AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I thought I saw—" I turn back to the flower wall, and my voice trails off.
The figure doesn't look like my father anymore.
Instead, the person steps out into the light, and it turns out to be a woman, smoothing her gown. Her hair is long, falling down her shoulders in soft waves. She sashays away from the shadowy base of the fixture.
"Thought you saw what?" Alex asks.
The words die in my throat. I'm not even sure what to say. If I tell him that I think I saw my father, all hell will break loose. And as the seconds tick by, I'm not even sure if I actually saw him.
He's been on my mind so much ever since Alexander told me what he did that my brain might just be playing tricks on me. The obstetrician did tell me that my pregnancy symptoms would get worse over the next few weeks.
Brain fog and disorientation were included in that list.
"It's nothing," I mutter, taking another sip of my drink.
Alexander is about to say something else but he's interrupted by a couple walking up to us. Alexander's body goes rigid, and I can instantly see he's on guard. They don't look familiar to me, but recognition flashes in his eyes.
The woman is dressed like an old Hollywood star.
Her dress is long, with an overzealous train and a bejeweled bronze bodice that clings to her chest and falls off her shoulders in soft, silky ripples. Her blonde hair is done up in an elaborate updo, and thick eyeliner rims her eyes, accentuating her long lashes.
The man next to her is older, old enough to be her father for sure, but I guess that's the nature of romance in these circles. He looks more uneasy than the woman, who is eyeing Alexander too closely for my liking. The man is dressed in a white tuxedo, his thin, graying hair slicked back from his face.
"I was wondering when you'd show," the woman croons. Is she batting her eyelashes? "I've been expecting you."
The woman doesn't even spare me a glance.
Alexander doesn't immediately respond to her. He stays quiet long enough for it to get awkward, for her smile to drop, for the man beside her to start sweating. Who are these people?
When Alexander does speak, it's to the man.
"You have a lot of nerve allowing her to approach me, Jeffrey," Alexander hisses through clenched teeth. "Didn't have the balls to crush her hopes, so you figured you would let me do it instead?"
Jeffrey swallows so thickly his whole throat shakes.
"Your father and I shook on it. He gave me his word that you and Ottilie are to be wed."
Ottilie.
Thisis the woman Alexander told me his father is forcing him to marry. And the man isn't her significant other–it's her father. Suddenly, the strange scene makes sense, as does Alexander's simmering anger.
"And you were there when I told him that isn't going to happen," he spits, turning a harsh gaze to Ottilie.
She straightens, trying to stand tall. But Alexander still towers over them both. There's something about her that reminds me of Cassidy. I'm not sure if it's the blonde hair, the dramatic makeup, or the fact sheclearlyhas an unrequited thing for Alexander, but it's rubbing me the wrong way.
"Is it because of this bitch?" Ottilie snaps, finally acknowledging my presence.
Jeffrey pales beside her.
Alexander recoils as if he's been slapped, his eyes widening at the words that have just fallen from her mouth. What she's said is loud enough that the people around us—who certainly weren't eavesdropping—start and look at us.
Someone's drink even falls to the floor, shattering in the fake snow.
A small smile twists my lips.
Ottilie has no idea how much she just fucked up.
Alexander turns me. He's trying hard to hide his rage. "Sweetheart, do you mind getting some fresh air? I'll have Wesley keep you company. I just need to deal with this issue." He kisses my forehead.
