Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 42

In that moment, she finally realized she wasn't destined for a Cinderella story. She had simply stumbled into a grand ball by mistake, and without even catching a glimpse of the glass slipper, she had already seen her inevitable midnight ending.

"That bastard! I'm going over there to ask him—" Sophie shot out of her seat, ready to storm over.

"Sophie, don't." Acting on instinct, Willa grabbed Sophie's wrist in a vice grip.

She had no desire to cause a scene in a place like this, and she absolutely refused to look like a desperate joke in front of Scarlett.

"Wills..." Sophie's voice instantly softened, her eyes filling with sympathy. "Okay, I won't go. I won't go. Just please don't cry."

She hurriedly grabbed a napkin from the table to dab at Willa's face.

Willa felt the wetness on her cheeks and realized, much too late, that she was shedding tears.

She quickly let go of Sophie, took the napkin, and clumsily wiped her eyes, her voice muffled. "I'm sorry."

Her heart breaking for her friend, Sophie sat back down, throwing an arm around Willa's shoulders and coaxing her softly. "It's fine, it's fine. We don't have to stay in this stupid place. Come on, I'll take you somewhere else with way better food."

"We ordered so much. It's a waste not to eat it..." Willa sniffled, her eyes red, stubbornly refusing to leave. "Why should I be the one to leave? Do you know how hard I work for my money?"

Her last sentence broke on a sob.

Sophie sighed, settling back into her seat and violently stabbing her steak to vent her frustration. "Fine, we'll eat. We are not losing out on this."

Willa kept her head down, pushing the food around her plate. It tasted like cardboard. From the corner of her eye, she couldn't stop herself from glancing over. She watched Randal cut Scarlett's steak and pour her wine. Every intimate gesture felt like a slow, excruciating torture.

The gaping wound in her chest expanded until she felt she could barely breathe.

Sophie tried every joke in the book to cheer her up. Willa managed to force a smile, but she couldn't muster an ounce of genuine enthusiasm.

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