Page 11 of When the Last One Falls
Desperate to salvage some pride, I said, “Thank you for performing the ceremony. You did a lovely job.”
He smiled at me as he produced a card from behind the Bible pages. When he handed it to me, he said, “If you ever need someone to talk to, you can reach me anytime.”
I could feel the sting of embarrassment on my cheeks, but I still did my best not to take it out on this nice man. “Thank you. I appreciate the gesture.”
“Of course,” he replied softly.
When I turned away from the minister, I saw everyone looking at me with that same pity, and that just pissed me off. Though Brantley and his father were missing, the others were looking at me likeIwas the one making the mistake here. They were looking at me as ifI’dbeen the one responsible for finding myself in this mess, and I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier.
Brantley was acting as if I was the reason that we were here, and I wasn’t. Hell,myreason was the only noble reason for being here. I was here for my sister. What was he here for? More riches? More money? More power? It sure in the hell wasn’t because he had a sick sister or brother that needed his help. If he had the kind of money to bail my parents out, then he definitely didn’t need anything from anyone.
He was here because of greed, plain and simple.
“Now, Keris-”
I stormed past my parents in search of my new husband. He could feel resentful all he wanted, but he wasnotgoing to treat me like crap. This might be a business transaction, but even business associates showed each other a quorum of respect.
Never having been in this house before, I had no idea where I was going, but it wasn’t long before the sound of raised voices met my ears. There was no mistaking the heated argument going on near another sitting room.
“I don’t give a fuck,” came Brantley’s voice.
“That was completely unacceptable,” Darius bit out. “And unnecessary.”
“Look, you said that all I had to do was marry her,” Brantley snapped. “I did that, okay? I married her. You never said shit about respecting her, spending time with her, living with her, or anything else.”
“Brant-”
“No!” he yelled. “I did what you asked, and she got what she fucking wanted. She’s bought and paid for just like you guys agreed to.”
Bought and paid for?
“She’s your wife, Brantley-”
“No, she’s not,” Brantley argued. “She’s just a stranger that I married to better the family legacy. She isnotmy wife.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why his words hurt, especially when he was right, but it was clear that my hope for a respectful relationship was not going to be possible. It was clear that we were going to be married on paper only, and I could only imagine what that was going to do for appearances. With a sperm bank looking more like a possibility now more than ever, if I didn’t get a black hair, blue-eyed specimen, people were definitely going to talk.
“Be reasonable-”
“Oh, I think I’m being more than reasonable,” Brantley spat. “Considering what I’m giving up in order to give this family what it wants, I think I’m being extremely reasonable right now.”
“Your marriage will be a matter of public record, Brantley,” Darius reminded him. “People will be expecting you guys to make appearances-”
“Well, they’re not going to get them. So, if I were you, I’d keep this disaster as quiet as possible. Especially, since I have no plans to give up the pussy that I actuallydowant.”
That was enough for me.
No matter the reason, rejection wasn’t anything that anyone enjoyed feeling. Though Brantley had refused to meet me before this morning, I’d had every intention of having a serious talk with him after the ceremony. My hope had been to make this marriage work for us in a way that would suit us both, instead of what our parents had concocted it to be, but hope was fucking stupid.
Stepping away from their heated argument, I maneuvered my way back towards the sitting room where the ceremony had taken place. Finding it empty, I kept walking until I found myself back near the foyer of the front door. I could hear my parents talking to Mrs. Kingston, but I had no idea if the minister was with them or if he had fled, saving himself.
I headed for the front door, but then I saw a very delicate piece of ceramic that decorated one of the shelves on the east side of the foyer walls. It was an intriguing piece, a bowl of sorts, but then not. The hues were gorgeously blended together, and it looked like something that I might have decorating my office at Impressions.
Not looking to be any more humiliated than I’d already been in front of the minister, I slid the gorgeous five-carat diamond wedding set off my finger, then placed it in the ceramic bowl. The rings were obviously high-quality when the weight of the rings clinked around in the bowl. The weight was now noticeably absent from my finger, and come hell or high water, I was going to match Brantley’s energy and pretend like this morning never happened.
As I quietly walked out of the Kingston home, I thought about Huntley and Dylan. If anyone could help me navigate through a loveless marriage, it was them two. They were definitely going to be able to help me through the pitfalls of this disaster, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I drove off from the property, not even telling my parents that I’d left, and halfway home, I thought about all the things that I’d overheard. He still planned on sleeping with other women, and it made me wonder about my own fidelity. It looked like my marriage was going to be just like everyone else’s in this fucked-up city, and I just needed to remind myself that Lindsey was worth it.
