Chapter 7
1285 Words
The Makeover
Mia's POV
The stylists arrived at dawn like an invading army.
I woke to the sound of voices downstairs and found my bedroom already occupied by three women in black carrying what looked like a salon's worth of equipment.
"Mrs. Kirk." The oldest one extended her hand. "I'm Claudette. Mr. Kirk hired us to prepare you for tonight's gala."
Tonight is the charity event where Alexander would formally introduce me as his wife. Where Damien and Victoria would be forced to watch.
My stomach twisted with nerves and anticipation.
"What gala?" I had not agreed to any public appearances yet.
"The Metropolitan Arts Foundation benefit." Claudette was already circling me like a sculptor studying marble. "Five hundred guests. Every society page will be there. Including your former husband and his mistress."
Former husband. The words still felt strange.
"Mr. Kirk should have asked me first."
"Mr. Kirk doesn't ask." The youngest stylist smiled. "He decides."
I should have been angry at Alexander's presumption. Instead I felt something shift inside me. Damien had always asked, always pretended to care about my opinion before doing exactly what he wanted anyway.
At least Alexander was honest about his control.
"Fine." I sat in the chair they had positioned by the window. "Do whatever you need to do."
What followed was four hours of transformation that felt more like surgery than styling.
Claudette cut my hair first. Long pieces falling to the floor like parts of my old self being discarded. When she finished, I had a sleek bob that skimmed my shoulders and made my cheekbones look sharp enough to cut.
"Better," she murmured. "You were hiding behind all that hair."
The other stylists worked on my face while a third brought in racks of designer clothes filled with dresses I had only seen in magazines and shoes that cost more than my annual salary.
I watched my reflection change. The soft, forgettable features Damien had preferred were being replaced by something harder.
"Close your eyes," Claudette said.
I obeyed. I felt brushes and fingers shaping me into someone new. When she finally let me look, I barely recognized myself.
The woman in the mirror had smoky eyes and blood red lips. Her hair was glossy and severe. She looked like she could destroy a man with a glance.
"Perfect," Claudette whispered.
A knock at the door. Alexander's assistant, Clement entered carrying files.
"Mrs. Kirk." He set the files on the dresser. "Mr. Kirk wanted you to review these before tonight."
I opened the first folder while the stylists packed their equipment. Inside were photos and documents. Victoria at various events. Financial records showing her debts. Medical files I probably was not supposed to have.
Including the abortion record Alexander had mentioned.
"He really does know everything," I said quietly.
Clement adjusted his glasses. "Mr. Kirk believes in being prepared because knowledge is leverage."
The next folders contained similar information on Damien, Catherine, and several names I did not recognize. Board members, lawyers, and people who had helped destroy my life.
"Who compiled all this?"
"I did. Over the past two years." Clement smiled slightly. "Mr. Kirk is very patient when planning his revenge."
Two years. Alexander had been gathering ammunition for two years while I was still pretending my marriage was real.
The stylists finished packing. Claudette lingered by the door, studying me with an expression I could not read.
"You look so much like her now," she said softly.
"Like who?"
"His mother, Elizabeth." Claudette's eyes went distant. "I used to work for her."
"Before what?"
"Before she wasn't beautiful and kind anymore." Claudette's hand touched the doorframe like she needed support. "Before she became something else."
Cold fingers walked down my spine. "What happened to her?"
"Claudette." Alexander's voice cut through the room like a blade.
The stylist went pale. She grabbed her bag and fled without another word, leaving me alone with Alexander.
He stood in the doorway wearing dark slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His eyes traveled over my new appearance slowly enough to make heat crawl up my neck.
"Do you approve?" I asked, hating how my voice sounded breathless.
"You look exactly how I knew you could." He moved closer. "Damien wanted you small and hidden. I want the world to see what he threw away."
His fingers caught my chin, tilting my face to the light. The touch was clinical but it sent electricity through my skin.
"Claudette mentioned your mother."
Alexander's hand dropped. "Claudette talks too much."
"She said your mother changed. What did she mean?"
"It's an old story and not relevant to tonight." He checked his watch. "The car leaves in three hours. Wear the red dress."
"Alexander."
He stopped at the door.
"Why did you really come back?" I asked. "It was not just for me or for Kirk Corp. What are you actually after?"
For a moment his mask slipped. I saw something raw and wounded underneath.
"Justice," he said quietly. "For someone who can't fight for it anymore."
His phone rang before I could ask more. He glanced at the screen and his expression went cold.
"It's Damien."
My heart stuttered. "Don't answer."
"Oh, I'm going to answer." Alexander put it on speaker. "What do you want?"
Damien's voice filled the room. He sounded wrecked. "We need to talk. Please. Just give me ten minutes."
"To say what?" Alexander's tone was cold. "To explain why you committed fraud? Why you gaslit your wife? Why you stole her inheritance?"
"I can fix this. I can make it right."
"There is no making this right." Alexander looked at me while he spoke. "You destroyed something that did not belong to you. Now you will pay the price."
"Alexander, I'm your brother."
"My brother died the day you married Mia to spite me." The words were quiet but they hit like bullets. "The man calling me now is just a stranger who shares my DNA."
There was silence on the other end. Then Damien's voice came back smaller. "Let me talk to her. Let me explain."
"Explain what?" I spoke before I could stop myself. "Explain four years of lies? Explain coming home smelling like my stepsister? Explain having me committed when I questioned you?"
"Mia." Damien's voice cracked. "I never meant for it to go this far. I thought I could control it."
"Control what? Your narcissism? Your cruelty?" Anger burned through my chest. "You had me for four years, Damien. Four years where I would have done anything for you. And you threw it away for what? For Victoria? For your ego?"
"I was trying to hurt Alexander. You were just supposed to be collateral damage."
The words hung in the air like poison.
Just collateral damage. That was all I had ever been to him.
"Thank you for that," I said quietly. "Thank you for finally telling the truth."
"Mia, wait, I did not mean it like that."
Alexander ended the call. He looked at me with something like concern. "Are you all right?"
"I'm perfect." I stood, smoothing my hands over the silk robe the stylists had left. "What time is this gala?"
"Eight. Why?"
"Because I want to be ready early. I want to arrive first and watch them walk in." I met his eyes. "I want to see Damien's face when he realizes what he lost."
Alexander smiled. It was not a kind smile. "Now you are thinking like a Kirk."
His phone rang again. Damien's name on the screen.
Alexander answered without breaking eye contact with me.
"You had four years to talk to your wife. Now you can talk to your lawyer."
- Writer
