Earthbound Angels Part 1: The Heartthrob Fallen Celestial Stories Collection by Sandra Ross

was
going to plan.
    She was sure that once that bitch of a sister
had the opportunity to be with Simon, she would grab it with both
of her greedy hands. Why did she get everything that Raven wanted?
It never occurred to Raven that she only felt desperate of wanting
something when she saw that Dreama wanted it, too, or that if it
had been a person, that someone liked her more than Raven.
    Glaring at Simon, she did at least manage to
stop yelling. But Simon had heard more than enough of the words she
had yelled at him in her rage.
    "I cannot understand why you would think Holli had
a way with this when you're not even in the arrangements to begin
with. And you don't even like the woman. You have made that fact abundantly clear ever
since you met her. Why do you even dislike her so much? You don't
even know her before she became Erick's fiancee. Was it because
Erick fell in love with someone like her, instead of someone like
you?"
    Raven looked like she had been slapped. "How
dare you?"
    He shrugged his shoulders "I've known you enough
time to find this reason logical. Maybe you wanted Erick for
yourself. I don't know. But whatever reason that you're so angry
over this, you must get a grip. Do you hear me?"
    Slowly, Raven nodded while still staring at
Simon in complete amazement. He had never spoken to her that way.
They both know that everything that he'd said was true. Raven knew
for a long time that her behavior had become unwelcomed in many
circles, and that it was just her father's clout that was
protecting her from the backlash. But no one had ever faced her and
told her exactly how bad she was.
    She wasn't sure that she liked it, but
strangely, she appreciated Simon more because of it. She had never
met a man who could measure up to her. It made the possibility of
losing him to Dreama more intolerable.
    And therefore, unacceptable. She had to find a
way to turn things around her way. This wasn't over by a long shot.
But for now, she would have to drop it.
    She plastered the most pitiful expression on her
face. Looking tearful helped, too. "I... I'm sorry," she finally
whispered. "I'm not sure what got into me. You're right, of course.
I was making a big deal out of something that really isn't."
    Simon was looking at her strangely. "Good," he
said. But he still looked... unconvinced. How could he not be? This
expression had never failed her before. "You must know that I don't
enjoy speaking to you that way, but it was necessary that you know
the truth."
    "I still don't know why Hollianne wouldn't want
me at the wedding," Raven pouted.
    Instead of following that thread, he asked,
"What's so wrong with her that you act this way?"
    "I honestly don't know what it is," Raven
replied. "She just grates on my nerve."
    "But that makes no sense, Raven. There has to be
a reason that you don't like her."
    "She's just so perfect or something. No one is
that sweet!"
    "Maybe Hollianne is that sweet simply because
all the things she's been through had made her realize that being
bitter will not change anything but make things worse for her."
    "Oh no, I don't believe that. By acting sweet, I
believe she'd set a trap for Erick!"
    He actually looked disagreeable. She couldn't
understand that he could still be so ignorant after being such a
smart lawyer!
    "You can't actually believe she's not putting an
act!"
    "He fell in love with her, Raven, all on his
own. If you know Erick as I do, you would also know that he will
never fall for a trap. Hollianne is a great person, that's it. And
it's time that you try to accept that."
    And that was when Raven realized that after all
his politeness, Simon Draco hadn't liked her at all; and that her
hope that he would one day see that she was the perfect woman for
him would be an almost impossible feat.
    Who is it, she seethed. Who is the woman that he's in love with? It is the
only explanation. There is someone else, and she's the reason why I
can't seduce him. She's the reason why he can't see how great