Page 95 of Highland Getaway
‘No, Rosie,’ Sabrina goes on, reaching me, ‘you’rethe winner. Oh, Bex’s content was amazing, obviously; everyone knows that.’ She waves a hand dismissively. ‘But Bex wasalreadya butterfly. So were the rest. You were the one whochanged, Rosie, and that’s what we were looking for.’
I stare at them, nonplussed – and not particularly convinced this is the compliment Sabrina seems to think it is.
‘Weallchanged, though,’ I protest, frantically scanning the room for Bex, who’s nowhere to be seen. ‘Yasmin became more confident; Bex stopped being horrible to everyone. Even you, Sabrina, you changed, too. And you.’ I turn towards Luna, who pats me comfortingly on the shoulder.
‘Your journey is the one our followers responded to the most,’ she explains. ‘And I don’t know if you’ve looked at your Instagram page lately, but I think you’ll be surprised by how many new followers you’ve gained in the last twenty-four hours.’
I shake my head, overwhelmed. I don’t care about Instagram. Not anymore.
‘I need to find Bex,’ I say firmly. ‘She’s going to be devastated by this. Where is she? Daniel?’
I spot him lurking behind Sabrina, but he just shrugs, still looking painfully hungover.
‘I’ve been looking for her too,’ he says, croakily. ‘But I can’t find her. I think she must be—’
‘I’m here.’
Everyone falls silent at the sound of Bex’s voice.
She’s standing in the doorway of the room, her eyes wild.
‘I’m here,’ she says again, sounding faintly hysterical. ‘And I don’t give a crap about who won the stupid competition – oh, congratulations Rosie, by the way. I’m being serious, Daniel,’ she repeats, addressing her husband, who looks every bit as confused as the rest of us. ‘It doesn’t matter. We don’t need the money anymore.’
She holds a small plastic stick in the air, her eyes swimming with tears. It takes me a hot minute and a collective ‘Oooh!’ of appreciation from the assembled crowd to understand what’s happening.
And then my heart is beaming for Bex.
She’spregnant.
‘Has shepeedon that?’ says Millie, spoiling the moment somewhat.
Bex doesn’t even register the comment. Her face is shining with joy, her eyes locked on her husband.
‘Daniel, we’re going to have a baby!’
Daniel picks her up and swings her around, his face buried in her dark hair. Then he puts her back down and starts sobbing.
‘It’s OK,’ he assures us, as a hush falls on the room again. ‘They’re happy tears. I know no one ever cares what the man in the relationship thinks, but I’m just .?.?. I’m just so happy.’
He starts sobbing again, and I catch sight of Sabrina dabbing at her eyes with a napkin and then looking at it if she can’t quite understand what’s happening.
Within seconds, the party atmosphere is restored; champagne corks pop (‘Did none of you notice I was on the non-alcoholic stuff, just as a precaution?’ says Bex gleefully. ‘It tastes like cat’s piss, but who cares, right?’), the music starts back up and the dancing recommences, everyone chatting and laughing as if nothing particularly important has happened.
But it did.
I just somehow won a competition that could change my entire life. That could let me clear my debt, and start over, with a brand-new career as an influencer. If Luna’s right, I might even already be well on my way to that, with all the new followers I’ve apparently picked up.
Oh, and as the face of the Chrysalis, I’ll be coming here for one weekend of every month to create my content, too. Wasn’t that part of the prize?
I asked the magic sweater for more time, and it looks like the sweater has delivered.
This thing was definitely worthwaymore than I paid for it.
‘Ahem!’
The sound of a knife against glass tings through the air again, and a collective groan goes up at the prospect of yet another speech. This time, however, it’s Hunter who’s standing at the front of the room, holding a glass of whisky as if it’s a prop.
Around me, people nudge and hush each other. ‘That’s my daddy,’ Hannah can be heard saying to Rowan, who high-fives her in excitement.
