inside Elaine.
As the youngest, most pampered Preston, Elaine always got her way.
Her only complaint? Her looks.
She was always complaining that life was unfair.
Why
“Why’d my seven brothers get all the looks while I got stuck with average?‘ she’d thought, bitter.
She started getting surgeries as a preteen.
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Chapter 4
Eleanor and Charles said no, but her complaints won them over.
More than seven years of tweaks, and she finally loved her face.
But next to Linda? That old self–doubt crept back to her.
“Say it,” Linda said, her patience wearing thin.
Elaine stepped closer, her pretty face twisting into a pitiful frown. “Linda, can I ask you for one thing?”
‘Playing the pity card, huh?‘ Elaine thought. ‘Let’s see her wiggle out of this.’
Linda didn’t respond. She raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Linda, can you… give ‘Jas‘ back to me?” Elaine asked, her voice shaky.
‘She’s just vowed to end the engagement. No taking it back now, right?‘ Elaine thought.
Jas?‘ Linda thought, grimacing. ‘Awful nickname.‘
“Since I was a kid, I knew I’d marry him. I love him so much. I can’t lose him,” Elaine said.
Her face looked pure heartbreak, like Linda was the other woman stealing her guy.
“Linda, if you give Jasper back, I’ll let you have anything else,” Elaine begged.
“Anything?” Linda asked, her lips curving into a sly, playful smile.
B
