Invisible Crown Read online

  Invisible Crown

  T.A. Hardenbrook

  Invisible Crown

  T.A. Hardenbrook

  ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

  Kindle EDITION

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  Cover created by TH Designs

  Edited by Big Bang Book Services

  Copyright © 2015 T.A. Hardenbrook

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work, in whole or in part, in any form.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, organizations and products depicted herein are either a product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.

  This book is dedicated to all the book enthusiasts who were excited to read the conclusion to Molly and Reid’s story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for picking up the ‘Hide Your Crazy’ series, and spending your time getting lost in their story.

  There was no special formatting to this novel. No extra flourishes to fancy up the pages, no added fonts to captivate your eyes, just a simple story to pleasure your mind for a couple hours.

  Enjoy.

  Chapter 1

  Haven’t I been in this hell before?

  I was pretty sure it was God’s way of saying that I had solidified my place in hell, when the first thing I heard stepping into the store was the fucking song ‘Endless Love.’. It was like bringing back old memories, ones that I really tried so freaking hard to erase from my simple, confused, and distracted mind in the last year or so.

  “I’m going to need a drink,” Danielle muttered, grimacing at the white fluffy frock that was draped on a mannequin.

  This place was way too nice for a girl like me. I wear old band shirts, and black skinny jeans. The only time I had ever worn a pair of heels was in Reid’s music video and some award shows I had been drug to. Now, standing here in the lobby of this ritzy store, full of tulle and big ass shiny bows, I’m beginning to doubt the sanity of my best friend, Danielle’s mind.

  “Are you sure this was the right place?”

  “Molly, seriously? Don’t doubt my styling skills. Sure, it might be a little overkill, and the ginormous chandelier is a little gaudy, but they have an Arthur Risqué trunk show going on right now. That, my friend, totally cancels out any of the shitty decor in the building.”

  Groaning, I fidgeted with the buckle on my belt and shuffled my feet awkwardly. Why I couldn’t just go to David’s Bridal was way beyond my comprehension. All I remembered was Danielle muttering something about marrying rock royalty, and I couldn’t be caught in any off-the-rack style dress.

  I begged and pleaded with Reid to run off and just elope somewhere. I was totally game for something tropical and sandy. But, for some unknown reason, my ever so stubborn fiancé seemed to think we needed this big gigantic event. I was pretty sure it was just his publicist trying to spin some positivity in his favor after the last couple of rough months. But, what in the hell did I know?

  “Ah, you must be Molly McGlenister. I’m Veronica, the owner of Belle,” a tall skinny older blonde with the perfect old lady haircut gushed as her heels tapped loudly on the marble walkway.

  “Yep,” I said quickly, forcing a fake smile across my face. Remind me to kill Danielle later; this place is going to be the death of me.

  “I am so excited you are here with us today. I’ve heard so much about your upcoming nuptials that was sure it’s going to be the wedding of the year.” Veronica grabbed my hand and clamped down so hard I’m pretty sure her bony fingers would leave bruises if she ever let go.

  “I spoke with someone on the phone about a private viewing of the Arthur Risqué showing?” Danielle interrupted, giving me time to yank my hand out of crazy bridal lady’s clutches.

  “And you are?”

  “Lead stylist for Political Drowning, and personal stylist for Molly.” Danielle’s eyes narrowed at the lady, as they both took a moment to determine who had a better pissing match stance.

  After several long awkward seconds, a fake as sin smile came across Veronica’s face. “Of course. We already have the large private room set up in back with two of our best consultants ready and available for you.” Veronica ushered us forward with her bony hands, and I followed behind her closely, carefully avoiding any direct eye contact with the massive dresses that wanted to devour me whole.

  “This place scares me, Danielle,” I whispered.

  “It will be fine once we get some booze in you.” An evil smirk spread across her smug little face, and I instantly wanted to smack her.

  Running away had never sounded better.

  Six glasses of champagne and a gazillion dresses later, I was officially drunk and stuck in a disaster of beads and lace. The first twenty dresses had been automatic no in Danielle’s book. Truthfully, I hadn’t found a single thing yet that didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out and wear rags down the aisle.

  “I just don’t understand.” Danielle sighed, rolling her eyes at the dresses lining the wall. She tipped back the remaining booze in her flute, and then handed it off to some poor bitch girl who had been refilling our glasses all afternoon.

  “Did you really think this would be easy?” Grabbing my small boobs, I squeezed them together in the dress and sighed. There was no way I was filling out the tops in these things without getting a boob job, and since the wedding was only seven weeks away, getting the funbags inflated wasn’t in the cards.

  “Seriously, how fucking hard can this be? I had been thinking of dressing you since you said yes on that stage, and for gosh sakes, it should be freaking easy!” Danielle snapped her fingers at the poor souls who kept brining dress upon dress into our room. The two girls scattered like mice and zipped out the door.

  “You are an uber bitch today,” I grumbled, reaching for the clasp in the back.

  Danielle huffed and wobbled over to me. Swatting my hands away, she undid the clasp and helped the dress slide down my stick thin body. “You really need some more curves.”

