“Thea…” I open my mouth but snap it shut the moment Thea’s eyes implore mine.
Please don’t make a scene, they beg, silencing me.
I glance over my shoulder toward Mr. Garratt, and the glee in his eyes is palpable. This is not good, not good at all.
“You’ll accept his ring; do you hear me?” her mother seethes while the meaning of her words drop into my stomach like a heavy weight, dragging me down and pulling my heart from inside my chest.
He thinks he’s getting engaged to her.
This is their engagement party?
I scan the room. Can anyone else see how ludicrous this is?
Thea chokes, and her startled eyes find mine as her mother drags her away from me and across the dance floor toward the stage.
He’s going to propose to her.
They’ve orchestrated her engagement.
She’s mine.
My wife.
Pregnant with my baby.
Mine.
“Absolutely fucking not!” I bellow. Then I push out of my chair, striding across the dance floor after them. “Veronica, enough!” I erupt, uncaring who hears me.
She spins to face me, with one hand wrapped so roughly around Thea’s arm it’s bound to bruise, and I don’t miss the wince coming from Thea. It takes everything in me to not wrap my hand around the bitch’s throat.
“She’s marrying him!” Veronica sneers like a madwoman. All eyes are on us, every one of them boring into the chaos we’re making.
“She’s not,” I say, my chest flaring with determination.
My phone buzzes in my pants.
“Do you really want to do this here?” she sneers, throwing her free hand out toward the crowd, who looks on with intrigue. I curse as Thea’s pleading gaze meets mine; her cheeks are red, her eyes swim with unshed tears, and her hands tremble beside her as she sways in her mother’s hand like a ragdoll.
She spins to face Thea. “You’ll get up on that stage and accept his proposal.” She gives my wife a swift shake, and I don’t know how I don’t lash out to protect her. “You already ruined one arrangement. Don’t you dare ruin another.”
I struggle to remain in control; did she really just accuse Thea of ruining an arrangement? The girl was abused, for Christ’s sake.
I step forward. “Thea?”
Veronica steps toward me, her eyes ablaze with fury. “Shall we tell Thea all about our time together, hmm?” she muses, and Thea flinches. The accusation is out there, and she heard every damn word of it. This cruel bitch of a woman has got to go. I sense Thea’s eyes roaming over my face, and I know if I so much as look in her direction, her mother will go further.
I lean forward and bend down for only Veronica to hear. “Thea is not marrying him. She’s mine. We’re already married, you dumb bitch, and she’s pregnant with my baby.”
Her face transforms into one of a contorted maniac, then she lunges forward and screams as she claws for my face, releasing Thea. “You bastard!”
I take a hold of her arms to stop her attack on me. The pure hatred behind her eyes is almost blinding, and she slowly turns to face Thea. “I’m going to kill you!”
My heart sinks on her words, and Thea’s distraught gaze meets mine.
“I’m going to destroy you both!” her mother says, as if uncaring and oblivious to the destruction of her cruel words to her only daughter.
A loud, overbearing alarm erupts into the room, and everyone pushes their chairs back while I take this moment of madness to move my girl out of her mother’s reach. Water sprays out from above, and the guests rush toward the doors.
