#Chapter 106: Hepburn

Ava The cool fabric slid easily up my body as I slipped into the dress, my silhouette in the mirror all black elegance and old vintage glamor. I felt my breath hitch in my throat when I finally zipped it up and turned to look at myself fully. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like some kind of old Hollywood icon—Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor—especially with the long white gloves. I felt… “Beautiful,” I whispered, my voice breathless. For a moment, I admired my reflection in the mirror. It had felt like forever since I had felt this beautiful. Well, that was a bit of a lie. It had felt like forever before Chris came along that I had felt this beautiful, or beautiful at all, really. I know it sounded pathetic, but over the years, trapped in a marriage with a man who easily discarded me for the younger, hotter Olivia, I had felt more and more like an old maid with each passing birthday. Like I had become invisible, like I should have been invisible.