  “I can buy those later, thanks.” Stepping out of the dress, I flopped down on a plush chair in just my undies and corset. With all the shit that had happened, Reid, and that tramp, the band falling apart, the band getting back together, and Reid’s publicist hiring the wedding planner from hell to help spin a positive note on Reid’s latest mishaps, had made me want to shoot myself.

  Most girls would run from this kind of insanity. However, since I grew up with the world’s most dysfunctional family, I somehow survived in all the chaos and commotion.

  “How hard is it to find that dress. I have the damn thing pictured in my freaking head, and it just needs to magically appear on a fucking hanger.” Danielle huffed, grabbing a full glass from the fancy silver tray.

  A knock came from the other side of the door, and the poor stylist appeared, scampering in like a scolded child. Holding a long sleek dress up, the short blonde one cleared her throat to gain Danielle’s attention.

  “Brilliant,” Danielle shrieked, leaping from the chaise lounge and spilling her drink all over the pristine white carpet.

  My eyes grew wide as I watched the dark red color spread over the floor. Danielle was gushing over the recent frock being held up, and I was worried about the gigantic spill that would never come out of the floor, and how much it was going to cost me. Just because I had money and was marrying into even more money didn’t mean I was okay with spending it.

  “Finally! I was starting to wonder if you guys had any sort of taste in those fake bleach blonde heads of yours.”

  “Danielle!” I gasped. Normally, I had no filter on what came out of my mouth either, but I always tried to refrain from belittling people. “I apologize for my friend, who obviously lost her damn mind.” Pushing up the corset that kept sliding down my rail st
raight body, I bit my lip cautiously and continued to stare at the stain that no one in the room seemed to even notice or care about.

  “Don’t apologize for me, Molly. Just trot your happy little wedding ass back into the dressing area and slip this magical number on this instant.”

  Taking my eyes away from the spill, I shook my head at the insane look Danielle was sporting, clutching the hanger like a Pterodactyl snatching its last meal during the meteor shower that killed them all. Her look was priceless, almost making me want to dig out my phone and snap a picture, thus being able to immortalize this side of crazy for the rest of her life.

  But, it was the dress that caught my eye. The smooth creamy fabric that draped over the hanger so elegantly, the way it shined in the dimmed lightening, the delicate details that made a person want to reach out and simply touch the patterns adorning the frock. If I ever had a dream dress while growing up, this had to be the one I had envisioned.

  “Why are you still standing there? That corset isn’t going to work with this dress. Either get into the dressing room, or drop it right here.” Danielle’s eyebrows narrowed while using her free hand to point to the dressing room. I knew she was serious about getting naked out in public, considering most of the wardrobe changes done during the tour were backstage, out in the open. Modesty wasn’t a stylist’s strong suit.

  Breaking away from the magnificent dress, my eyes immediately darted back to the dreaded stain. “Is anyone going to clean that up?”

  Danielle gave me a disgusted look while the two blondes glanced at the stain and shook their heads. If my mother was there she would have had a bitch fit, and had a cleaning company on speed dial. Thankfully, that bridge burned and had no hope for government bailout or repair anytime soon.

  “You are all insane,” I muttered while heading back for the dressing area. I bet the cost of that dress could carpet the entire store ten times over, and maybe even redo the concrete outside the front of the building, too.

  Taking a deep breath, I unhooked the corset and turned around to face the short blonde haired girl, beaming with the dress off the plush white hanger.

  “Are you ready to cry?” she asked.

  “I’m not the type of girl who cries over things like that. Maybe if I broke my leg, or had my heart ripped out and smashed into a million pieces, I’d cry.” But, putting on a dress wasn’t something that would be getting tears to shed from my eyes. Turning around, I faced the mirror and observed as the associate started to take care of the back.

  Holding my breath, I watched as a single tear started to trickle down my flushed cheek. I couldn’t believe this was really me. Who in the hell had I become?

  ***

  “I can’t believe I spent that much money on a dress.”

  “Why are you being such a Sally about it, Molly? You have the money, not to mention the man you agreed to marry is far from being poor.” Danielle’s sunglasses were halfway down her nose, letting me see the enormous eye roll of frustration for my panic over swiping my card for that large of a figure.

  Pushing her glasses back up on her face, she tossed her feet up on the dash, wiggling her perfectly manicured toes in the sky high black pumps.

  “Get your grimy ass shoes off her dashboard,” I shrieked, instantly smacking the side of Danielle’s shoulder.

  “You really need to get some medication or something. The infatuation you have with this car is starting to scare me.”

  “I don’t need medication, Danielle. There is nothing wrong with the love I have for this beautiful piece of metal and leather.”

  “You do realize it’s illegal in the state of Washington to have relations with inanimate objects, right?” Danielle’s laughter tore through the small cab of the car. She knew exactly how much this car meant to me, and getting her back in my life was almost better than sex. Almost.

  I thought I had lost her; gone forever when my father sold her off when I ran away to Seattle. She was the last piece of hope I had in saving the relationship with my family once my father died. I wanted nothing from the estate, the practice, hell, even talking with my mother and sister didn’t matter to me. I only wanted the hot piece of road metal, the freedom I felt when turning on her ignition and tossing it into drive.

