Gilded Cage

She acknowledged him with a small nod. Lillian wasn’t permitted to talk unless her father told her to.

A woman in a cornflower-coloured dress came into the room and beamed at her. Georgia Liu was a famous wedding-gown designer. Her clientele included celebrities, movie stars and royalty. Lillian wasn’t surprised. Of course, her father and Maxwell Stanford wanted her to look her best on her wedding day where every reporter in the world would be covering their wedding. The wedding she deeply dreaded.

“You look even prettier in person, Lillian.” Georgia Liu smothered her with praise. “I’m delighted with the opportunity of dressing you up. Oh, Heaven, it’s going to be fun-fun-fun.” She turned to Lillian’s father and tapped his shoulder playfully. “You must be so proud of her, having such a beautiful daughter like Lillian.”

Her father shot the clueless designer a cold look. Lillian mourned in silence. It appeared Ms. Designer didn’t know how things worked around here. One didn’t just praise Lillian Blackwell and expect a conspiratorial pat on the back. Her father thought unnecessary compliments would only give her a big head. He despised that.

However, Georgia Liu remained oblivious. She tugged Lillian’s hand up. “Come, dear. Let’s try on that dress.”

Lillian stole a glance at her father. When he gave a nod of approval, she rose from her seat and stalked behind the chatty designer.

One of the guest rooms had been transformed into a fitting room. Georgia Liu had brought three assistants and dozens of boxes, bags and cases as if they were ready to move into the place. Lillian saw her wedding dress fitted onto a dress form. It was a beautiful gown, white and regal, definitely tailored for a fairytale princess. Lillian loathed it in an instant. That wedding dress was a mark of her new bondage. With it, she would belong to Maxwell Stanford.

A cold chill surged through her at the very thought.

“What do you think? Gorgeous, isn’t it?”

Lillian wondered what her father would do if she threw up on it. She forced a smile and answered politely. “Beautiful.”

Her voice still sounded grating and disdainful. One of Georgia’s assistants gave her a look as if to say she was a spoilt brat.

Georgia’s smile vanished when she saw Lillian’s reaction was less than enthusiastic. “You don’t like it, dear?”

“Ms. Liu, why don’t you have Ms. Blackwell try on the gown? It’s not wise to keep Mr. Blackwell waiting,” Mrs. Mitsusaki interjected.

This time, Georgia Liu took the hint. She ordered her assistant to help Lillian with the gown. They also arranged her hair and fitted her with a wispy, long veil. When Lillian looked at her reflection in the mirror, she had to admit she looked good in the dress. But when she thought of the reason she had to wear it in the first place, she had a hard time struggling to contain her tears. After Liu had her slip into her white shoes, she marched Lillian back into the drawing room where her father was waiting.

Her breath stalled in her throat when she noticed Brandon Shea in the room. He looked stunned when he saw her, then she saw guilt in his eyes. Lillian averted her gaze, staring at the floor. She stood in the middle of the room, waiting for her father’s instruction.

“What do you think, Mr. Blackwell?” Georgia Liu asked her father. The designer had dropped her geniality.

Her father rose from his chair and paced around Lillian, studying her with intensity. Lillian kept her face blank even though anxiety started creeping in. Please, let him be pleased. I can’t take another punishment. I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole cow…

Her hopes shattered to pieces when her father sneered in disgust. “The dress is fine, Ms. Liu. But I guess no amount of money could ever make my daughter look presentable.” He cut his gaze to Mrs. Mitsusaki, who stood nearby. “Lillian is still too fat. She should skip her dinner tonight.”

Lillian wanted to cry.

Mrs. Mitsusaki bowed with her usual stoic face. “Yes, sir.”

Without a word, her father strode out, followed by his bodyguards.

Georgia Liu seemed to know to keep her silence. She regarded her with pity. Everybody in the room did. Except Brandon Shea. His face flushed with silent anger, looking as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. Lillian tore her eyes from him and went back into the guest room to remove the dress. She felt weak from lack of food. She was afraid if she stood for too long, she would faint and make a fool of herself. Mrs. Mitsusaki had been feeding her exclusively on salad ever since she’d become engaged to Maxwell Stanford two months ago. She’d lost a lot of weight. This morning, when she’d examined herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw her ribcage protruding from her skin.

Lillian is still too fat. She should skip her dinner tonight.

She bit her lower lip. She couldn’t continue living like this anymore. There’d be no wedding at all. She had to end this long overdue nightmare or die trying.

Later that night, when she was about to fall asleep, she heard someone tapping on the door to her room. Lillian jumped from her bed, listening. The noise was coming from the secret tokonoma wall. She rushed to it, pushed her dresser over, and slid open the partition. She saw Brandon Shea crouched at the other side.

“Ms. Blackwell?” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What do you want?”

He shoved something into her hands. The package was wrapped in aluminium foil and felt warm. A delicious aroma of grilled meat and freshly baked bread wafted from it.

“Eat up. I know you’re hungry.”

Her heart swelled and all of a sudden tears threatened to spill over. Brandon Shea actually cared about her. None of the staff had ever treated her with such kindness. They were all too scared of her father.