The Desperate Bride’s Diet Club by Alison Sherlock Page B

She’d already had her New You! cereal bar but that barely touched the hunger inside. What was she supposed to eat? So she went into McDonald’sand had a double burger but discarded everything apart from the meat. The bun and salad went in the bin. Yet she was starving that afternoon so she had her shake as well.
    Dinner that evening was a bit more of a problem.
    ‘What are you doing?’ asked Sebastian, leaning against the kitchen door and watching her.
    ‘I’m looking for something to eat,’ she told him, closing the fridge door. She tooka deep breath. ‘I’m sort of trying a carb-free diet for a week.’
    His eyebrows shot up. ‘Why?’
    ‘I told you. I want to lose weight for the wedding.’
    He gently shoved her to one side and opened up the fridge door. ‘Great,’ he said, before straightening up. ‘Let’s have a fry-up.’
    So they had fried eggs, bacon and sausages. She wasn’t sure if that was strictly within the diet but it sounded closeenough. Sebastian wolfed down two slices of bread and butter but Violet just about managed to resist the temptation.
    Think of being skinny, she told herself. Think of the wedding dress. Think how wonderful you and Sebastian will look together once you’re no longer fat.
    The following day, she followed the same diet of no breakfast, burger but no bun and a fry-up of steak and eggs. That nightSebastian added chips to his plate. Violet’s mouth was salivating but still she held firm.
    Violet had begun to suffer with headaches. And she wasn’t the only one. Wendy was moaning as Julie handed her some paracetamol.
    ‘It’s no wonder you feel crap,’ she barked at Wendy. ‘You’re not eating properly.’
    ‘I am.’
    ‘Of course you’re not. You had a single chicken breast for lunch.’
    Wendy gulped downsome pills and water. ‘I’ll be fine. As soon as the protein hits the fat in my body then I’ll start losing weight. It’s all very scientific.’
    Julie gave a snort and went back behind her computer monitor.
    Wendy leant across to whisper at Violet, ‘James told me I have the breath to kill six rhinos this morning.’
    Violet gave her a small smile and wondered whether Sebastian would feel her breathwas smelly too.
    She was starving by the time she reached home. Sebastian suggested another fry-up. Violet nearly wept. She was overdosing on protein. She needed carbohydrates, had to have them. Plus she hadn’t been to the loo properly for days. She felt weird, weak and a bit sick. Her body felt alien. Something had to give.
    So she waited patiently until Sebastian went for a shower later on.She stayed still until she heard him step into the bath and switch the water on. Then she ran into the kitchen and wolfed down a huge bowl of cornflakes . It was glorious, even better once she’d added the sugar on top. As she heard him come out of the bathroom, she quickly washed the bowl up and put it back in the cupboard. He was none the wiser.
    But the guilt was huge when she saw Wendy the nextday. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she stick to any diet?
    ‘Hi,’ said Wendy in a small voice. ‘I failed my diet.’
    ‘Oh dear,’ said Violet, relief flooding through her. ‘What happened?’
    ‘We had a curry.’
    ‘I think it’s only the sauce that’s fattening.’
    ‘What about the large rice and two peshwari naan breads? All to myself.’ She gave a loud sigh. ‘I just couldn’t do it any more. And norcould James. He said he didn’t know what was worse, my breath or my wind. It had to be the constipation that made it so bad.’
    Violet noticed Anthony quickly left his desk again.
    Later that evening, alone in the house, Violet ate a massive bowl of pasta. She ate and ate until her stomach screamed at her to stop. It was wonderful. Her body was craving carbohydrates like a starved maniac. As shewaited for the water to boil, she wolfed down a couple of pieces of bread and butter.
    Another diet, another failure. Perhaps it was time to go back to the