Page 161 of Dark Endures

“A family dinner, it appears.” He squeezes my hand.

If these two hundred people are just family, what is the actual wedding going to look like? You know what? I don’t want to know.

We’re seated at the head table next to my mom and her fiancé. His two brothers and their kids. Kids seems to be a very liberal term, because all three of them are adults in their thirties. The head of the table wasn’t reserved for the bride and groom. The head of the family sits there. Percival’s father, Filmore. These people really hated their children to give them names like that.

Filmore Linckester scares me, not in a Louisella kind of way, in a way that I want to hide under my bed with my blankie and pretend the world doesn’t exist.

Even his smile feels evil.

My mind must be playing tricks on me. It was all the oxygen deprivation from kissing Maddox for an hour instead oftaking a nap or doing my hair like mom would have preferred…maybe.

“How did you like my new little toy, Maddox?” Percival’s son, Joseph, asks.

All the ‘kids’ are stunning men, long, lean, and yet muscular, with chiseled jaws and wicked smiles.

“It was efficient.”

“What?” Joseph sputters. “That is a thing of beauty. The accuracy alone took almost a year to perfect. But who cares about accuracy when you can just spray death? You need one-foot-thick steel to stop those bullets. There isn’t a vest anywhere that stands a chance.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, cousin.” Valen, Percival’s nephew, lifts his wine glass.

All of them are twisted.

Filmore clears his throat, and the entire room goes silent. Not event silent, where you can sort of hear people talk with a microphone. No, this massive room is pin-drop quiet. Even the servers freeze where they are.

“Today, we prepare to welcome a new member to our family. Many years after losing his wife in death, my son Percival finally found a woman who will suit him for the rest of his days. Tomorrow is simply a formality since we’ve already welcomed her into our family and our hearts. She will forever be a Linckester.”

The room explodes in applause.

Weddings are notorious for platitudes that you mean at the moment, yet in reality are but a puff of smoke. This feels different. Final. Do these people not believe in divorce? If they don’t, they’re in for a rude awakening. Mom can’t handle being with the same man for much longer than six months or possibly a year if he’s especially accommodating.

Percival leans close to Mom and kisses her lightly on her lips. The perfect kiss not to ruin her lipstick.

Which was the complete opposite of what Maddox and I did earlier. I really didn’t mind having to reapply it or wiping remnants of it off Maddox’s soft lips.

Stop thinking about kissing him. You’re at a stuffy dinner.

“But not only did Percival bring us a lovely woman. But she brought with her a daughter and soon a son, who is a man of exceptional skills and talent. Not often does a man get to choose his son, as well as his wife. I am thrilled to welcome Maddox Locke into our family.”

What?

No!

Applause shatters my eardrums.

This can’t be.

We just kissed. We were fake dating up until just a little while ago…sort of. Maddox seems to think we’ve been doing it for real for a while now.

This can’t be happening.

Why would Filmore say something like that?

“Is something wrong, my dear? Why are you shaking your head like that?” Filmore asks.

I don’t even look in my mother’s direction. The anger radiating off her is enough. I don’t need to see my imminent demise in her eyes.

“Maddox and I aren’t engaged.”

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