Reject My Alpha President (Iris and Arthur) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Iris

+25 BONUS

“Arms up, please, Miss Willford.”

I raise my arms dutifully as Violetta, the most sought–after human designer in Ordan, circles me with pins held between her lips. Her assistant hovers nearby, clutching a pincushion and looking nervous, as if expecting me to suddenly collapse under the weight of the fabric that’s draped around my frame.

I don’t blame her; this gewn is fucking enormous.

“A little higher, please,” Violetta murmurs around her pins. “I need to check the draping on the bodice.”

I stretch my arms higher, my shoulders already aching from holding still for so long. We’ve been at this for over two hours now, and I’m starting to lose feeling in my feet. But I don’t complain–not when the gown is finally nearly finished after weeks of planning.

My debut gown. Even thinking the words feels bizarre. The ball is tomorrow, and it feels so surreal.

“Mmm, I need to take in the waist just a touch more,” Violetta says, placing a pin at my side. “You’re slimmer than our initial measurements indicated.”

“Sorry,” I mutter. “Must be all the dancing lessons.” And the stress, if I’m being honest; it’s been gnawing at me, and it’s been getting worse as the days tick closer to my debut. I hardly even slept last night because I kept agonizing over the upcoming ball.

She waves off my apology. “It’s no trouble. Weight fluctuates. We’re all human.” She glances at me. “Well… you know what I mean.” I can’t help but laugh at that, and Violetta cringes as the movement makes one of the pinned portions stretch.

I have to admit, the gown is stunning. When my mother first introduced me to the designer, she’d expected me to choose one of her standard debutante designs–something classic and elegant, with clean lines and traditional

beadwork.

Instead, I showed her my paintings.

Specifically, I showed her the one I’d done of Miles when he was barely two years old, sitting in a field of wildflowers in Bo’Arrocan, sunlight streaming through his dark hair, his chubby hands plucking at the petals.

It was one of those perfect, peaceful moments where everything felt right.

“This,” I’d told the designer, pointing to the wildflowers surrounding my son. “I want to look like this.”

Two days later, she presented me with a design that took my breath away. Rather than the traditional white or pastel debutante gown, she envisioned a dress the color of a summer field, a delicate sage green layered with embroidered petals in varying shades of yellow, purple, and white–like wildflowers growing up from the ground.

The bodice would be encrusted with tiny crystal beads catching the light like morning dew, and the skirt was composed of layers upon layers of gauzy fabric that would sway when I move.

C

Now, standing here in the almost–completed gown, I finally feel like myself again.

I was so afraid of losing my identity in all of this–especially after my disastrous first attempt at being Arthur’s Luna, when Selina’s old stylist had practically forced me into Selina’s leftover clothes and makeup. I’d felt like a cheap knock–off, a poor imitation of the woman who had come before me.

But this… this is me. Even if I’m completely, utterly terrified about the ball, at least I don’t feel like I’m masquerading as another person.^

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Chapter 226

+25 BONUS

“There,” Violetta says, placing the final pin. She steps back her critical eye scanning every inch of the gown.” Now, let’s see the movement.”