Page 37 of Black Wedding
We wait for a few minutes, and it’s not long before all the Doughty’s are gathered in the room. Freya is dressed in the most beautiful sky blue ballgown that accentuates her blonde hair and blue eyes. Ryleigh is the more rebellious one of the two, and she is wearing a short, purple dress that is tight like a corset on top but flies out like a ballgown below. It stops mid-thigh, exposing the most beautiful tattoo of a woman’s head and her brain is filled with books like a library. This is clearly the first time anyone has seen the tattoo since everyone’s shouting at her about it. She has dyed her hair bright purple in the few hours we were apart during the day. I think she looks fantastic, and I make sure to tell her that.
Von is dressed in the most elegant, long silver ballgown. She looks almost regal with the way she holds herself, and with her arm wrapped around Desmond, this is the closest I have seen them since I got here. Both Desmond and Evan are dressed all in black, looking like twin versions of each other. Both of them leering at me most disgustingly. I can feel Liam by my side getting ready to say something, but we talked about this before we came. Neither of us is going to do anything to risk the truce we have in place.
A girl enters the room dressed in a short black skirt and a tight black shirt. Her shiny black hair is pulled back into a simple ponytail low on the back of her head, and her eyes remain averted at the floor.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Sir. Manuel sent me to inform you of the order of introductions,” muttered the girl towards Desmond.
“Well...get on with it then, you eejit,” Desmond sneers, and I feel Liam recoil beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Evan appears to look uncomfortable. He’s bouncing from one foot to the other and generally looking more shifty than usual.
“Sorry, Sir. You and Mrs. Doughty will be announced in five minutes, then there will be a five-minute break. Then Evan will accompany Freya, followed quickly by Finn accompanying Ryleigh. There will then be another five-minute break before Liam and Brianna are introduced. I have my headset on and will be informed when you are to go,” she explains, and everyone shifts around the room, so they are standing in the correct order and with the right person. But other than that, nobody acknowledges that she even spoke.
“Thanks for that,” I say to her. All eyes turn to me like I had just taken a shit in the middle of the room.
“Please, do not address the help, Bree. Only I talk to them, isn’t that right, children?” he asks all his children. However, his gaze is aimed directly at Evan, which is odd because he appears to be the only one that blindly follows Desmond anyway.
Everybody mutters some form of confirmation at Desmond’s question, then the girl indicates it’s time for Desmond and Von to enter. As the doors open, our room is filled with a roar of applause as they enter the Ballroom. I try to look around at the room, but after seeing the massive hanging chandelier, I figured it would be better if I didn’t see any more.
As soon as the doors close behind Desmond, the atmosphere changes. All the kids start to relax again, including the girl sent with the instructions. I am shocked when Liam begins talking to her. “Teigan, what are you doing here? I thought you went off to university.”
She smiles at Liam, but it’s clear that there is no light behind her eyes. Even with a smile on her face, she still looks so sad and lost. I feel like I want to hug her or save her, but I have no idea what to do.
“It’s a long story, but I work here now. So you really shouldn’t be talking to me. Your dad has spies everywhere,” she practically spits the last part, and I can’t help but notice the way she looks at Evan as she says that. I’m not surprised; I wouldn’t put it past him to report back to Desmond about the staff.
In quick succession, she announces the two sets of siblings, and they enter to much softer applause. However, it’s still apparent there are a lot of people in the room below us. Now that it’s just me and Liam left, I am starting to get nervous. I can feel my hands begin to sweat, and as I fidget from one foot to the other, I’m tempted to begin pacing the room. Liam squeezes my hand to calm me down.
“Tee, I’m so sorry you are stuck here. What happened between you and Evan?” Liam asks, and that stops my anxiety straight away.
“Did you date Evan?” I ask Teigan incredulously, and she chuckles.
“We dated all throughout high school, and he wasn’t as much of a dick back then. Then, I went off to university, and he stayed here to work for his father. My Evan disappeared the day he never showed up to move away with me,” she says, her breath hitching as though the story still makes me sad.
“I remember that Evan was supposed to go with you, but then he just didn’t. He changed after that. So why did you come back?” Liam asks, and Teigan shakes her head, looking even more dejected than before.
“My mum got sick; I came back to help her. She needed some treatment that was only available in the US, and I needed money fast. The bank wouldn’t take a risk on a student with thousands of student debt and no job, so I came to the only person I knew who would give me the money. I had the tickets booked and was all ready to go, but then mum passed away. I couldn’t get my money back, and Desmond wouldn’t let me move out of the town to try and find a job. He said it would be the same as running, which he offs people for. He insisted I work here and work off my debt. By the time I am about a hundred years old, I will have probably paid off the original debt, but my grandchildren will be paying the interest. He has me bent over a barrel, and boy does he fucking know it,” Teigan explains, and my heart breaks for this beautiful girl.
“What did you study at university?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“Would you believe it if I told you criminal psychology?” she asks, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Please tell me you didn’t want to be a pig?” pleads Liam, and the lightest laugh escapes Teigan’s lips. It causes her face to light up slightly, and I see a hint of the girl she once was.
“No way. I wanted to work with criminals, people with psychotic tendencies, things like that. Help them to learn to manage their behaviour and basically how not to go to prison,” explains Teigan.
A short sharp laugh escapes me. “Well, Evan could really use your help there,” I joke, and both Liam and Teigan mutter in agreement.
“You know, he used to be funny, kind, and easy-going, but the more time he spent with Desmond, the more he became his clone. I fucking hated it, and I hate having to spend every day watching him morph into this version that I can’t stand,” she murmurs, her voice laced with sadness, and I feel Liam sag beside me. Teigan clearly has never got over Evan.
“I know what you mean. I wish I could have got my brothers out when I helped my sisters,” Liam groans, a wave of sadness washed over him, and I can hear the genuine regret in his voice.
“Don’t think like that. They are men and not boys. They are older than you, and you are not responsible for them, okay?” she says but interrupts us before we can reply. “Shit...you’re up.”
Then with no time to prepare, the doors open, and I walk into the wolves’ den, clinging onto Liam as though he were my life raft, which in a way, he is.
Walking down the stairs, I feel myself gripping onto Liam, who feels equally as tense. As I look down below the giant chandelier, I can’t help but feel intimidated by the sheer grandness of this place. It is legitimately like an old fashioned dance hall. Like the rest of the house, it is bright, airy and covered in marble. However, the features in this room all appear gold, like it’s been made to look more opulent than the rest of the house.
There are round tables set up with chairs covered in bright white tablecloths with black runners. In the centre of the tables are the most beautiful arrangement of black flowers. There are so many different shades of black with the odd splash of white and green to help the black flowers stand out more. I notice that there are black and white calla lilies in the bouquets as well as black roses. The arrangements allow the room to shine, and I can’t help but think this looks like a wedding reception. I also make a mental note to take a picture of the centrepiece bouquets because I would love to have that when I get married.
When I finally stop taking in all the details around me, after noting where the exits and the bar and food are, I finally allow myself to be in the moment. The noise of the applause reaches my ears, and I belatedly look at all the people standing below. There must be over two hundred people, and all eyes are on us.
