Choosing Love

Chapter Forty Four

Audrey paced her dorm room, livid as could be. How dare Ben do that? Propose to Mal of all people when he should have been marrying her! Didn't he know how humiliating that was? It was even worse than the whole school knowing he'd withdrawn from their contract, because she had to see that damn ring every time she turned around!

Gods, it was almost like Mal was following her or something. But if she dared even say that, everyone would just say she was being dramatic or imagining things. Dramatic? Her? She had never been dramatic in her life!

But no one dared wanted to risk hurting Mal's feelings by confronting her about her almost stalking of Audrey so Audrey was the one who had to tamp down her feelings. Just another reason why rage pulsed though her body like a bolt of electricity.

It'd been a week since Cotillion and all she had heard about was everyone gushing over Mal and Ben or talking about how brave Mal had been to go after Freddy! Oh yeah, they were calling Fredrick 'Freddy' because that's what Mal called him. Never mind that he might not want to be called that!

Even Chad had brushed her off when she tried to complain about how ridiculous everyone was being. Chad! One of her oldest friends, someone she thought would always be there to lend an ear when she needed to vent about something!

"I wish Grammy was here," she muttered to herself as she continued to pace her room. "She'd know what to do to make things make sense, to get things back on track and put every one where they were supposed to be. But she's on the Isle."

Well it was more that her body was on the Isle. Mother had given her and Phillip the news—she honestly thought her brother was going to start cheering had their parents not been there. And her father just looked slightly amused at his antics!

Honestly, I know father never quite cared for Grammy but I thought the rule was to think no ill of the dead? If I had done that, he would have lectured me about how we don't celebrate someone's death. Then again Phillip is a son while I'm just a daughter, Audrey thought as she grabbed her diary from her bedside table. Normally reading her thoughts was enough to calm her down.

But right now, looking at her past entries about her wedding plans with Ben, reading what her royal titles would have been—Queen of Auradon, Queen of Auroria, Queen of the Moors, all Audrey felt was rage. That's all anyone really had been able to talk about, what the Royal Wedding would be like. And it made her sick.

"I wonder who Mal's going to pick for her bridesmaids," Audrey heard Lonnie ask Jane as the girls made their way to class. Neither girl had even noticed that Audrey was within ear shot, nor did they notice Audrey's new hair! She had run out and gotten it done a couple of days after Cotillion—bleached blonde with pink and blue highlights.

If that was the type of thing to turn Ben's head then it was at least worth a try right? But no one even mentioned it! All they could talk about was Mal.

Oh sometimes they'd switch it up and talk about Uma, or Evie, or even that mutt that liked to hang around Mal! Didn't they know that a beast like that had no business being at a school?!

Evie's not even that special, Audrey thought with a small scoff. Oh sure, she can do a round off and a backhand spring. Big deal, that's the same kind of tricks I can do but you don't see me bragging about how I basically carried the squad on my back! None of the other girls wanted to learn how to do the tricks from me but Evie comes along and not only do I get kicked off the squad but all of a sudden they want to learn! From the girl who brought Maleficent to Auradon!