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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE WORSE THINGS
✧
SOME THINGS WERE WORSE THAN DEATH, THOUGH IT WAS LOATHED TO ADMIT IT. True, unspoken, sitting under the waves sloshing around uncomfortably in lives until finally, the thought had to break through the surface and clutch its jaws around you. For some, it was a truth hidden under the waves for as long as they could, and then patched up when broken. For others, it was acknowledged, along with the lost arms and legs and other parts of yourself.
Greer Ainsley did not cower from this truth. Some things were worse than death, and nothing was going to change that. Not complaining, not crying, not begging; nothing. She stood resolved to that. In life, there were things were fighting, and others were the battle simply would not be worth the effort. Fighting this simple fact was futile, and nothing would come of it.
However, there were ways to protect from these worst things. Worse than death was disappointing her father. Her father was a harsh man, unforgiving, the high expectations that had to be met otherwise there would be punishment. He never brought mercy to them. So, instead, there had to be protection; an assurance that she would never disappoint him.
A mask.
For years, Greer Ainsley – the heir of the Ainsley estate and their princess – painted her nails and held her head high. She wore the right heels, the nicest dresses, kept her hair pinned behind her ears and perfectly pristine. Nothing was out of place on her. No flaws on her scar-free face, no smile awkward, no slouch in her shoulders, and no stain on her clothes. The image was perfection – and the image was everything.
Reputation held great weight in the world. The status, the family name, the looks. The Ainsley family were renowned; old and pristine, how they held their noble heads high and in sought after political positions. They decided the course of the world, had their hands in every major event, and always came out of top looking effortlessly pristine. Alistair Ainsley wore his suits and had slicked back hair; Greer Ainsley wore her dresses and had her hair pinned behind her face.
Perfection meant no disappointment, and no disappointment meant no punishment. Look how you want to be, so she looked perfect. And this shielded her from the worst things, because there were worse things lurking around the corners of her home and her world.
This, Morgan did not understand despite trying to teach her. To no avail, Morgan Lee did not understand the world and shield of Greer Ainsley. Yes, perhaps, she had years of practice and experience to understand the need for this image, and perhaps she knew better than most the worst things that come with disappointing her father.