  Gritting my teeth, I could feel my hands tighten around the heavy steering wheel.

  “Calm down there, Killer. Remember, I was there when we had to peel you off the loading dock in complete hysterics when Reid surprised you with it.”

  “I love you, Danielle. But keep your nasty shoes off the dashboard,” I threatened again, still keeping my eyes firmly locked on the streets ahead of us.

  “Have I taught you nothing in the last year? These are not nasty shoes, Molly. These are Louis Vuitton, and furthermore, they are from his upcoming spring collection. You can’t even get these in stores yet.”

  I knew Danielle was staring at her shoes, proudly gloating at her accomplishment on scoring those heels before being available to the public. Since PD had become such a huge hit, Danielle’s career had flourished right alongside the band. Everyone that was anyone was calling her to style them. From award shoes, to music videos, and even full costume tour wardrobes, the woman’s tastes were all the rage.

  “I let the shop know we need to schedule two separate fittings in the next month. I want to make sure this thing fits perfectly before the big day.” Danielle grabs her phone from her purse on the floorboard and instantly starts tapping away at the screen.

  “It’s not like I’m pregnant or anything,” I muttered softly.

  “Well, thank god for that. After that whole massive freak-out last time, I do hope you did something to prevent that from happening again.” Without even looking up from her phone, Danielle let out a snort and continued to sink further into that evil mechanical device attached firmly to her hands.

  “Yes, Danielle. I had that little plastic t-shaped thing shoved up my vagina to prevent something like that from ever happening.”

  “You do realize it’s only good for like, what…..five years? After that we can have a bunch of little Molly and Reids running around Hollywood. Can you eve

  Putting my car into park, I shut off the engine and glanced over at Danielle, who was in a fit of hysterics in the seat next to me.

  “He isn’t a dog, Molly. You can’t just legally chop off his balls.”

  “Eh, semantics.” Shrugging my shoulders, I opened the car door and climbed out. With my family history, there was no way I wanted to bring any children into the world. Not to mention, when I thought I was pregnant with Reid’s kid earlier, I believed my entire world had ended with that stupid false positive on the pregnancy test. I should had known that with my luck, I would end up being the three percent that was written on the box to receive a false reading.

  “Your mother would make a fantastic grandmother.” Danielle’s cackle could be heard throughout the almost empty parking garage.

  “Shut your face before I throat punch you.” I glared black at my friend. Walking over to the elevator, I slammed my hand into the up bottom, then firmly crossed my hands against my chest.

  “You really should think about getting those done.” She gestured towards my boobs. “I know a fantastic doctor that can probably get you in this week. Then you still have, like, six weeks of healing before the big day, and boom, your dress fits even better.”

  “You never stop, do you?”

  “And you are just now questioning this? Seriously, Molly, where has your head been these last few weeks?”

  Stepping into the elevator, I let out a small sigh, letting my shoulders drop a little as the large doors closed in front of us. Besides saying yes to one of the biggest rock stars in the world, I also said yes to all the drama that came along with it. Getting married to Reid and becoming Mrs Chambers would be the easiest thing on our plate. Dealing with a certain someone was the larger issue that I was just not sure I knew how to handle yet.

  “Stop causing more stress in that pretty
blonde head of yours, Molly. We still have to finalize the invitation this afternoon before I get on a plane for Los Angeles.”

  “I know.” Nodding my head, I shuffled out the elevator and dig for the apartment key on the keychain. Six more weeks of living in this little two bedroom that I shared with Megan. Only six more weeks of the simplicity of living in a world known as Molly McGlenister. Then, no longer would I be able to slip around town undetected. I’d share the same last name with Reid Chambers, and forever be subjected to lies, cheaters, and scandalous women that take shame and world domination to a whole new level.

  “Just six more weeks till you become the beautiful Molly Anne Chambers,” Danielle gushed as we walked into my small place. “Isn’t that going to be fucking fantastic?”

  “It’s going to be something, alright.” Tossing my keys on to the small kitchen bar top, I glanced at the dining table that was filled with different styles of invites. My life had never been one of simplicity. I grew up with money, and the glitz and glamour. That was the biggest reason for running away from Georgia, and now, I was walking right back into the world of sparkle all over again.

  Is this a case of some alien body snatchers? Or am I really starting to turn into my mother and sister willingly?

  Chapter 2

  Pigs in a blanket are a southern delicacy.

  It was a good thing that I had Danielle to accomplish this whole wedding thing for me. I can’t tell you how many times I offered a solution to planning all of this by hopping a plane and heading to Vegas. A drive through chapel with some cheesy Elvis sounded like a much better time than actually walking down the aisle in some extravagant dress, having tons of people stare at me the entire way down, and silently praying to the gods that I didn’t end up on my face somewhere in the middle. All I wanted to do was marry Reid. I didn’t need the ceremony, the cake, or even the extravagant presents that people in the industry needed to purchase just to show how large their bank accounts were.