Chapter 2: TWO MARRIAGES. ONE MAN?
There were only two beauty standards for women, you were either slender and delicate or curvy in all the right places, just enough hips, just enough breast. Flat tummy, perfect face. Smile all the time and just look beautiful.
Anything outside those categories was considered too much.
Fat women? They were an afterthought. Maybe 5% of men in the world found them attractive. Maybe even less.
But Penelope Willard was lucky to have found her man amongst that 5%.
It was a freezing Friday evening, the rain falling heavy as Penny arrived home. Her hands clutched the marriage certificate she had spent all afternoon retrieving from the civil office. Her husband had been called away for an urgent meeting, leaving her to handle it alone. But she didn't care.
She was married. That's all that mattered.
After years of insults and humiliation from her family, after being told over and over again that no man would ever want her because of her size, she had done the impossible. She could already picture the shock on their faces when they realized she, the "fat fool," had married the richest man in Owlsgrave.
The Willard estate was alive with celebration as they received their inlaws. For weeks, preparations had been in full swing for Ariana's wedding. Her perfect, golden sister and the rightful heir to the Willard fortune, was marrying into one the most powerful family in the country according to what she heard. Tonight was the family's introduction to their new in-laws, and Penny had returned home just in time to attend.
After all, Ariana is her favorite person in this world. She loved her sister more than anything.
She was glad that this time, she wouldn't be the family's shameful secret. She would walk in proudly, her marriage certificate in hand, and for once, they would have to acknowledge her worth. Because after tonight, she will be living in her new home with her husband.
As she approached the grand lounge, she heard her sister's sweet voice ring through the room.