This is where the reader might be tempted to think that she was “the pretty one” and I was “the smart one,” but that would be a fairy tale. Tavia is scorching smart. People like to believe that women like Tavia will be punished eventually, that, having been given too much in the way of luster, they must lack the intelligence or depth that would bring them true happiness. We are all but promised that such women will make some horrible mistake early on, usually one involving a man who pays them too much attention, or they’ll take what the world offers them and burn up quickly. Beauty ensures
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