Isabella:
"Are you sure you want to eat that?" My mother eyed the fried chicken sandwich in my hand with disgust, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Yes, what's wrong with it?"
"It's just so..... Fattening and greasy. No man is ever going to want you if you're fat, dear." I tamped down the stab of hurt that I felt from hearing her words, taking a bite into my sandwich.
"Oh well." I muttered, after swallowing, going in for another bite.
"Is there a reason why we're here at the mall, mother?" I asked.
The less time spent in her presence, the better for me.
"Of course! Haven't you been listening to me?! The Prince is getting engaged and we've been invited to the dinner that The Palace is hosting! We need to get you an appropriate dress for the occasion." She exclaimed excitedly and I sighed.
"Why do I need to go? You know that Kailey enjoys going to these things more than I do."
"It is important that we go together as a family, Isabella, and you are apart of this family, so you will be in attendance. Kailey has already found her dress, and I know that if I leave you to go shopping on your own, you'd be dressed like a common tart on the street and that just won't do."
I took slow measured chews to avoid hitting back at the jabs that she was throwing my way, but it was becoming extremely hard.
I stared at her from my position across the table, taking in the delicate way that she cut her grilled salmon with the knife and fork.
My mother was everything that I was not. She was tall with a lithe figure, which was maintained by her yoga classes that she took every morning, where I was shorter, at around 5'4, with an hourglass figure and an ass that gained lots of unwanted attention from men.
My mother was a supermodel back in her prime, and she never let me forget it either. As much as I loved her and how appreciative I am for her giving me this life of privilege , she was very superficial and paid more attention to looks and money than anything.
Maybe that's why she's on her fourth husband.
".... Bella. Isabella! Are you listening to me?" I zoned back in to see her expression of annoyance and I bit back another sigh.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I asked and she frowned.
"Are you feeling okay, love? It's not like you to zone out while I'm speaking."
I'm just tired of listening to your shit, Mum.
Of course I couldn't say that out loud but I was sorely tempted to, just so she would shut up for a while.
"Yes, Mum. I'm fine." I forced a smile that seemed to satisfy her as she began to ramble on.
"Great! So like I was saying, we could head into Alexa's Boutique to see if we could find you the right dress. You know that there's going to be a lot of high profile guests there. Maybe we can find you a husband!"
I grimaced slightly, but quickly pasted a smile onto my face.
The last thing I wanted to do was find a husband. I'm not even out of college yet, which she told me was a waste. According to her, I should be focused on finding a rich husband instead.
Mother of the year, isn't she?
"When is this dinner?" I asked, munching on my fries.
"In two weeks. That's why we need to find your dress ASAP." She informed.
I tuned her out as she began blabbing about unnecessary gossip I didn't care about, pretending to be mildly interested as she talked.
God, kill me.
After we were finished eating, she dragged me from store to store, trying to find the perfect dress for me.
We walked into Alexa's boutique , a luxury clothing store and the owner enthusiastically greeted my mother, most likely instantly recognizing her. We were handed a glass of champagne each before being led into the back of the store.
"We have three dresses that you can try that we think will look perfect on you!" The dresses were shoved in my hand and I was pushed off into the direction of the dressing rooms.
I tried on the first dress, which was a red silk evening dress. It clung to my curves and was backless with a slit going up my left leg.
I walked out so that mother dearest could see it, and from the look in her eyes, I knew I wasn't going to like what she had to say.
"You look amazing!" The owner, Alexa gushed and I have her a small smile.
"I don't know... I don't think I like it for her. I think you need to lose some weight to pull that dress off, sweetheart." I felt my jaw clench and I didn't miss the surprise in Alexa's eyes as she heard what my mother said.
I didn't even bother to respond, just went back into the dressing room to try on the other dress.
I know I shouldn't let what she says phase me because I've been dealing with this for so long, but fuck her words dig deep sometimes.
The next dress was an ivory color and was a Grecian styled dress with gold accents.
I steeled my nerves for the harsh review I knew I may receive and made my way outside.
"Better, but still not quite what we're looking for." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her and headed back into the changing room to try on the last dress.
