Page 59 of Liberating Lily

“Come in,” her mother called out after she knocked.

She stepped inside the room. This room had always felt soulless. There were no photos of her and Clem on the walls or her mother’s desk.

When they were children, she’d never displayed anything they’d created. They’d never come in here to play or tell her about their day.

This room was strictly business at all times, but then, how was that different from any other room in the house, really?

“There you are, Lily. What took you so long?”

Lily knew better than to argue that she’d come as soon as she’d known her mother wanted her.

Her mother wasn’t interested in excuses, and Lily also didn’t want to get James into any trouble. Sometimes she wondered why James worked for her mother. Surely he could have got a job working for a far nicer employer.

“I apologize, Mother,” she said instead.

Her mother glanced up from her calendar. She immediately frowned as she gave Lily a head-to-toe look.

Lily braced herself for what was coming.

“Jeans? Really, Lily? This isn’t appropriate attire.”

For what?

Even royalty wore jeans sometimes, so why couldn’t she?

“Where did you even get jeans from? How did you pay for them? Are you stealing now, Lily? Please don’t tell me that you’re a thief now.”

Jesus, talk about going from zero to a hundred. Just because she had a pair of jeans, she was a thief?

“I bought them on my last shopping trip with my friends,” she said, raising her chin. “With the credit card.”

Her mother would give her the credit card when she was going out, so that she could look normal. Her friends were all handpicked for her. From families her mother approved of. And wanted to keep up appearances with.

It didn’t matter that her so-called friends were backstabbing bitches. Nope, Lily had to be friends with them.

“Well, I didn’t approve of those. Get rid of them.”

Do not react. Do not react.

“How can I help you, Mother?” she asked.

“I need to speak to you about Rick.”

About Rick? Clem’s boyfriend? Lily had never really liked him. She wasn’t certain why Clem even dated him. They weren’t at all suited. But he was someone that her mother approved of. He was from the right family, with the right amount of money, and the correct amount of ambition.

He was also a complete asshole who didn’t deserve her sister.

Her sister who was currently fighting cancer.

That’s where she’d been headed today. To see Clem. She was finally allowed visitors after a long recovery from her operation. And Lily wanted to check on her. To make sure that she was all right. She wasn’t sure that her mother had bothered to visit.

But that was a good thing.

“I was actually just on my way to visit Clem.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lily. You can’t visit your sister. Her immune system is compromised, you might give her something.”

Her mother actually cared about Clem’s health? That was surprising.