Page 14 of Black Wedding

“Fuck, no. I wanted to do anything but. I also wanted to stay away from every bitch who thought being a debutante was a good idea. It was a breeding ground for bitchiness. It taught all about being a decent member of society, and sisterhood, all that other bullshit, but that was just on the surface. In reality, it was a breeding ground for competition, backstabbing, and hatred. Everyone wanted the coveted Princess Debutante, the most promising debut of the year, and the one most likely to marry the richest, most successful guy in the room. That was essentially the only goal for these girls, to find a husband who would trap them into becoming a housewife and a shell that simply pops out babies and follows commands. Everyone assumed that I would be given the coveted spot because my mother was the one making the decision. Sure, she had a committee, but everyone knew it was her vote that mattered. They didn’t know that by this point, my mother loathed who I had become and the fact I embodied absolutely nothing that she looked for in a debut, let alone the Princess. About two weeks before she announced who would be debutante Princess, that’s when she found out about my extracurricular hobbies with Jimmy. She was so fucking mad,” she chuckles.

Just the sight of that beautiful smile on her face makes my face light up too. I like hearing about her past. I never saw her as a debutante. I told her this, and it’s her turn to laugh again. I wanted to know about the extracurricular stuff though.

“Well, at this point, I had told him I wanted to run the business. He was the only person who didn’t laugh at me or tell me I couldn’t. Instead, he told me what I needed to be able to do to not only survive but rule. He showed me my dad’s warehouse, where he interrogates or kills people who have wronged him in some way. I learnt how to slice through skin and be comfortable with the sight of blood, to bathe in the screams of pain, and how to turn off my emotions enough to be able to kill someone myself. Not exactly the regular after school club for a teenage girl, but actually, I fucking loved it. I felt more at home with a knife in my hand and blood staining my clothes than I ever did in a ballgown and tiara. But my mother was fucking pissed when she found out…wait, why are you looking at me like that?” she asks me, her eyes boring into mine as she tries to unravel the expression on my face. She doesn’t recognise it, but it’s awe.

“Sorry, Princess, but this is the face of someone who is in awe of you. I was pulled into this life, made to love it, but you stepped in willingly and excelled at it. It’s obvious to me, even if it isn’t to everyone else, that you were made for this. Oh, and I’m also a little turned on by the idea of seeing you slicing up someone and bathing in their screams. It’s a little more bloody and noisy than I’m used to, but fuck, I bet you would be sexy as hell doing that,” I smirked, seeing that blush spread across my little firecracker’s face. Who knew a girl that could slaughter a man at sixteen was someone who blushed at a compliment. Fuck, she is the perfect woman.

“That right there, Liam, is why I asked you to be my partner in this thing. Every guy I met before knew about my inheritance and the fact that my husband and I would inherit the London firm. They all wanted the power, and they thought the way to it was by using me. So needless to say, every guy I dated turned out to be a power-hungry idiot who was more interested in kissing my dad’s ass than mine,” she says. She sounds incredibly seductive at the mention of her ass. Her laughter fills the room as I mutter about them being idiots.

“Anyway, back to your original question about friends, I got sidetracked preaching on my soapbox about assholes,” she jokes. “When my mother made it very clear I wasn’t Princess debutante of my year, it became even more ruthless as twenty girls all pulled each other down to get to the top spot. There was one girl in the group, Mia, and nobody expected her to make the cut. Sure, she is from a wealthy family, but she was quiet and shy. She didn’t excel in social situations, having suffered from social anxiety for most of her life. If she had been more confident, she would have killed them all because she was the most beautiful girl in the group; classic blonde hair, blue eyes, doll shaped features. Everything about her was natural, and she looked like a princess. That made her a threat to the other bitches in the room. They knew if my mum was choosing beauty alone, they were screwed, so they repeatedly targeted her. It started off as name-calling, bullying, even slut-shaming her despite the fact I’d never even seen her have a conversation with a boy. She was really that shy, but of course, guys love a beautiful girl, and despite them hitting on her, she never dated any of them. I stayed back, never got involved, but then I heard their plan to swap her moisturiser cream with a component that essentially was like acid. She would have had superficial burns to her face and obviously had to pull out of being a debutante. I found out the leader was a bitch called Chrissy. I told Mia what was happening, and I secretly swapped the moisturiser with Chrissy’s. Her face was a mess, and I made it very clear it was all me, not Mia. Her skin sizzled and burned. It was so fucking awesome to see her get the justice she deserved. What’s really ironic is my mum had picked Chrissy to be Princess and was due to announce it that day. Mia and I have been best friends ever since. She isn’t part of our world and never will be. Despite me bringing her out of her shell a lot, she is still quiet and shy,” she says, and I can’t help but smile.

