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Smart, talented, and more importantly, beautiful.
But none of those attributes made it okay for them to label her as a prize. I made sure they understood how little I appreciated their assessment of my future wife.
Mayor Calhoun had even gone as far as to express how he’d watched her growing up and wondered who would be the lucky man to secure her.
No fucking class.
I not so kindly told him that if I so much as caught him looking at or near Cress anytime this evening or in the future I would break his fucking jaw, then release to the city proof that he was spending the city’s money to keep his mistress living just as cushy a life as his wife.
He walked away and had been at the bar with his face buried in a glass since our little chat. He smiled and talked when anyone approached but he was very careful to stay out of Cress’s path.Smart man.The rest of his night was spent making lazy conversation with people he was obligated to acknowledge based on the sizable donations they’d contributed to his campaign.
I stayed out of the way most of the night, allowing Christian and Ez to work the room. They lived for shit like this. I didn’t like interacting with people and had never been the type to be friendly. Being here tonight was exhausting. Some I wasn’t able to avoid so I struggled through forced conversations with so-called important people. Those who wanted to gauge me to see just how interested I was in stepping up to work alongside my brother. I didn’t commit to anything but they didn’t care. They had already made decisions about my new role. It was going to be vastly disappointing when they realized their decisions didn’t mean shit to me. I was not my brother or my father.
No one invested a lot of time engaging me which meant I was left alone for most of the evening. Out of sight. Watching people.
People mostly meant Cress. She was good at this and not because she had been raised in a family that groomed her to shine in this type of environment. I attributed most of it to being thrust into a world where she was constantly in the spotlight. Being a Devereaux and accomplished dancer presented more pressure than being in a room full of ego driven men who thrived off control and viewed women as accessories.
I was amused by the thought. Cress would never in her life agree to be anyone’s accessory. At least not mine. I also wouldn’t expect her to be.
“She’s lovely.” I tensed at the sound of a voice I hadn’t heard in years. I kept my eyes on Cress not yet acknowledging my mother. At that very moment, my fiancée leaned into her best friend Trini and turned her face to the side like she was attempting to hide her expression while she toyed with the ring I’d put on her finger a few hours ago. It was a three point eight carat solitaire with sweeping ivy made of smaller stones which presented as leaves. I’d paid handsomely to have it custom made the night after dinner with her mother. She seemed pleased with the choice, thanking me with an expression of how lovely the piece was. But she didn’t go overboard, however I’d noticed throughout the evening she toyed with it, always having a smile on her face.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Did you not want me here, Elias?”
I pulled my eyes away from Cress and acknowledged my mother who continued. “You didn’t reach out, Ez did. Still, I showed, choosing not to read too deeply into your lack of consideration.”
I cut her an unforgiving glare. “Are you here to support me or because Ez asked you to come?”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “You’re my son, Elias. I will always support you. When you allow me to.”
“I’ve nevernotallowed you to.”
“That’s not exactly the truth now is it?” Her brown eyes held firmly to her truth daring me to deny it.
“It’s true, Mother. It has been true my entire life.”
When I was level she doted over me, when I wasn’t she focused on Lucas and Ez. When they accepted their roles working alongside our father, she completely disconnected from anything concerning her first born. The family disgrace.
“You’re penalizing me for things I can’t control.”
I laughed bitterly. “Are you saying you couldn’t control accepting your less than perfect son for who and what he is?”
“I’ve always accepted you, Elias.” She rushed that lie from her mouth and moved on. “Your father would be so proud to see you today. To know that you’re embracing the destiny that was always meant to be yours.”
My mother was the queen of eluding accountability. That was what we did as a family. Focused on the things that made us feel good. Allowed us to shine.
“I’m sure he would. If you’ll excuse me…” I stepped away and she crossed in front of me, cutting off my path. Her eyes roamed my face for a long moment, searching for any sign of the flaws that gave her an excuse to toss me aside.
“You let him down, you know?”
How the fuck could I forget?
“And you don’t think he letmedown? Thatyoulet me down.”
She frowned. “You didn’t bother coming to his funeral. That was the least you could have done.”
Accountability avoidance, again.
