Chapter 7

"Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful."

― Khalil Gibran

After my initial shock of seeing what was on the paper, I quickly stuffed the picture into my portfolio, ran out of the room, and walked quickly to my bike.

Kierra met me at the front door and without a word she handed me a slip of paper and walked away as I rolled my eyes, walking into the kitchen silently.

Lifting the paper up slightly, I read the instructions written on it.

1. You will be attending the dinner with the Kings today at seven.

2. You are to help Ava prepare for the dinner beforehand.

3. You will dress appropriately and act accordingly.

4. You will not embarrass us.

5. You are allowed to speak freely without causing any verbal damage to our image.

As I read the last sentence I could feel a headache growing from my temples. I sighed in irritation before going to find Ava. Let the fun begin, I thought sarcastically.

                                                            ~ABL~

Ava and I spent three hours preparing everything for the dinner and by the time we were done I smelled like Parmesan cheese and spices.

I quickly ran up the stairs to my room almost running over a startled Casper as I quickly stripped out of my uniform and ran into the bathroom. I only had two hours to make myself presentable.

Walking out of the bathroom with only a towel on, I pulled on a green halter dress with a bow on the hip.

I glanced at the clock on my desk and, realizing I had thirty minutes left, plopped myself down onto my bed.

As I turned to look out my windows, my eyes caught onto the drawing sitting carefully against the wall and all I could think about was the dream.

Who was the girl's mother? I didn't know her and yet I felt as if I should.

All I felt from her was warmth, peace, and love and for the first time I felt like I was home.

The dream had seemed too real-more like a memory and I felt like I had witnessed every scene myself-almost like I had been there physically.

And then there was the little girl who looked so much like me that she could have been me. Hell, she was me.

But the woman, her mother, had called her Troianne yet it oddly felt right.

"Troianne," I whispered, letting the name roll of my tongue trying to get the feel of it. It sounded right, familiar, and yet it was foreign to me.

Who was Troianne? Was it possible that we were related? Was she my sister? My heart fluttered at the thought of having a twin sister and yet it felt so wrong.

In the mirror Troianne had moved in sync with me. Every turn of my head, blink of an eye, or twitch was copied. Even the emotions in her eyes seemed to be a reflection of mine.

The second thing to convince me was the fact that Kierra had been there. She had stood behind me and behind Troianne in the mirror and she placed her hands on us.

And then she called me, her, Callista. I immediately ruled out the possibility of having a twin. Besides, I would know if I did wouldn't I?

I had to find out. Something about this whole shitfest that was my life did not seem right. It seemed fake-almost comical and rehearsed.

Was I Callista Ronan-top Student of Rosewood Academy for Performing Arts, musical prodigy, dancer, and maid?

Or was I Troianne-the mystery girl who was apparently taken from her mother and led into the cold grasp of Kierra Kinsley?

I needed to find out and soon but how? Before I could ponder my options anymore, I heard an irritating buzzing noise coming from the wall near the door. I got up quickly and pressed the talk button on the panel.

"Candy dear, the Kings are here and we would like you to be present," Kierra's cold voice hissed through the intercom.

I scowled at the panel as irritation flared in my chest.

"Yes, Mrs. Kinsley," I growled out before lifting my finger off the button and taking a step back.

I silently made my way out of my room and down the hall to the spiral staircase. I smoothed out the folds in my dress and brushed my hair down a bit before slowly descending, keeping my eyes trained on the steps in front of me.

I didn't look up until my feet touched the last step and I slowly walked forward until I was standing a little ways away from the Kinsleys, and then raised my head to observe the scene in front of me.

The others had already gathered in the parlor across from the guests with Jaxon standing front and center with his hair combed back. For the first time in a long time he seemed completely relaxed and at ease.

As my eyes roamed around the room observing a flash of something pink made me do a double take.

Words could not explain how...inappropriate what it should I say who I was gawking at looked.

She was wearing a bright pink floor length halter dress with a neckline that dipped so far down her breasts were practically falling out of it. You could see her n*****s sticking out from the extremely thin material.

The dress, if you could call it that, was tight to her body and completely exposed her back stopping at the top of her waist combined with a slit in the side of the dress that stopped at her hip and from the looks of it she had to have been wearing a thong to pull that look off.

Her face was caked completely in makeup making it look like Crayola gang banged her and her hair was up in a bun like Kierra's. At least we know where she got her inspiration.

I couldn't help but screw my face up in disgust at Terra choice of attire as I turned away to observe the guests.

My eyes fell on the man in front first. He had a giant smile on his face that seemed genuine but his blue eyes held a bit of apprehension.

The woman next to him, Mrs. King was rosy cheeked and from Asian descent. Her milk brown eyes glowed as her dark red lips parted into a blinding white smile. She was gorgeous and obviously she knew it.

She held herself with poise and had a confident smile completely oblivious to the death glare Kierra was giving her.

Another girl was standing next to the woman. Her piercing blue eyes observed Terra with disgust though she was trying to hide it with a bright smile-scrunching her sapphire studded nose.

Next to her was a guy I assumed was her brother and I felt my breath catch as I stared at him.