I know I shouldn’t like the idea of her burning some bitches face off, but I do. I love that she has a moral compass like mine and would take revenge for the people that matter to her. I am precisely the same with Kellan.

“So what does Mia do if she isn’t in our world?” I ask, genuinely interested in the girl who seems to have won over Bree’s trust.

“She actually was disowned by her family. She pulled out of the debutante ball, and because she never debuted, they said she disgraced their name. Her family had legendary status, every female had worn the Princess crown, but Mia didn’t want that, she wanted a normal life. So, she is training part-time to be a primary school teacher. Mia works babysitting, nannying, tutoring, any work with kids that she can get to help fund herself through college. A lot of what she does is online, so she can work full-time and do a part-time course simultaneously. She is so fucking dedicated to every kid she works with. I know she will be great at it. I have offered her money on countless occasions, but she has refused every time. She wants to do it on her own, and I admire her for that. I think it’s hard for her to be separated from her family, though,” she says sadly. I can relate.

Believe it or not, before my father instigated all this sibling rivalry, I actually liked my brothers, particularly Finn, my second eldest brother. We used to get on so well, have a right craic together, but that ended long ago. I even missed that dick, Evan, at times. My eldest brother was too much like my dad. He had incorporated so many of his personality traits and was like a mini-version of him. I fucking hated seeing it. We were a close family before he became power-mad and put my sisters in danger. My mood shifted to anger every time I thought of them. Bree must have sensed the shift because she quickly changed the subject with a small, knowing smile. One that said I could talk to her if I wanted, but only when I was ready.

“So, what about you? Any friends?” she asks, and I smile as she walks straight into my plan.

“Well, now that you mention it, I have one best friend, Kellan. He’s going through a really shit time right now. He is basically like my brother, and I will do anything to help and support him. So if it’s okay with you, I was going to invite him over tonight. I would love for you to meet him, and also, we have a lot we need to discuss,” I say, choosing to leave out the part where I already invited him.

“Of course, that’s okay. I would love to meet him,” she says, just as the deafening ding-dong sound echoes through the room. I smile at her sheepishly whilst giving her the cocky smirk she seems to be so responsive to.

“Okay, so I kind of predicted that you would be okay with it and already invited him. I thought he would be another hour, and I would have time to fill you in with his story, but the shithead is early. I am really sorry, you can yell at me later. But for now, please, can you go and put some clothes on while I open the door. I don’t like the idea of Kellan seeing so much of your flesh,” I growl possessively as I rise to go and answer the door. She stands up and starts running towards the stairs.

“You are so dead for this!” she shouts as she runs up the stairs. Her eyes may have been glaring at me, but she had a slight smile on her face. I loved seeing her playful side.

“Bring it on, Princess. Do your worst!” I shout back with a laugh. I hear a groan leave her as she disappears up the stairs and I run towards the entrance hall.

Opening the door, I am greeted by my very exhausted best friend, carrying the most beautiful baby in one arm, and what looks to be his entire apartment in his spare arm and even more surrounding him.

“You are early,” I chastise Kellan before turning my attention to Hallie. “Hey, Hallie Bear, Uncle Liam is so happy to see you. Come here for some cuddles, beautiful girl,” I coo while reaching over to take Hallie from Kellan’s arms and walk back into the house.

