Chapter 29

Chapter 29

-DAMIAN-

“Okay. Tell me what you did to Millicent,” Nancy cornered me halfway through this surprise engagement party she had planned for Millicent and me.

Thank fuck she didn’t go all out and invited more people than our inner circle. My friends were here: Luke, Matt, Charlie, Madeline, and Savannah. She also invited my cousins, aunt, and uncle, whom I only see at family gatherings. Millicent’s friends were here, and her extended family. Forty people gathered in one of the Black Hotel’s function halls, and this was as intimate as she could get in Nancy’s book. It was more of a family gathering than an explosive party I thought she would do..

“What?” I met Nancy’s probing gaze. “What makes you think I did something to Millicent?” I murmured defensively.

After greeting everyone that came, my bottle of whiskey and I had been holed up in the bar. Charlie and Madeline are on the dance floor. This girl, Adie, I think she’s Millicent’s distant cousin. approached Matt and asked him for a dance, while Luke and Savannah disappeared somewhere moments ago.

Nancy’s huge round earrings dangled as she blew a heavy breath through her nose, shaking her head. She closed her eyes. controlling her anger, then parked her hands on her hips. She looked like a beast trying her best not to pounce on her prey. It still sent une chills. Nancy might not have given birth to me, but she did a perfect job of being a mother to me, even when I initially showed animosity towards her.

“Millicent can’t even stand your presence. You must’ve done something to her.” She pinned me with her motherly lie- detector eyes.

My l*ps pursed. The moment I saw Millicent in her figure-hugging royal blue dress, I instantly felt the pull to come to her and mark her in front of our family and friends. Almost was the right word. Then I remembered how she slammed the door in my face on Wednesday, so I’d avoided her at all costs.

Sure enough, Nancy would get a whiff of what was happening between Millicent and me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I tossed back the contents of my glass, then filled it again. “You women are so freaking unpredictable you do things for no reason.”

Freaking women. Their mind was like a puzzle I couldn’t piece together. One moment, Millicent was all over me, spreading her legs, begging me to make her come, then she’d gone cold the next as if I had done something wrong. I’ve been mapping a woman’s pleasure for decades. There’s nothing wrong with my skills. So what was her problem?

“Then why are you two ignoring each other?” Nancy fired, steam bleaching from her nose. My answer cl home.

Shrugging. I focused on the lively room where our guests mingled, enjoying the meal Nancy and Leon planned. I’ve never seen so much of our family gathered in one place since Candice’s wedding. Laughte grabbed my attention. Millicent was surrounded by her friends; Candice, Andrea, and a number of her her head back, laughing at something Andrea said, but like on Wednesday, that smile never reached her e

“You know girls, they need space sometimes. I’m just giving her what she needs-f**king hell!” I groaned w pinched my ears with her long claws, pulling my head down to her eye level.

“You clueless brat,” Nancy hissed in my ears. “Have you been born yesterday? After fooling around for so long. know how a girl’s mind works? Wh

they ask for space, it’s usually the other way around. You must’ve done son hurt Millicent’s feelings. And you hiding here isn’t helping

“Alright! Alright!” I screeched. If Nancy was a man, she wouldn’t get away with humiliating me like this.

My cousins around the bar laughed at me. Nancy glared at them and they turned the other way.

“That’s what I thought.

table

Seething, I glared at my stepmother. If only I could tell her what truly happened, then she wouldn’t be putting all the blan

on me.

O

09:26 Sat, Feb 10 M

Chapter 29

She grabbed my glass of whiskey and drank it. I reached for my ears, heaving when it was still attached to my head. “Take Millicent, go on a date, or do whatever you guys want to do and sort your shit.”

I stared at her, wide-eyed. Didn’t she plan this gathering to announce our engagement?

“What?” She reached for the bottle this time and drank from the remaining quarter content

“Luke said you’ll announce our engagement tonight?” Looking at Nancy now, I realize she looked different from the usually composed Nancy I grew up knowing.

“Have you seen your Aunt Martha?” she murmured, slanted eyes sliding towards the table where Aunt Martha was; a crowd gathered around her. Wearing a gold dress hugging her b*dy so tightly, I wondered if she could still breathe. Chandelier earrings pulled her carlobes down, gold gripping her n*eck and wrist.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what Aunt Martha did to Nancy this time. They never really liked each other. In Nancy’s defense, no one in our family actually liked Aunt Martha.

“She compared my dress to a lumpia!” Nancy hissed, gesturing down to her white wrap-around dress. “I couldn’t answer back because I don’t know what lumpia is!

I snorted. Nancy slapped my arm, and we fell into a fit of laughter. “Come on. Nancy, You know better than to listen to Aunt Martha. And you look stunning

Looking less somber, Nancy ordered a glass of vodka cranberry from the bartender.

“Talk to Millicent. I cannot announce your engagement to the family like this. I’ve been watching you two all night. It’s like you can’t stand the presence of each other. Fix that this instant. Damian.” Her last statement was an order, and it’s not up for discussion

I nodded and left Nancy at the bar, greeting Leanor on my way to the table where I last saw Millicent. She wasn’t there.

“She went to the ladies’ room, Candice said.

Once I shut the door of the function hall behind me, silence embraced me. The hallway was so silent the tap of my Italian shoes against the granite floor bounced on the wall. The same silence allowed me to hear the faint sound of a woman’s shriek I stopped in my tracks and listened closely. Then, a loud bang sounded from the end of the hallway where the restrooms were located.

I sprinted towards the restroom, heart lodged in my throat as the sound of struggling became more

“Get off me!” Millicent screamed, a loud bang rang again.

prominent.

Seeing red, I kicked the door open. A guy dressed in all black had Millicent wedged on the cubicle wa around her n*eck, his gloved hand pressing a knife on her n*eck, blood dribbling where the blade touch

Vision tunneling, I locked eyes with the guy’s blue eyes rounded as he watched me charge at him. He th floor

On shivering legs, Millicent scrambled out of the way.

Masked guy jumped out of the cubicle, charging at me with his knife, aiming for my throat. I dodged his blow side, gripped his wrist, lifted a knee to his gut, and dug an elbow into his spine. He dropped to the floor, rolling kick at his side. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted out of the restroom as though it were on fire:

I was gonna run after him when Millicent called my name. She leaned against the wall, a hand pressed on her side, oozing from the np on her dress

09:26 Sat, Feb 10