This time next New Years Eve

Prologue

The cavernous hall threatened to swallow Elle whole as she stepped inside. Only the twinkling lights, cascading their glow over decadent golden decorations, kept her rooted to the spot, eyes hungry to take in its magnificence. She had been to a Cavendish ball before but never their renowned party on Christmas Eve. It far outdid the small, beautiful soirées Ben had snuck her into before, but this one was entry by invite only. A gleam of pride pulled her back straight as Elle took the card out of her best diamante-encrusted clutch and handed it to the security guard posted at the hall entrance.

Ben had never been able to get her on the attendee list before. Not without his family asking about her, about them, about their relationship. But tonight was the night. She was certain.

Only hours earlier he had been pacing her apartment, murmuring through an announcement he was practising for the event while she made breakfast. It wasn’t until after he had left, and she noticed the invite that had been slipped under her door, that Elle realised what he was so nervous about. Finally, he would tell his family about her. About them.

Honestly though, she wished the man had given her more time to get ready and find a dress. Did he think she just rolled out of bed with perfect hair and make-up?

The security guard looked her over, eyes narrowing as if they could tell her dress was off the rack and not designer-made like the other guests’. Still, he let her pass, handing back her golden ticket to the future. Her future with Ben.

Elle searched the crowd for familiar faces as the usher led her to her seat. Ornate tables, laid with pristine white cloth and tastefully designed with Christmas trinkets, spread through the hall, each one full and brimming with excited guests. It wasn’t a surprise that they were all strangers to her. She didn’t have any dealings with the Cavendish family business, nor the many partners and powerful friends that supported their empire. The room radiated with importance, the thickness of it almost suffocating, reminding Elle that these weren’t her people.

She gripped the small, blue present a little tighter. Its light weight was a small comfort, but she was eager to feel Ben’s hands around hers, hear his reassurances, to see his smile as he opens his gift. She had been scared to show him it before, but now he was finally telling his parents about her, she knew he'd be ready to find out.

“Excuse me, are you sure this is right?” Elle caught the usher before he left, though the Eleanor Hargroves nameplate sat proud on the dinner placing he had indicated.

“Yes, miss.”

He was gone before she could ask again, not that she would. A few eyes had already turned to her, their scrutiny forcing her into the chair without another word.

No one tried to talk to Elle. It was as if they could tell her worth by the price of her silver earrings and the brand of her perfume. It was an effort not to shrink away, to hide behind the table, but she distracted herself by looking for Ben.

Her table was full, as was the one closest to it. Though it was near the front, it was placed at the far left of the room, out of the way. Still, she had a clear view of the long rectangular table at the hall’s head. Ben’s dad sat there, as did his mum. Elle didn’t have to be in the business to recognise the other Cavendish Group’s board members sitting around them, all holding the Cavendish name through blood or marriage. Ben wasn’t among them, but two chairs sat empty near the centre of the table, waiting.

It was odd. He had left to get ready long before she had seen the invite he had left for her. It was only by rushing that she had even managed to arrive on time. He shouldn’t have been late.

The clinking of crystal glasses stopped her musings. Mrs Cavendish stood; her smile perfect as she swept her arms out in graceful arcs to include everyone in her welcome. Her opening speech was simple and sweet, earning a few laughs from the audience at appropriate times, but it wasn’t until it came to an end that Elle’s blood ran cold.

Despite the spotlight on her, Mrs Cavendish’s eyes found her in the crowd. Elle jerked as the woman’s smile grew to bare pearly white teeth. “My dear Cavendish family and friends, tonight we have an extra special gift for you all. My son, Benjamin, has an announcement.”

The hall doors opened with the resounding presence of royalty entering the room, but Elle didn’t turn. Her body stiffened as if every eye would turn to her at any moment and hold her down with their judgement. But it didn't happen. No one was looking her way. With a frown, she slowly unwound the pressure in her chest and turned to follow the gaze of the room.

Ben walked the centre of the hall, a beautiful woman on his arm. The pair of them looked as if they had been plucked from a fairytale and revealed in a moment of pure magic. They moved with the confident grace that only the few wealthy, privileged of the world held, striding towards the main table with no concern burdening their shoulders while Elle’s curled in on themselves. Only her thudding heart kept her from slumping to the floor. Only the hope that the woman at his side was some long-lost sister that he had never told her about, or a new business prospect he had to wine and dine this evening, kept her seated.

“Thank you, Mummy.” Ben guided the woman by a hand at her waist, tasteful but intimate. Stood at the head table, they were the focus of the room and looked perfectly in place. A fist wrapped around Elle’s stomach, twisting and pulling with every sweet look and touch they shared. “We wanted our news to be shared with our family and closest friends first.” He lifted a flute of champagne as gold as his hair, bubbling with the same excitement in his eyes.

Don’t say it. Elle willed.

“Rachel and I.” He pulled the woman even closer.

Please, don’t say it. She clutched the gift box tighter, protecting it from all the fears of her crumbling dreams.

“Are to be married.”

Everything inside her lurched as he pressed his lips to Rachel’s. Lips that had been on Elle’s that morning, that had played across every inch of her skin with whispered words of love. Acid bubbled hot and sticky in her throat, burning stronger than the pathetic nerves she had held walking into that den of snakes. The tenuous balance, of not wanting to make a scene and fearing she’d break if she stayed, finally tipped. She wrenched to her feet, but the applause covered the sound of her chair scratching across hardwood floors.

Only one person in the room watched her. Mrs Cavendish. There was victory in her smile, a victory that chilled Elle to the bone.

Tears burned her eyes red as she snatched up her clutch and strode from the hall, passing smiling face after smiling face. Cheers mocked her exit, not letting up even after she charged past the security guard and out of the hall.

The doors hadn’t yet closed behind her when Elle ripped the blue wrapping paper off the small present and yanked it open. Her bottom lip wobbled but she bit it into submission as she pulled out Ben’s surprise. A twelve-week ultrasound scan. She held it to her chest and cast the gift box to the floor. She wouldn’t let that cheating bastard anywhere near her baby.