“Okay, give the sewing kit to her,” Leilani orders.
Janetta is used to living a carefree life. She has never poured a cup of water for herself, much less done fancy needlework. Instead, she ordered Gabrielle and Leilani to do everything for her. The maid immediately brings the sewing kit and threads the needle with a white, silk thread, but Janetta doesn’t know how to start sewing the dress. Painstakingly, she stitches the dress together, but her lines are uneven and the rip is still obvious. She ties off the thread and cuts the needle away and then tosses the dress to Leilani.
“It’s ok now,” she says.
Leilani carefully examines the skirt.
“It’s much better now,” Leilani says with a sly smile, “If I wear this gown I’ll be the focal point of the whole party, and if anyone asks me why the skirt is sewn up like this, I’ll tell them it’s all thanks to our sisterhood.”
“Sisterhood?” Janetta splutters.
“Does Leilani think I’m stupid?” Janetta wonders.
“Yes, this gown perfectly exemplifies our sisterhood,” Leilani says meaningfully, before adding, “When the younger sister’s skirt is broken, the older sister helps her sew it. What a beautiful symbol of sisterhood! I’d be honored to show it to others.”
Janetta glares furiously at Leilani. She thinks Leilani just wants to humiliate her and everyone how badly she sewed the skirt after deliberately ruining it.
“I’ll do it again,” Janetta says.
She grabs the skirt, undoes the old thread and tries to sew it better. However, her untrained work can’t compare with that of the master dressmaker. Though Janetta undoes and redoes the stitching over and over, the dress doesn’t look good.
After a while, everyone grows bored and leaves Janetta alone to her sewing. As she sews and resews, she fumes. She knows that Leilani is deliberately tormenting her, but she has no choice but to give in because Leilani now has power over her. After several hours, she gives up. Though her skill has improved, she can’t make the dress look new again.
She looks up from her sewing and sees Leilani coming down the hall, stretching lazily as if she’s just woken from a nap. Janetta stabs the needle forcefully through the thin fabric, accidentally pricking her finger. A few drops of crimson blood ooze from her fingertips.
“Leilani, what the hell do you want?” Janetta snaps.
Leilani leans on the handrail and looks down at her sister’s bleeding finger.
“The ring,” she answers.
Realization dawns on Janetta: Leilani is tormenting her because she wants the ring. The more Leilani tortures her, the more she reveals just how desperately she wants the ring.
“What if I don’t give you?” Janetta asks.
“Then keep sewing until I’m satisfied with the results,” Leilani replies.
“That won’t be a problem!” Janetta says with mock indifference.
Janetta’s fingers are swollen and covered in needle pricks. After sewing for a whole afternoon, her fingers are so numb that she almost can’t feel them. She’s regarding her fingers and pondering what to do about Leilani’s request when Anthony enters. He has just returned from the construction site where he was overseeing the workers Waylen hired for the extension. Janetta tosses the dress onto the floor.
“Daddy, look at my hands,” she whines.
Her fingers are red and puffy. Anthony frowns and two wrinkles deeply crease his forehead.
“What happened?” he asks with concern.
“I accidentally tore a hole in Leilani’s dress, and she asked me to repair it,” Janetta explains, “I’ve done a terrific job but she’s nitpicking and insisting I redo it.”
Anthony takes a look at the dress—though Janetta’s handiwork isn’t perfect, it’s not terrible either. Reluctantly, he decides to side with Leilani. Now that Waylen seems to genuinely care about her, Anthony doesn’t want to risk alienating her or his powerful son-in-law.
“If Leilani says there’s a problem, there must be,” he says, “Keep working at it.”
“Dad!” Janetta protests.
She assumed that Anthony would take her side as he always does, and she’s outraged that he’s suddenly favoring Leilani. Anthony ignores her complaints and walks to his study. Vanessa enters as soon as her father has left, carrying a silver tray of fresh fruit. She passes Leilani without even glancing at her and forks a strawberry for Janetta.
“What’s wrong with dad?” Vanessa asks, “It sounded like he took Leilani’s side just now, but I can’t imagine him standing up for her.”
Janetta stabs the needle into the dress, imagining she’s sticking it into Leilani.
“Don’t worry,” she whispers to Vanessa, “She won’t have that smug look on her face for long.”
“What are you gonna do?” Vanessa asks casually.
Though she feigned disinterest, she’s desperately curious to know about her sister’s plans. Though her expression is bored, she’s closely watching her sister see if she’ll reveal anything interesting or useful.
“She’s obsessed with my ring,” Janetta says, “It’s all she wants, but I won’t let her have it.”
Vanessa knows she’s talking about the green diamond ring, and she’s instantly curious.
“Why not?” Vanessa asks, “I’d give it to her if I were you.”
“Why?”
“Well, you can trade her for the dress,” Vanessa says, “It’s from Waylen, and I can only dream about what I’d do if I had the opportunity to wear it.”
Though Vanessa speaks vaguely, her tone is suggestive. Janetta is perceptive, and Vanessa’s words begin to set a plan churning in her mind. After a few moments of deliberation, Janetta knows what she wants to do. She suddenly stands up and rushes over to Leilani.
“The dress is torn beyond repair, and I know you don’t even want to wear it,” Janetta says, “How about you give it to me. Since I was the one who ruined it, it seems only fair that I should have to wear it. In exchange, I’ll give you the ring after our family party.”
Leilani thinks carefully. She’s suspicious of Janetta’s offer—she knows her sister must have some sort of plan, but she can’t figure out what it is. She eventually accepts the offer, reasoning that Waylen can always buy her another dress but she has to give the ring back to Charles.
For a few days, Leilani almost forgets about the trade. Waylen doesn’t return to Bamford’s villa and Leilani lives in relative peace without him. When the day of the party arrives, the entire family is in a state of joy and disarray, but the villa looks more majestic and spectacular with Waylen’s new add-on.
The Peters have invited relatives, business partners, celebrities, and some of the country’s most influential families. Many of the guests have only agreed to come for the chance to be seen socializing with Waylen Bamford.
Janetta dresses in her large dressing room, posing in the mirror as she arranges the dress. She looks through her extensive shoe collection, but she can’t find anything that matches the exquisite dress. She sneezes and walks down the hall to borrow a pair of shoes from Leilani.
Leilani and Gabrielle are sharing a dressing room and a team of stylists is doing their hair and makeup. The dressing room is large enough to accommodate everyone, and it features a collection of rare porcelain dolls dressed in exquisite replicas of gowns and dresses worn by the Peters women throughout the years.
Janetta loves dolls and she can’t help but admire them all. She knows that seamstresses have probably already been ordered to make replicas of some of Leilani’s dresses and the thought fills her with a fit of raging jealousy.
“That horrible Leilani,” she thinks, “She gets everything without putting in any effort at all. Why is life so unfair?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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