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'"What are you doing here, Clarissa? Actually, I don't care. Just leave. Now!" Damien's voice booms over me.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, bro," Kylian cuts in, pushing in between his brother and me. "Look, let's just sit down and talk about this."
"Where is he?" Damien growls, eyes still on me.
I open my mouth and sounds actually comes out. "He, er, he went looking for you."
Kylian nods enthusiastically. "And look! Clarissa's found you. See how helpful she is?"
Damien pushes his brother out of the way so he can tower over me. "Shut up, Kylian. Why is she here? Did you know she was coming?"
This time, Kylian isn't as emphatic in his reply. "Um, I wouldn't say 'know'. I mean, do we ever really know anything?""
"Not helping, baby," the tall woman in the back shouts. She must be Kiara.
"I'm trying, Kiki," Kylian says out of the corner of his mouth.
"I think you're failing though," she says, matter-of-factly and I can't help being fascinated by them despite the fact that my ex-fiancé is looking at me like he wants to bury me in the grounds of the Baxter Winery.
"Damien, I promise I'm not here to cause any trouble. Tell him, Kylian."
Kylian shakes his head, covering his mouth. Sure, now he shuts up.
Damien bears down on me, face a picture of anger and disgust. "You don't get it, do you? This almost didn't happen because of you."
His words hurt. "All this"—I wave my hand in the air —"was supposed to happen with us! Or have you conveniently forgotten now that you have someone who'll cater to every whim?" I regret what I say as soon as it's out of my mouth. I'm just angry. And we've never really sat down and talked about what happened.
"Damien, you didn't know…? A small voice in the back finally speaks up and My-Linh walks to the front.
Damien's face falls, softening when he looks at her. "My-Linh, of course not!"
She takes turns looking at me then him. "I think I need some air," she says, and pushes past us so fast, all I sense is a waft of cherry blossom.
"I'll go talk to her," I say, feeling genuinely sorry that I'm ruining her day.
Damien sticks his arm out, blocking me. "The fuck you will. I think you've done enough. Just go." He runs after her, and I see him in a whole new light.
If I had ever run like that from him, he'd just forget he ever knew me.
Kylian sighs. "Well, that went well, don't you think, Kiki?"
Kiara steps forward to touch his arm, shaking her head as she eyes me. "Shush, just shush, baby."
He frowns. "I can't shush. And now I'm in a pickle. We all know I'm My-Linh's favorite and Damien's definitely. Kingsley, you adore me, and Clarissa, it's safe to say I'm your favorite Baxter brother?"
"Get to the point," Kiara says, even though she's smiling at him.
He gives her a little kiss on the tip of her nose before he says, "My point is, should I go after them, or should I stay and wait for Matthias with you guys? I'm his favorite, you know."
I genuinely feel utterly guilty. I don't know what to do, other than go back inside the room, there's no place for me in this conversation. "Go make sure they're okay. I'm fine, I'm just going to go inside and wait for Matthias. I truly did not mean nor want to spoil this weekend as someone you hate. I was just coming out to get some water and it was just really bad timing."
Kylian sighs making his way down the hallway.
Kiara starts to follow but then stops in front of me. "She's my best friend, you know. And I don't have best friends. Never wanted one, never needed one. Until I met her. I've only known her six months but I would die for her. She's the best person you'll ever meet. She'll even learn to like you more than you like yourself. So she doesn't deserve this, not on her wedding, notever. I don't know why you're here, but maybe you should've thought about someone other than yourself for once."
It's only me and Kingsley left. And despite all the years I've known the family, this might be the only time he and I have been alone together.
"We don't hate you, Clarissa. We just don't trust you. And in this family, with everything we go through and all the work that we do, trust is everything." He doesn't break eye contact once. Strong. Unnerved. The opposite of how I'm feeling. "You've betrayed one of us before. It's hard to get over that. That's all. I'll go find Matthias. He should talk to Damien. Until then, I'm sorry, but I think it's best if you stay in your room."
