The Desperate Bride’s Diet Club by Alison Sherlock

whine.
    ‘Nor do I,’ he replied. ‘Look, just let Mum sort everything out. It takes the stress off you, doesn’t it?’
    ‘But perhaps I want the stress,’ said Violet. ‘Perhaps I’d like some involvement in my own wedding day.’
    Sebastian swung around to glare at her for a moment. ‘She’s doingall this for us,’ he snapped. ‘You could be a little more grateful. After all, Mum has a busy life too.’
    ‘I know,’ said Violet. ‘But how much is this all going to cost?’
    ‘Your inheritance kicks in next year so we can pay it all back then.’
    Sebastian bringing up the subject of money startled her somewhat. It seemed that her inheritance was being spent before Violet had even received it.
    Havingspent many miserable teenage years with her aunt and uncle, she certainly never expected to receive any inheritance from them. Her uncle had left a small legacy, enough to put a deposit down on her lovely house. But a year afterwards, her aunt had also passed away. With Violet being the only remaining family member, the whole estate passed to her.
    It was only when she was summoned to the solicitorsthat Violet was told she stood to inherit an astounding £120,000. It seemed an extraordinary amount, especially when her aunt had been so cruel in the years following her parents’ accident.
    But her aunt had still had the last laugh. The final kick in the teeth was her will. Yes, she’d left Violet her money. But Violet wasn’t able to access it until she was thirty, by which time she would be deemedtrustworthy.
    Did she want this reminder of her cruel aunt? Of all those awful years? Not really.
    Of course, she had daydreamed about what to do with the money. A long trip somewhere, perhaps around the world. She could pay off a large chunk from the mortgage, leaving her with a bit more money each month. She had even considered going to university so she could get more meaningful work. But nothingconcrete, no definite plans.
    ‘Maybe we should just give it all to a cats’ home,’ she said, only half joking.
    Sebastian looked horrified. ‘You can’t waste it! That’s for our future.’
    Violet shrugged her shoulders. ‘We both work. We don’t need it.’
    ‘If we invest it carefully, we could be millionaires in ten years. Then retire early.’
    I don’t care about being a millionaire, thought Violet. Notunless it makes me thin. But then she had an idea.
    ‘Maybe we could travel round Europe,’ she said, voicing an idea she had long thought buried. ‘We could go to Italy. I saw a programme years ago. It looks wonderful.’
    ‘Don’t be silly, pumpkin.’
    ‘But why not?’ she pressed. ‘With that money, we could take a gap year from work and travel around, immerse ourselves in different cultures.’
    ‘Are youmad?’ he snorted. ‘Why would I want to see how other people live? That doesn’t interest me. Unless they’re pouring my cocktail in a fancy restaurant or hotel.’
    Perhaps it was best that the money was going to wards their wedding, thought Violet. After all, it was supposed to be the most important day of their lives. They could work out what to spend the rest on at a later date.
    ‘About the wedding,’she began. ‘I am grateful for your mother’s help but we didn’t even have the chance to choose the food for the evening buffet.’
    Sebastian suddenly became angry and gripped the steering wheel. ‘If Elizabeth had survived, she would have been able to plan her wedding,’ he said in a steely tone. ‘But, as you know, she didn’t and so my mother only has my wedding to look forward to.’
    The subject ofElizabeth was brought up whenever Sebastian needed to defend his mother’s actions. His baby sister had died soon after birth and was the reason that Sebastian was so smothered by his mother.
    ‘But it’s my wedding day too,’ Violet said in small voice.
    ‘You’re being totally unreasonable,’ he snapped. ‘I don’t know what’s up with you today. After all, it’s not