Chapter 30
Daisy
“Oh wow, this is gorgeous, Daisy,” Aurelia gushed. I cringed inwardly as everyone piled into my private dressing room.
“Thanks.” I turned away from them all. I couldn’t look at anyone directly.
“How did you manage this?” Cori, another dancer, asked. She stood with Skye. The matching expression on their faces said what they were thinking.
“I—”
“She’s the Prima Ballerina, is she not?” Max, of all people, pushed through the room, throwing his arm around me. “That calls for certain privileges. I think it’s well deserved.” He grinned, and when I looked up at him, he hurried to kiss me. He’d moved so fast I hadn’t had time to move. Heat flooded my face, knowing that Gatsby was in the back of the room, observing this.
“Oh, I’m sure you earned it.” Skye snickered.
Madame De La Rosa scolded her, “Enough, Skye?—”
“Actually, it’s Lilly now.”
Lilly? As in... the flower ?
Like… Daisy?
“Lilly, whatever, I don’t care. You want a private room, be a stronger dancer. Let’s move on.” Madame waved for us to leave and continue the tour.
“Lilly,” I said out loud.
Max’s grip on my waist tightened.
“Don’t start.”
I opened and then shut my mouth. I had too many things to tangle with; I didn’t want to deal with her right now.
“We’ll talk about this when we get home.” He flashed a smile and nodded to the others in front of us. A lump dropped into my stomach at his ominous tone.
The tour finished in a blur, ending with Max and Gatsby shaking hands again.
“It’s been a pleasure.” Max nodded to him. “We need to sit down sometime.”
“Yes, I’d love to have you for dinner.” Gatsby flashed a smile just as fake as Max’s. He turned to me, reaching for my hand. “And Daisy, it’s always a treat seeing you.” He lifted it to his mouth and pressed his lips to my skin. It burned with a hunger I’d never felt before. I longed to run into his arms, but forced myself to stay next to Max. Gatsby’s kiss and his gaze as he let me go told me what he couldn’t.
All in good time.
“Yes, dinner sounds great. I’ll be in touch. I love what you’ve done with the place.” Max snatched my hand and dragged me out of the building and to his car. He got into his side and gripped the steering wheel tight as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“You’re not dancing there.”
“What? Why not?” I protested.
“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t see how he looked at you. What about this private room? Fully furnished? That wasn’t cheap. How exactly did you convince him to allow your company to perform there?”
My mouth suddenly felt dry. What should I say? Flashes of this morning, with Gatsby and I in the tub, with his mouth...
“Nothing! We just... talked. I danced for him.” I shrugged.
“Did you ask for that private room?” Max demanded.
“Of course not!” I exclaimed. “Everyone already hates me. Why would I make it worse? You saw how jealous they got. I would never ask for something like that.”
Max kept the permanent scowl on his face as he drove us home.
We got inside, and I tried to rush to my room, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It was a waste of his money, that room. Even if I do allow it, you won’t be dancing there for long.”
“Allow?” I started to protest, but he cut me off.
“Actually, I’ve been up to my own decorating. Come, I want to show you something.”
I ripped my hand out of his grip and reluctantly followed him up the stairs.
“I know you’ve been upset about our September sit-down. It can be hard when things become real. I’ve allowed you to live in your own little bubble. Your selfishness is my fault, really. I let it go on for too long.”
He was rambling on about things I wasn’t entirely sure of. We reached the second floor, where our private wings were. He turned to the right, taking me to his side of the house.
“I opted to put the room here, because once we’re married, we’ll be sharing a bed. This is what I was talking about. I let you have this little fantasy life of your own room, your own belongings. Soon, we’ll be sharing everything, Daisy.”
With each step down the hall, the pit in my stomach grew larger. The shadows that filled this house for as long as I’d lived here grew darker, larger, and more threatening. We stopped in front of a door, and he turned, smiling.
“Go ahead, open it.”
Swallowing, I reached for the knob. I turned and pushed the door open. Max flicked a light on and together we peered inside.
I stiffened, looking around the room.
“What is this?”
Max pushed me inside. I protested, digging my heels into the carpet, but he was stronger than me. I stayed by the door, ready to bolt.
“Isn’t it obvious?” He chuckled. “It’s a nursery. You didn’t spend much time in Lydia’s nursery, and I think it’s the reason you never bonded with her. But once we’re married, I want to continue our family, and you need to have a room you enjoy. What do you think?”
I couldn’t think. A voice was in my head, screaming, “No!”
I opened my mouth, but no words would come out. I stared at all the baby furniture. A crib, swing, dressers and tables. Soft blue pastels covered the room with little moons and stars. A room that was meant to be filled with love and excitement was one of pure horror to me. I shook my head and took a step backward.
“I—no. I don’t want this.” I found my voice, and my eyes finally flicked to Max.
“Want? Daisy, this isn’t about want. I need a son. I thought you’d like this.” He rubbed his face. “You’re impossible sometimes. ”
“I’m impossible? When have I ever expressed interest in this?” I motioned to the room in disgust.
“When you came home with me from that clinic,” he spat. “Or have you forgotten our agreement?”
My mouth snapped shut as Max stormed over, grabbing my chin. He squeezed it, using it to shove me against the wall.
“I don’t know when this attitude developed toward me. When we got together, we agreed that we’d get married, and our family would grow as much as I wanted. You knew this and agreed. There’re no takebacks. I’ve given you your way for a long time. I let you sleep apart from me. I let you continue to dance. I even let you hang out with that cousin and security guard of yours. But I’m losing patience. I don’t know what you did with that Gatsby asshole, but it’s over. You will not make a fool out of me.”
As he spoke, he squeezed harder and harder. I whimpered, and tears sprang from my eyes, spilling down my cheeks onto his hand. He let me go and stared at his hand in disgust. He stepped back and shook his head.
“The only reason you’re not pregnant right now is that I don’t want a belly bulging out of your wedding dress. We need to have some fucking class.” He slammed his hand on the wall two inches from my head, causing me to flinch and yelp.
“I—Max…” I licked my lips. Courage swelled in my chest for a split second, and then I looked into his murderous eyes and instantly fell back. “This is a bit much. Shouldn’t I have a say in decorating a nursery?”
His anger subsided almost instantly. “I just wanted to show you the potential. The room is yours to fully change. If you don’t like the theme, pick another one.”
I gulped and nodded. “Okay.” The word came out in a tiny whisper. “I have to go. ”
I hurried out of the room and flew down the hall, back to my own wing of the house. I slammed it shut, resting my back on the wood. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.
This has gone on too long, too far. I had to get out before he hurt me.
Steadying my heart and airflow, I stepped away and went to set the bolt lock. My hand froze mid-air.
He’d removed it. The holes where the screws had been were still there. Fear gripped me as I stared at them.
What did this mean?