They Ranked Their Daughters, So We Chose Each Other novel · Chapter 1 of 24
Chapter 1: Two Wrong Dresses
May arrives in hiking clothes and Audrey in a tuxedo for a beauty contest neither requested; both publicly refuse to rank each other. Caroline says each sister asked for the competition.
My birth mother tried to pin a beauty-contest sash to my hiking jacket.
"We'll cover the muddy bit," Caroline said.
The muddy bit covered most of one sleeve.
I'd been promised a walk around the garden.
Caroline had written that I should dress comfortably.
Across the little stage, a blonde woman wore a black tuxedo.
She looked at my boots, then at the sash.
"Are you performing?" she asked me.
"Apparently," I said.
Caroline turned toward her.
"Audrey, darling, where's the dress?"
"You said black tie," Audrey answered.
She lifted the ends of her bow tie.
"I found both parts."
A row of guests sat facing the stage.
My birth father waited beside a table holding a silver bell.
A white-haired woman occupied a large chair with a velvet cushion.
A second sash lay across her knees.
It said MOST PROMISING.
She looked old enough to have fulfilled several promises already.
Caroline pulled the pin out of my jacket.
A little piece of dried mud fell onto her shoe.
She looked at it without moving.
Audrey pulled a handkerchief from her jacket pocket.
A brass key on a paper rental-agent tag came out with it.
She pushed the key back in without looking at it.
"For the shoe," she explained, offering the handkerchief.
Caroline took it and wiped the wrong foot first.
My birth father rang his bell.
"Welcome," he told the guests.
He introduced me as May Harper, the daughter they had found again.
Then he introduced Audrey as the daughter who had kept them company.
Audrey's face stayed pleasant.
I wanted to leave the stage before he explained that difference any further.
"A little friendly competition," he continued.
"Three rounds to discover our most accomplished young lady."
He gestured toward the single velvet chair.
The white-haired woman stayed in it.
"I'll need a hand getting out," she told him.
He put his bell down and helped her stand.
Caroline applauded before anybody else thought to.
The woman took the second sash with her.
"That one's mine," she said when Caroline reached for it.
My birth father smiled toward the audience.
"My mother, Edith," he explained.
She put MOST PROMISING across her own shoulders.
A man in the second row began clapping.
Edith gave him a pleased nod.
Audrey leaned toward me.
"I'd vote for her," she whispered.
I laughed before I could help it.
Caroline gave us both a warning smile.
"First," she announced, "presentation."
She gestured toward the small mirror beside the stage.
Audrey looked at her own reflection.
Then she looked at my boots reflected beneath her polished shoes.
"We've presented ourselves," she said.
"I can see that," Caroline replied.
My father picked up the bell again.
"Victor," Caroline told him, "let me finish."
He put it down without ringing it.
Caroline turned to me.
"You may want to change," she said.
"I want to know why we're competing," I answered.
The guests shifted in their chairs.
Audrey looked straight at Caroline.
"So do I," she said.
Caroline glanced toward the audience.
"Everybody was looking forward to meeting you together."
"They can," I said.
I stepped closer to Audrey rather than toward the mirror.
She moved too, leaving the velvet chair empty between us and our parents.
I was scared that refusing would make me unwelcome.
I was angrier that being welcome required a better dress.
"I'm not choosing which of us deserves to be here," I said.
Audrey took her own unpinned sash from the table.
She laid it across the chair's velvet cushion.
"Neither am I," she said.
Victor lifted the bell in a helpless little movement.
Edith held out her hand for it.
He gave it to her.
She rang it with enthusiasm.
"Tea," she announced.
A few guests stood immediately.
The others followed because refreshments were easier than taking sides.
Caroline waited until the nearest guests had gone toward the doors.
Then she turned to Audrey.
"I only agreed because May wanted it," she said.
I looked at my birth mother.
"You told me Audrey asked for a contest," I answered.
Audrey undid her bow tie.
She looked at Caroline over the loose black ends.
"I'd like to see the garden now," she said.
Then she took my hand and walked off the stage with me.
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend