#Chapter 157: The Dress

Ella’s POV Over the next week, Anya and I worked on the dress for the charity event. Mostly, I was just there for moral support; Anya was the one with the real talent when it came to things like this. Anya designed a beautiful, flowing evening gown that was perfect for just about any occasion. The soft, silky fabric she picked out draped beautifully on the mannequin, and she even scrimped and saved every spare penny from her next paycheck to afford faux diamonds to encrust on the straps. I helped whenever I could, of course, but mostly I just watched while I fed or played with Lucien. Over that week, Anya and I grew closer. She told me more about her family—about her mother who was sick with a chronic immune disorder with expensive treatments, about her father who worked in the mines, and about her two little brothers who needed books for school. Anya seemed to be the rock in their family, always sending home whatever money she could. And each time