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“Ishould be telling you that.”Ibeamed atDahlia.Thenewest addition to my family was the only one to treat me as such.Dahliawas a breath of fresh air.Inan ivory mermaid wedding dress, she was a sight to behold.Themakeup artist had done wonders, perfecting the minor blemishes of her deep golden skin.Herlong dark hair was styled in a half-up with bejeweled hair accessories.
“Howabout you guys?Areyou having fun?”
Milanmade a gruff noise. “Consideringeverything that happened today, we are making the best of it.”
Isuppressed an eye roll.Milanacted like things only happened to him.Jordancoughed uncomfortably, hating this friction more thanPapa.Dahliaalso knew of the drama to unfold earlier.Insteadof further dwelling on my humiliation, she breezed past it. “Stopbeing a grouch.”Sheplayfully smackedMilan’sstomach. “Heis having the time of his life.”
Ismiled, appreciative of the reprieve.
Despitehis uptight nature,Milanalso gaveDahliaa rare smile.Mybrother was a prick, butIcouldn’t deny that he was smitten by his new wife.Istared between them and knewIwas in the presence of true love.Iwanted that so badly for myself.Ifmy brother, the biggest elitist to live, could snag a ray of sunshine likeDahlia, there had to be hope for me, right?
Ipassed the champagne flutes to the blushing newlyweds and another toJordan.
“Gladto see you can pass a drink without ruining another outfit.”
Ifroze at my brother’s backhanded compliment.
“Areyou guys ready to tear up the dance floor?”Jordanquickly interjected to diffuse the situation, aware of my brother’s glower.
“Youknow it,”Dahliachimed in, followingJordan’scue.
Jordanbrightened, brushing past the awkwardness. “Themusic’s been really good tonight.”
Iagreed with her assessment internally, thoughIwas generally a music snob.Thesongs throughout cocktail hour and reception had been appropriately selected, oldies and newer hits, with some house music mixed in.Someonehad curated this list with the utmost care.
“Whatcompany did you guys hire?”Jordanasked.
“Wedidn’t.”Dahliashrugged. “TheDJwas included with the venue’s sound package.Theyhave their own, so it was a nice perk.”
Thoughwe chitchatted in a group, it was mostlyJordanandDahliadriving the conversation with neutral topics.Milanfumed, andIkept my head down to deflect his anger.Wewere all staying the night at the house, and the afterparty was supposed to be held there.IknewMilan’smood would only worsen upon seeing me at the afterparty.Hellwas waiting to be unleashed.
Insteadof chiming in,Ihung back untilIhad entirely secluded myself off to one corner.Otherpeople joined the conversation, naturally flocking to the bride and groom.Withthe crowd surrounding them,Jordandidn’t notice me slinking away.She’dtry to babysit me if she had, andIdidn’t want to ruin her night.Shewas also friends withMilanand deserved to take part in the celebrations.Afterall, she wore the right outfit and had done nothing to piss him off.
Thedance floor opened, andIwatched everyone bop to the music from a distance.Oncemore,Iwas pleasantly surprised by theDJ’spicks.Anunfamiliar song came on, quickly becoming my favorite of the night.Therewas a trace hint of recognition, andIstrained my ear.Ialmost spat out my champagne upon realizing it was “SweetChildOMine” byGunsN’Roses.Housemix and beat drops had turned the song into a virtually unrecognizable version.Thiswas a sing-along type of song, but he had turned it into a danceable one.ThisDJwas exceptionally talented.Ifpossible, more talented than some of the big namesI’dheard and way too good for this gig.
Iswayed to the music—they were all remixed versions of variousGunsN’Rosessongs—whenIsuddenly had the acute feeling of being watched.Thefeeling was so intense that it became unshakeable.Whippingmy head from left to right,Isearched for the source.Thecrowd on the dance floor parted like theRedSea, revealing another lone figure across the ballroom by theDJbooth.Irecognized him instantly.
Heathen!
Lordbehold,Satan’schild was our talentedDJfor the evening.Dressiershoes had replaced combat boots.Hewore a midnight blue sports jacket to not stand out from the well-dressed crowd.Hetapped on his laptop sporadically, though his eyes were predominantly trained on mine.Iwas surprised none of the guests noticed the intensity he showered me with.Itseemed the roomful of the wealthy and privileged didn’t pay attention if the shoes weren’t designer and the clothes were off the rack.Thebooth further divided him from the crowd.Hewas a lone wolf.Likeme,Icouldn’t help surmising despite my animosity toward the stranger.
Ihad to hand it to him.WhereIwas in shambles over my isolation, he stood confident and composed, skimming me over indifferently with those deeper-than-dark eyes.Hewas probably waiting for me to fall for his amusement.Iscoffed and met his crudeness stare for stare.
Despitemy loathing of my newest archnemesis, there was an enthralling draw to him… nope.No,Piya, you absolutely cannot go down this road.Thelast time you did, you ended up withSean, which was supposed to bethe last time.
Wisingup,Ihit up my supplier—aka bartender—for more champagne to distract me from walking toward my next heartbreak.Knowinghe couldn’t see me with the crowd blocking his view,Iducked.Iwatched him from my secret position.Slightsatisfaction warmed my blood whenIfound him looking around, searching for me.
“Stopit.”Jordan’sabrupt low voice put an end to my spying.
Icleared my throat. “Stopwhat?”
“Stopstaring at theDJ.”Shenodded at the man across the room.
“Doyou know him?”Iasked, disregarding her warning.Athrong of kids ran past theDJbooth, laughing with joy.Hestared them down like he wanted to punch the children.Iknew this man was theDevil.Sowhy couldn’tIlook away fromSatan?
“No,Idon’t know him.ButIsaw him staring at you like…Fuck.Whywas he staring at you like that?”
“Likewhat?”
