12) You can live in my house

"It looks great on you, Tessa!" - I complain and snort loudly, looking over my friend as she looks in the mirror to convince herself that the dress fits her.

"Maybe it's a little wide at the hips." - Ashley intervenes after a couple of seconds, but this time

I can't stop myself from giving her a dirty look.

'I hate you .'- I mumble with my mouth to let her know I'm about to freak out for

Tessa's fault and her doubts, but instead of taking offense she just shows me her tongue, like she enjoyed seeing me suffer this way.

I was wrong when I said that Ashley is very different from her brother, because apparently she is

worse.

We walked into this shop two hours ago and at the moment Tessa has chosen to buy

just a pair of black underwear and a pair of shoes suitable for camping, but I don't understand

why she also wants to take a dress like the one she's wearing right now.

"You're right." - I snort when Tessa casually turns to Ashley, but this time

I decide to take a tour of the shop as soon as my friend disappears behind the curtains of the

dressing room to change.

"I love shopping." - Ashley decides to follow me so as not to leave me alone, as I raise my

eyes to the sky at his words:

"I noticed it." - I mumble annoyed, bringing my eyes back to a short black dress,

entirely of lace and with such a pretty neckline that I wouldn't have thought twice about it

before buying it a couple of years ago.

But now I prefer my sports hoodies and be seen as a tomboy rather than

uncover my skin to perverts like Paul.

«I used to do it with my mother.» - she says after a couple of seconds, bringing a hand on the

dress that I was looking at, but her words repeat themselves in my head when I understand that she is talking about the first wife of

William.

«I spent a lot of time with her.» - she whispers after a while, but her expression is so

thoughtful that she almost forgets that I am at her side.

I don't understand why she suddenly talks to me about her mother, barely knowing me, but

I don't even understand why she talks about her as if she were dead.

I don't know much about William's past because I never cared about his exes, but

the way Ashley talks about it makes me so curious that I look at her sideways.

"But she didn't deserve it." - she adds again, making me lower my eyes to the black dress

again.

Even though I've only recently known her, I feel my stomach tighten at her words, as if I

understand what she feels.

I didn't have a mother, not even a father, and they tore me out of my brother's arms when I was under seven, but I regret spending too much time

thinking about them, to.

Only now I understand why William's children have appeared only now, even if I try to

convince myself that Matthew is an asshole by nature and not because of his mother's fault.

"It would suit you perfectly."- she suddenly says in a cheerful voice, forcing me to

raise my head to understand that she refers to the black dress in front of me, but I understand that she wants

only to change the subject and stop thinking about her mother.

"I'll buy it." - the words come out of my mouth before I know it, but I'm

sure I'll never wear this dress.

At most I can lend it to Tessa, though

I am quite small towards her.

"Really?" -she opens her eyes wide in disbelief, forcing a smile that makes me so sorry for

not being able to deny what I said, even if I shouldn't spend more than a hundred

dollars for a dress that will hang in my closet.

I nod slowly, and then clear my throat with the intention of attracting her attention:

"Ashley ..." - I take a deep breath, squeezing the dress between my fingers and trying to

convince myself that I'm making the right decision, however hard it is for me to show myself

gentle:

"You can live in my house ... if you want."

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