Oliver’s rehearsed speech was at the tip of his tongue the moment she answered him. But Cecelia beat him to it. “Thanks Maddy.”
Madelynn didn’t respond. She just picked up one of the boxes with her bony hands and headed for the door. Just as she approached it, Cecelia put out a foot and made her trip.
Madelynn couldn’t stop the fall in time, and her knee landed in the broken glass from the picture frame. She let out a loud wince as pain shot through her body.
Cecelia winked at her and dragged Oliver away without him even noticing anything.
Madelynn stayed on the floor and let her tears flow freely. She thought about the way Cecelia had always been treated as a golden princess.
Madelynn was the only one who did chores in the house, Cecelia would always make up one excuse after the other.
And even now, when they were both adults and she was married to such an influential man, nothing changed.
Cecelia was always going to be everybody’s princess.
It took her the whole afternoon to finish sorting through all her things. By sunset she was loading it all into a truck.
“Did you have to throw out so much?” Oliver asked, frowning. “You do know that Cecelia isn’t staying forever right? You’ll have your room back in no time, so what’s the drastic packing for?”
“I’ve had all this stuff for years,” Madelynn answered. “I figured it was time for a change.”
“You hate being wasteful.”
Yes she did. Even though she had grown up rich, she hated people that wasted things anyhow.
“Some things just need to go,” she answered him.
‘Some people just need to go too,’ she added silently in her head.
As usual, Oliver didn’t want to waste time on a conversation with her. He changed the topic.
“The annual auction is tonight. I’ve been invited back this year. You’ll come with me… and Cece.”
“I don’t think that’s—”
Oliver cut her off before she could finish protesting. “You’re going, Madelynn. It’s not like I can show up at events like that without my secretary.”
His words made her wince. His secretary. Not his wife.
If he was taking her as his secretary, she wanted to ask why he was taking Cecelia, but she didn’t. She nodded obediently. It was just one more thing she would have to endure before she was truly free.
When they arrived at the auction hall later that night, Oliver held the door open for Cecelia and led her to the front door, letting Madelynn trail behind them.