“Oh, lovely. Don’t worry about saying hello to me. And don’t offer to help me with this stuff. I’ve got it!” he shouts sarcastically, but I was too busy staring into the beautiful blue eyes that were so wide and staring up at me. Her little hand grips onto my finger for dear life, and I’m doing everything I can to stop her from pulling it into her mouth to use as a chew toy.

“Well, you didn’t have to bring every fucking thing you owned!” I snap in a whispered tone, trying not to startle Hallie.

“Fuck you, Liam. Do you know how much shit a baby comes with? She looks cute as a button right now, but I give her an hour before she has vomited or shit all over her clothes, then another couple of hours before she does it again. Seriously, I go through so much washing I may as well have bought shares in Persil’s washing powder. I’m sure Hallie is keeping them in business. It’s seriously a race to see who will have a meltdown first, the washing machine or me. I honestly don’t know who my money is on,” Kellan grumbles as we walk into the living room.

“Fuck me, this place is huge,” Kellan says in awe as he finally takes in the surroundings, dumping all the things he has brought off to the side. The bag slung over his shoulder is the only thing he keeps with him as he moves towards the kitchen and opens the fridge. He pulls out a couple cans of Coke, and taking something out of the bag, he starts stocking our fridge.

“What are you doing?” I ask out of curiosity. Hallie takes advantage of the fact that I wasn’t paying attention, and now my finger is being used as a chew toy in her mouth. Thank fuck she doesn’t have any teeth yet. I can’t even bring myself to pull away because she looks so damn content. I hate seeing her cry, so she can have whatever she wants.

“I figured while I’m here, it will be easier to use premade formula. So I bought a few bottles and put them in the fridge. That way, anyone can feed her, and I don’t have to worry about sterilising or making up the bottles. They just need to be slightly warmed, and then they are good to go. I do have the powder stuff and equipment for if we run out. You just never know and I feel like I have to prepare for every possible eventuality.” He flops down onto the sofa beside me and shoots me a smile when he sees the way Hallie literally has me wrapped around her finger.

I thank him for the can he brought me, take a sip and then place it onto the coffee table before settling back for cuddle times with my favourite girl. All while wondering when my second favourite would be making an appearance.

“Thanks for having us here, Liam. You have no idea how much I need this. You are the only person I trust anywhere near Hallie at the moment. I found out fucking Franscheska, the nanny I hired, was working for my mother; spying on me, going through my fucking computer to get dirt on me,” he grinds out, taking a big gulp of the can he is fiddling with while he speaks. I see the turmoil written across his face, and all I can do is laugh.

“Your bitch of a mother is one stupid whore. I can’t believe she hired someone to check your computers and spy on you. She may have no idea you are a world-class hacker, but she knows you are good with computers. Does she seriously think you are that stupid?” I ask incredulously.

“I know. I have a state of the art security system that is so good you can’t even see the cameras. I also have a firewall, so I knew the minute she accessed the computer. It live-streamed a mirror image of the screen to my tablet, and I saw everything she looked at. I can’t believe I let her near Hallie. What am I going to do, man? I need to work, but I don’t trust anyone with her. If I can’t show the courts I have a stable, reliable support system, then I am fucked. I will lose her.” The disparity rang loud, and I know the idea of him losing Hallie is the worst thing imaginable to Kel, and I don’t think he will survive it. But the idea that his bitch of a mother, who cared enough about raising him that she ditched him as a child, now thinks she is capable of raising Hallie? Over my dead body.

“That will never happen. Every penny I have is yours. I love this little girl, and I tolerate you,” I joke. “She is never taking her away from you. I promise you that. We will find a nanny, and as far as the courts are concerned, I am your support system,” I say firmly. I’m about to continue, but soft footsteps and a voice I have come to crave cuts me off.

“You don’t know me, but I will stand with Liam as your support system. I also know someone who would be perfect as your nanny. But how about we get to know each other, and I prove to you that I can be trusted before we go any further?” Bree says as she extends her arm out to Kellan. “I’m Bree, nice to meet you.” Her smile is blinding, and I catch the knowing smile he throws my way before he reaches out to shake her hand.

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