Viola.
Sawyer Residence.
Irvington Village.
Later…
Third glass of champagne.
Lovely.
Barely seconds into the party, and I am already gulping down another glass of champagne.
“Slow down on the champagne, Viola.” Tarian hisses, coldly.
“You know how those things mess with your head.”
I don’t even turn to him.
I just fix my gaze on the door, watching the guests as they pour in.
Even his hiss is as cold as his reception towards me.
“Who cares?” I scoff, indifferently.
“It’s my in-law’s party.
Whoever has a problem with my drinking more than a glass of wine should go to their own in-law’s home.” I finally cut Tarian a look.
The scorn on his face, it should break me.
It should make me retreat into the shadows and cry.
But it doesn’t.
Instead, I stand there, spearing him with my own look.
“You should know better than to act like this, Viola.
You aren’t helping our reputation.” Tarian says, closing the gap between us.
For a moment, I think he wants to lean in and kiss me.
Or maybe embrace me, even if it’s just for the media.
But I am wrong.
Instead, he slowly takes the drink out of my hands, then signals a waiter, who arrives with a tray.
“Take this away.” He orders, coldly.
I frown as I watch the man leave.
“You wouldn’t touch me.
You wouldn’t let me drink.
What do you want from me, Tarian?” I hiss sharply, tears burning my eyes as we lock gazes.
I don’t even wait for his damned reply.
I march away.
My heels click sharply against the marble as I push through the crowd, tears blurring my vision as I put distance, desperate, aching distance, between myself and him.
I walk through the double doors leading to the terrace, and when I reach outside, I inhale a steady breath.
The cold air chills the tears leaking down my face.
My palm presses to my abdomen as I try to suppress the wail clawing its way out of me.
I stare at the open grounds before me, the night pressing in from all sides, only the garden lights chasing the darkness back.
Unable to help it, the soft sobs break out of me.
This isn’t how I planned my life.
I never wanted to suffer in marriage.
I always wanted a home filled with joy and laughter and love.
Memory detonates inside me.
“But Dad, I already have a boyfriend.
He’s a lawyer.
And I already introduced him to you and…”
“End the relationship, Viola.” Dad’s voice came with such finality.
That was years ago, before my marriage to Tarian.
I stared at him, horror-struck.
“End it?
Dad, I love him.
I want to marry him…” I tried to argue.
“What do you know about love, Viola?” Dad asked, circling around the table in his home office until he stood beside me.
I stared at him, unable to understand his madness.
“In our circle, we marry for what suits our family legacies.
And marrying the heir of Sawyer’s Fishing Empire would bring us a lot of connections.
We will have a boost in our business.” Dad said, greedily.
I had heard of Tarian Sawyer.
Every girl wanted him.
But every girl knew he was picky.
Chose only the best and rarest women.
And me, I had thought perhaps he had seen me as such.
A rare woman.
I had assumed he had accepted this marriage the instant Dad told me he was willing to marry me.
I never knew that I was never his choice.
I would have never been his choice, despite being a child born of wealth.
And now, now I suffer the consequences of accepting a marriage that should have never been.
“How long are you gonna cry over Tarian?”
I still at the sound of my brother’s voice behind me.
My palms press against the stone balustrade, my body shaking with the quake tearing through me.
Slowly, he moves closer until he’s standing beside me.
“Shouldn’t you be in the party?” I ask tightly, my gaze flicking toward him.
“And watch my sister suffer?” My wariness softens, just a little, at his tone.
“I saw what happened in there.
I saw you and Tarian arguing.
I couldn’t stay and watch you walk out here alone.” Damon says, quietly.
A shaky sob escapes me, and I break.
He reaches for me and holds me tight, grounding me with a strength I know he barely has.
“Why did you agree to marry him, Viola?” He asks.
I sob again.
“You knew he was awful from all the media said about him.
Picky.
Arrogant.
Why did you still accept?”
“Dad asked me to accept, because of the business…”
“Then Dad should have married him.
Not you.
Not you suffering like this while Coopers Glade booms.” Damon cuts in, hotly.
“Sure, the business is doing well.
But what about you?
You have cried for so many years since this marriage that I barely recognize my sister.”
He breaks the embrace and looks me over.
“Look at you.
You grew your hair, you’re so thin.
It’s like I don’t even recognize you.” He says, sadly.
I look at myself, ashamed of how true his words are.
I look awful, not because of the hair, but because I’ve grown thinner.
Because I haven’t been eating.
These days, food tastes like ashes in my mouth.
Especially since the day I heard Tarian has a new lover.
“It’s all Tarian’s fault.” I say, irritably.
“If he hadn’t accepted to go into that business deal with that woman, if he hadn’t agreed to go on that trip to be with her, then maybe I would have found the eagerness to eat again.” I sob softly.
I turn away from Damon, my eyes following couples in the garden, hands intertwined, laughter soft and easy between them.
“It’s like I don’t even exist for him since he returned from the trip.
He’s being… brooding…”
“Brooding?” Damon echoes.
I nod, slowly turning to him.
“I think something happened on that trip… Maybe she rejected him… Maybe she toyed with his feelings, like he’s been toying with mine.” I ramble, pacing frantically.
Damon steps forward and grips my shoulders.
“Stop, V.
You’ve gone hysterical… look at you…”
I yank myself free.
“What’s there to look at?” I stagger back.
“Is it wrong for me to hope she made him unhappy?
Is it?”
He lowers his head.
And that silence, It cuts deep.
“You’re ashamed of me, aren’t you?” I mutter, weakly.
“You don’t want anything to do with such a woman.”
He shakes his head, lifting his eyes to me.
“No.
I just feel sorry for my sister.” He says it softly.
Like a plea.
It breaks me. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“I want my sister back.”
I stare at him, helpless.
Then I step forward and pull him into an embrace.
We stay like that for seconds.
Lost.
Drowning.
Clinging to something that barely feels solid anymore.
“Come on,” Damon says quietly.
“Let’s go back.
It’s gotten colder.”
He takes my hand and guides me inside.
I close my fingers around his, holding on to his support even as we walk in silence.
Back inside, the party feels louder.
Brighter and suffocating.
“Wait here,” Damon murmurs, leaning close.
“Let me get you some warm meats.
They’ll help heat you up from inside.”
I nod, watching him disappear into the crowd.
And then I search for Tarian.
I find him easily, speaking with a couple of men.
Then the air shifts.
He stiffens.
I see it clearly.
His body goes rigid, his attention snapping toward something behind me.
I turn and follow his gaze.
She stands in the doorway.
Beautiful.
Striking.
Tall, slender, but curved in all the right places.
Her hair falls long, draped to one side, laced with tiny pearls.
Her gown, deep ocean blue, clings to her body.
Slit high along her thigh, exposing long, elegant legs.
But it’s not the gown.
Not the beauty.
It’s the way she’s looking at him.
Locked.
Certain.
Possessive.
“Murieann Amran?” Damon’s voice comes from beside me, pulling me back.
Murieann?
My breath catches.
My chest tightens.
“What is she doing here?” Damon asks.
My vision blurs.
My husband invited her?
Invited his whore to this party?
“How dare he…” I whisper, shock curdling into something far uglier inside me.
Because in that moment, Murieann smiles.
Not at the room.
Not at anyone else.
But at Tarian.
And Tarian, Tarian steps toward her, like I do not exist.
Like I have never existed.
My fingers curl slowly into fists at my sides.
My nails bite into my palms.
And before I can stop myself, before I can think, before I can breathe, I start walking toward them.
Because if Tarian thinks he can humiliate me in my own in law’s home, in front of everyone, then tonight, I will burn this entire marriage to the ground.