When I saw the last dress, I instantly fell in love. It was a black floor length dress that was off the shoulder with a built in corset. It had a high slit up one side to expose just enough of my leg to make it look sexy while still keeping that elegant finish.
I left the dressing room, hoping she didn't shoot the dress down, since it was my favorite.
Her eyes lit up when she saw me and I almost heaved a sigh of relief.
"I love this dress!" She gushed, and I nodded in agreement.
"I do as well."
"The dress fits you amazingly." Alexa agreed as I spun around to look at it in the mirror.
"We'll take it." I heard Mum say.
I changed back into my ordinary clothes and handed over the dress, heading up to the cashier.
I watched as Mum paid since she insisted that I don't spend any money, before we left the Store with my dress.
"The dress looked amazing on you, but try to keep off the junk food for the next two weeks. You know you get bloated easily."
I ground my teeth together, trying to keep the retort from slipping past my lips.
What was with all the jabs she was throwing today? She's usually critical of my weight, but she's never been this crass about it before.
"Is that all for today? I have to go home to do an assignment for uni." I said impatiently and she turned to me with a frown.
"I wish you wouldn't waste all your time at school. You're never going to use your degree anyways."
Okay, that's it.
I've had enough.
"Not all of us wish to leech off of men, mother." I spat and she gasped.
"How dare you talk to me this way? I am your mother!"
"Who has been taking jabs at me all day, and quite frankly, I've reached my limit! You've been criticizing me since the moment I showed up at the house this morning, and this is why I don't visit often! Christ, can you at least tell me that you're proud of me for becoming independent and not shit on my dreams?!"
"Well maybe if you were more like your sister, we wouldn't be having these problems!" She hissed and humorless laugh escaped me.
"You mean becoming a brainless twit that follows all mommy dearest's orders? Yeah no thanks." I scoffed, beginning to walk away.
"You know what? I'll grant you this one last request of attending this dinner as a family, but after that? I want nothing to do with you. I'm sick of you insulting me and always putting me down. Goodbye, mother." I'm glad that I took my car and didn't give in when she pushed me to let her driver take us.
I made my way out of the mall and towards the car, throwing my dress in the backseat, before getting in the driver's seat. I wasted no time in peeling out of the parking lot, wanting to put as much distance as I could between my mother and I.
I love her, I really do, but sometimes I wish she would support me more instead of putting me down so much. I could already hear my phone buzzing and I knew that it was my sister calling me, but I didn't have the patience or the energy to listen to her berate me for what I said to Mum.
I'll save that for tomorrow.
Thankfully, my flat wasn't too far from the mall, and I couldn't wait to get inside and our myself a big glass of wine. I deserved it after putting up with my mother for the last five or so hours.
As soon as I got back to my flat, I took my dress out of the car and made my way up to my place, hanging my dress in the closet before making a beeline to my kitchen for the bottle of red wine that was calling my name.
I heard my phone vibrate again just as I popped the bottle open. I didn't even bother pouring myself a glass. I just chugged it straight from the bottle.
I looked at my phone and saw that it was my sister again. I groaned but answered this time, since I knew if I ignored her any longer, she'd show up here.
And that was the last thing I needed.
"What?"
"What's wrong with you, Isabella? I just got off the phone with Mum and she sounded really upset!"
"I told her what I was thinking." I said plainly.
"Why would you do something like?! You know how sensitive she is!" I took another swig since I needed it to deal with the screaming banshee on the phone.
"And quite frankly, I don't give a shit, Kailey. Mum has been taking constant jabs at me from the day I was born, and today was no different. I've reached my limit with her, and I'm reaching mine with you. Do you know what it's like to have her constantly put you down? To shoot down all your dreams just because it's not similar to hers? I'm sick and tired of having to hold my tongue while she gets to tell me whatever the hell she wants. And if you have a problem with that, you can go to hell with her." I hung up the phone before she could respond, and turned it off, having had enough for the day.
I sat on the couch with my wine bottle and turned on the tv, putting on my favorite comedy movie before slouching down and settling in to enjoy my show.
What a day.