He was 6ft 2in and wearing a dark blue dress shirt, a white dinner jacket, tight black pants, and boots. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he seemed uncomfortable.

My eyes slowly traveled up to his face. He had plump seashell colored lips, an angular jaw, and a slightly bent nose-almost like he had gotten into one too many fights.

There was a tiny scar under his right eye that was almost unnoticeable and his hair was a mix of brown and copper. But his eyes were what drew me in.

They were a bright green with flecks of blue and gold...and they were looking right at me.

The boy stared at me as I stared back, his eyes piercing my heart and sending chills throughout my body. The look in his eyes as he stared at me was dangerous.

He looked at me coldly and his jaw clenched slightly but he kept his face wiped of any emotion.

I swallowed carefully before looking away but I could still feel his eyes burning into the side of my head as I turned my attention to Mr. King.

"Hello Hunter, it's good to see you again," said Jaxon as he approached Mr. King.

"Jaxon, if you had kept in touch it would not have been this long," Mr. King replied as he and Jaxon met each other in one of those manly embraces. They smiled at each other before Jaxon pulled away to introduce us.

"Hunter, Lianne, this is my wife Kierra, my daughter Terra, and my daughter Brooklyn."

It didn't go unnoticed that he did not introduce me at all but I kept my mouth shut and my eyes trained to the far wall opposite me.

I didn't bother smiling at the Kings because unlike certain people in the room, I wasn't trying to be fake.

Hunter King raised a perfectly groomed blonde eyebrow and his eyes flickered to me for a second before he focused on Jaxon once again.

"It is nice to finally meet you all. Hunter never told me he had such a beautiful family."

Both Kierra and Terra beamed at the compliments but Brooklyn seemed unaffected by the praise.

Hunter waved a hand towards his family and said, "As you know, this is my wife Lianne, my daughter Serena, and my son Alexander."

Kierra smiled brightly though her eyes were still ice cold and said, "You have a beautiful family as well, Hunter. You did not tell us how beautiful your children are."

She was looking at Alexander who was still staring daggers into my skull. I turned my head to look at him feeling uncomfortable only to see a look of curiosity and trepidation in his jade green eyes.

The Kings shifted uncomfortably before Hunter cleared his throat and asked, "And who is this beautiful girl? You did not mention you had another daughter, Jaxon."

An uncomfortable silence passed before Kierra being the witch she is stepped forward.

"She is not our daughter. This is Cassidy our Au Pair."

I felt myself tense and clench my jaw, twisting my lips to the side as she once again got my name wrong.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Jaxon shoot her a look that she completely ignored.

Jaxon quickly stepped in before Kierra could make an even bigger fool of both herself and me.

"Actually her name is Callista and we...adopted her when she was eleven. Legally she is my daughter."

I felt a twinge of happiness that I quickly stomped down when he referred to me as not only his daughter but also by my name-something I would not have expected from him.

"Is that so?" said Lianne.

All the King's had their eyes trained on me-curious. I refused to meet their gazes.

I sighed quietly in relief when Kierra finally announced that we could enter the dining hall for dinner and slowly made my way out of the room behind Alexander King, my hair swishing against my back with every step.

As I walked into the dining hall last, I noticed that everyone had taken their assigned seats at the table. There was only one seat left and it was across from Alexander.

That wasn't right.

When Ava and I had set the table I was placed across from Brooklyn. She must have switched it when I wasn't looking. The question was, why?

Half-way through dinner everybody had relaxed somewhat, chatting like they had known each other forever.

Everyone except for Alexander that is.

Serena was seated next to me and we found out that we had a lot in common. 
She loved to dance and draw and she played acoustic guitar. We bonded over music and art almost immediately.

Alexander was the only person to remain quiet the entire dinner.

"So, Callista. How old are you?" Lianne suddenly asked breaking me away from my thoughts.

Instantly all eyes landed on me. I fidgeted with my hands nervously before replying. "I'm seventeen Mrs. King."

"Seventeen? You don't seem Seventeen. When is your birthday?"

From the corner of my eye I saw Kierra and Jaxon both stiffen in their seats.

"My birthday is October 13 Mrs. King." I said letting the formal title slip.

"Oh, you seem very mature for your age and please, no need to call me Mrs. King. Mrs. King is my mother-in-law. Call me Lianne."

I felt a small smile spread across my face as I replied to her.

"Okay...Lianne."

She beamed at me, happy that I had abided by her wishes. Lianne and the other adults went back to their conversation and I turned in my seat only to be met with a pair of green eyes boring into my brown eyes.

I stared right back relentlessly not daring back down and finally after a few more seconds of staring he looked away from me.

A hand reached out suddenly and gripped my arm making me jump slightly, it was only Serena. She was watching me with a strange glint in her eyes.

"Don't worry about my brother," She whispered in my ear. "He treats every girl like that-it's a bad habit of his. Kind of a sore topic for him. He will warm up to you eventually."

She smiled at me reassuringly and I smiled at her in appreciation but I felt like his dislike of me stemmed from something more than just a bad habit.

I shook my head refusing to think or look at the sexy man in front of me with his piercing green eyes.