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“Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight.” Vivian’s voice booms across the room. She graces me with a warm smile. The façade makes my stomach roll. She’s always been so good at playing the dutiful wife and devoted stepmother.
“I’m sure you all remember our daughter, Seraphina. Isn’t she beautiful? Fresh home from college. Arthur would be so proud.” She forces a little tilt to her voice at the mention of my father.
Why did I let her convince me to come tonight?
“I’m so happy to have all of our friends here for this wonderful announcement.” She looks down at length of the table to where Aaron stands and gives a little nod.
Aaron hands his glass to the blonde beside him and starts making his way toward us. His father moves into his empty spot, an arrogant grin plastered on his face.
“I am pleased and honored to announce my daughter Seraphina will be marrying Aaron Princeton this summer! They’ve known each other since they were kids, and now that she’s finished with her studies, it’s time for them both to settle down.” Booming applause erupts following her announcement.
It takes seconds for her words to penetrate my mind.
My hands go cold.
I search for Aaron. He’s only a few steps away now.
I have to get away from here.
I don’t move fast enough and Aaron’s sweaty hand wraps around my arm, pulling me to his side. He presses a hard kiss to my cheek.
“Don’t embarrass me.” He anchors me to his side with a heavy arm around my shoulders.
“What’s she talking about?” I ask through a plastic smile.
“Now that we have that out of the way, let’s eat!” Vivian waves her hands in the air. “Vivian, what’s going on?” I wiggle away from Aaron and move to her.
“You need to help the family. We’ll work out the details later.”
“Wait. No. You can’t just tell everyone we know that I’m getting married when I’m not.” I pull my hand away from Aaron when he tries to lace his fingers through mine.
“Oh. But you are.” Vivian voice drips with sweet venom. It’s moments like this, when she has such hatred in her eyes, that I miss my mother the most.
“I can’t.”
“It’s all been arranged. You’ll marry Aaron by the end of the summer.” Vivian nods to the servant behind her to pull out her chair for her and takes a seat at the head of the table.
“You’ll sit with me. And you won’t say a single word against this.” Aaron pulls me toward his seat where the blonde has been shooed away, leaving a chair open for me.
This can’t be happening.
I’m too stunned during dinner to say much of anything to anyone. Aaron’s gaze sticks to me, making me feel dirty and cheap. I’m going to need a shower before this is done. The guests, most of which I’ve only seen in passing over the years, have all congratulated me more than once on my upcoming marriage. No one’s even questioning how insane this all is, but why would they? She’s spent years cultivating the image of a perfectly happy family.
“You could at least smile when talking about Aaron,” Vivian chastises, joining me in the foyer after I’ve said my goodbyes to some of the guests.
“I’m not marrying him.” I turn to her, my chest tight. “I’m not your puppet. You can’t just pull a string on me and make me to do what you want.” The words push the weight of anger off of me.
“Hush. Someone will hear you.” Her dark brown eyes sweep to a couple walking past us to the door. She forces a polite smile when they look our way. “It’s bad enough you’ve sulked all evening.”
“I didn’t sulk.” Seriously, what did she expect? She’d just announced a marriage I never agreed to. I didn’t scream or refute her in front of anyone. I’d call that a successful evening, at least for her.
“You’re lucky Aaron had to leave early, or I’m sure he’d have words with you about your behavior tonight. Once you’re married, you’ll understand the way the world really works.” She glides away to the last few remaining guests making their way through the foyer.
I take the opportunity to escape this disaster of an evening and seek out the sanctuary of my bedroom. It’s the one place in the house Vivian hasn’t touched.
It’s after midnight by the time I wash off the disgust of the evening and climb into bed, mulling over the strangeness of tonight’s events. Vivian and I have never gotten along, but she’s been good about leaving me alone. Ignoring my existence was my favorite quality of hers. Why she needs me to marry into the Princeton family makes no sense, and I doubt I’ll get any information from her directly.
I pick up my phone to text Aaron. We need to discuss this craziness. I’m sure I can get him to see that we won’t make a good match.
