Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
But that was clearly the wrong thing to say. “Look at you!” he exclaimed, motioning wildly in her direction. “You’ve always been thin, but this is dangerous.”
She shrugged, pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about. Her once well-fitting skirt was loose around her hips now, and whenever she caught sight of herself in a mirror, she cringed at how sunken in her cheeks looked and how pronounced her collarbones had become. Her childhood nickname had never seemed so fitting.
“The designers don’t seem to mind,” Taliana said, running a finger down her sweating water bottle. “I booked three more shoots last week.”
“But you? hate doing that.”
Her hatred for modeling didn’t even come near to the hate she bore for thinking about the ache in her chest. “Gotta keep busy somehow.”
Jude scoffed and pushed away his own empty tray. “You need to get over him, Taliana. I know Seb’s my cousin, but he’s not worth risking your health or forcing yourself to do things you hate.”
“Who said this had anything to do with Sebastian?” she asked defensively.
“You’d have to be stupid not to think it was.” Jude reached out to take her hands in his, expression morphing into one of true concern. “What happened to the girl I met last summer? The one who would punch someone just for looking at her the wrong way. The one who never cared what people thought about her. The one who would never let a guy get in the way of her happiness. Where did she go?”
Taliana pulled her hands out of his, not sure she could handle the contact without breaking a little more. “She’s on vacation,” she mumbled. “A much-needed vacation.”
She knew her old self would be back eventually, but for now she was off in the Bahamas, sunning herself and waiting for the moment when her host was strong enough to house her again.
“This is bullshit.” Jude was suddenly pushing away from the table, hands flitting to smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt as he stood. “I’ve put up with this for over a month, Taliana, and I can’t do it anymore. When you decide to put this behind you, come find me.”
Speechless, Taliana watched as he stalked off. For one dreadful moment, she thought he would stop at Sebastian’s table and retake his former position there, but Jude kept walking until he disappeared from the cafeteria.
Taliana dropped her gaze back to her salad. What had she done wrong? Okay, so maybe she hadn’t been the easiest person to be around, the most talkative, or the happiest, but what else could he have expected? And was that really enough to make him give up on her?
The fact that she almost didn’t care what the answers were made her feel even worse.
She spent the next five minutes wishing lunch would end so she could escape the crush of people. Even sitting in class for the next four hours would’ve been better than having to tolerate the gossip and sidelong stares. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished for time to move faster, but upon reopening them, she realized a mere ten seconds had passed.
However, Jude’s recently vacated seat had been filled.
Of all people…
“Can I help you?” Taliana asked, figuring it was best to initiate conversation, because reaching forward to choke her probably wouldn’t have been the best greeting, not to mention it would have gotten her expelled.
Again.
Blair Bakhtiar leaned in, making it clear that she there to stay.
“Actually, you can.” Her gray gaze snapped to the other girls at the table. “Leave.”
They couldn’t seem to get out of their seats quick enough. After shaking out her loose curls in triumph, Blair settled her gaze on Taliana, and Taliana would’ve been lying if she said her stomach hadn’t clenched in dread.
“Let’s keep this short and sweet, okay, Stick Girl?” Blair said, as if she were speaking to a small child. “You and Sebastian should get back together.”
It took a moment for Taliana to make sense of the words, but the second they did, it felt like she’d been sucker punched. What had been phrased as a simple suggestion sounded more like an order, something with no room for argument. A quick scan of Blair’s face showed the familiar devious gleam in her eyes extinguished, and her lips didn’t even hint at a smile, which only meant…
Dear god, she was completely serious.
So it came as no surprise when Taliana blurted, “What the fuck?”
“Don’t play dumb,” Blair scolded, tapping her nails on the tabletop. “Everyone can see how miserable you both are.”
All Taliana could do was gape for what seemed like a full minute. “You’re crazy,” she finally said, too flustered to express anything more coherent. “Sebastian and I are done. Besides, he wants? you, Blair.”
“Don’t try to pull that.” Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but it was enough to make Taliana lean back. “He won’t even speak to me. If one thing is clear, his heart belongs to you.”
Hair flew as Taliana shook her head, refusing to believe a word of it. Blair had absolutely no reason to tell her the truth, so why would she start now? She was probably just setting her up for another round of humiliation.
“If he loved me, he never would’ve picked you over me,” Taliana pointed out, folding her arms across her chest. “That’s enough of an answer.”
Blair rolled her eyes again, a dramatic show that ended with her pinching the bridge of her nose. “He never picked me over you,” she said exasperatedly. “Are you really that oblivious? God, I’ve taken on an impossible task here.”
Heaving a sigh, the hand dropped away from her face so she could fix Taliana with that stare again. It had softened a bit, but Taliana still got the feeling Blair thought she was a complete idiot.
“Look,” Blair began again, obviously having a hard time in the patience department. “I’m not going to have this nice streak for much longer, so I’m just going to come out and say it: I want you and Sebastian together. I’m sick of seeing you both look so upset, all because you can’t swallow your pride long enough to say you love each other.”
Taliana frowned, prepared to deny it. “I don’t love-“
“Shut up, Taliana.”
The heat of Blair’s words had Taliana floored. She’d always known the girl was bossy, but this was taking it to a different level. Who did she think she was, coming over here and telling Taliana how she felt? Queen of the damn world?
“You love him, he loves you,” Blair said, as if it were really that simple. “Go to him, tell him that, and make him say it back. Get your happily ever after. You have my blessing. I’m done interfering.”
All Taliana could do was blink, too shocked to do or say anything else. Had Blair really just given her the seal of approval? After everything she’d put Taliana through-the teasing, the torture, and even seducing her boyfriend-Blair was telling her to go back to the guy of her dreams?
That had to be the most messed up thing Taliana had ever heard. Incredibly mature, yes, but it still reached levels of messed up that even she was having a hard time comprehending.
“That means a lot coming from you, your majesty,” Taliana mumbled, not knowing what else to say.
It wasn’t like she could call Blair a selfish, cold-hearted bitch after that sort of revelation, no matter how much she wanted to. Taliana was sure she’d have another opportunity in the future.
She must’ve said something right, because it looked like Blair was trying hard not to smile. Still, it showed in her eyes. “It better,” she said, but the animosity was so obviously feigned. “Now just go to him. Stop making this so complicated.”
Despite the welcome break in the tension, Taliana shook her head once more. “Not after everything that happened. For fuck’s sake, you slept with him. I know we were technically broken up, but-“