#Chapter 157: Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

Iris For a moment, I just stare at the ruined dress, unable to process what I’m seeing. How could this happen? Did it somehow fall into the fireplace on its own? But who would hang it right in front of the fireplace anyway? Nora wouldn’t do that, right? Did someone else move it? I tug the dress free from the charred garment bag, wincing as bits of blackened silk crumble between my fingers. The entire bottom half is destroyed, and smoke damage has stained the bodice as well. There’s no saving it now. “Oh no,” I whisper to myself. The gala is in just a few hours. I’m going to have to find another dress, but I don’t really have any clothes here, and I don’t have much time to run home to find something else. Just then, I hear footsteps in the hallway, and my mother appears in the doorway. Her smile falls as soon as she sees me kneeling on the floor, holding the ruined dress. “Iris, what on earth—” She stops, taking in the scene. “What happened?” “I don’t