SIX
Erin
I sat at the table surrounded by all six of Oscars siblings. Cillian’s wife, Bia, their son Brayden, who is a few weeks older than Charlie, and Oscar’s parents.
None of them are friendly. I knew they wouldn’t welcome me but I had no idea it would be like this.
The Cillian who had drove me here earlier today, is no longer present and each family member is either giving me the cold shoulder or is giving me some form of hateful glare. And if I thought marrying Oscar was bad enough, well this is just the mother fucking icing on the cake.
No one said a word during the whole meal. Thankfully, the boys were carried off to bed after dinner and the nannies put them to bed, that was also an issue I am battling with. I hate Charlie being carted off by a complete stranger to me. Who was he around during those weeks while I was being tortured? Was Oscar even with him? I want Charlie to be raised by me, not a bunch of nannies.
“Why did you hide Charlie from Oscar and us?”
Oscar’s mother, Grace, asks me.
“After I confirmed I was pregnant, I looked up Oscar, I found an article with that was about his company. I showed up there , trying to see him, but was turned away. When I was leaving I saw something I shouldn’t have.”
“What did you see?” she asks.
“I…uhh.”
“It’s better to be honest dear,”
she says firmly but gently.
“I saw Oscar being…aggressive with another man.”
“Aggressive?”
Keegan asks looking slightly amused.
“Yes, that is one way you could describe it.”
“What was I doing?”
Oscar demands as his hand clamps on my thigh.
“You were being rough with him that was...until…”
I say, taking a deep breath.
“Until what?”
he harshly demands.
“Oscar!”
Grace scolds him. He nods at her, but tightens his grip on my thigh. I have to blink away the tears from the agony that is spreading. I feel like he is trying to snap my bones.
“He...he…shot him.”
I barely manage to get out.
“No wonder you ran,”
Bia says sympathetically.
“I thought I was keeping Charlie safe.”
“You were doing what any mother would have done,”
Grace says and Peter nods along with her.
“Do I wish I had more time with my grandson? Absolutely. But I’m also very proud to know that no matter what you will always do what is best for him,”
Peter says.
“Thank you, and if it counts for anything, I never kept him away to be mean. I was just afraid. Between what I saw and the rumors that circulate about your family... I just wanted him to grow up happy and healthy,”
I say wiping the tears from my face. I was determined to stay strong, but when it comes to Charlie he is my weakness. Oscar removes his hand from my thigh and replaces my hand with his as he dries my eyes.
“It’s okay dear. Are you going to co-parent or…”
Grace asks, but Oscar cuts her off.
“We will be getting married.”
“Married?”
Kayleigh asks.
“Yes, got anything to say?”
Oscar asks with a bit of attitude.
“Watch it,”
his father demands but then he talks turns to me.
“Why are you rushing? Is she pregnant again?”
“No, sir.”
“None of that sir stuff, especially if you are getting married,”
he says with a tiny and I mean tiny smile.
“Erin isn’t pregnant but we feel that us getting married is for the best,”
Oscar says, I watch as he eyes each one of his family members down, almost begging them to argue with him. Cillian holds Oscar’s gaze the longest before he shakes his head. I wonder what that is about.
It doesn’t take everyone long to finish eating. Bia, Cillian, Aiden, and Kayleigh all come over and give me a somewhat friendly goodnight. Keegan comes over and gives me a hug, and I’m pretty sure he was teasing Oscar over my shoulder because Oscar forcefully removed him from the hug before shoving him out the door. If I wasn’t so afraid of offending anyone, I might have laughed.
Grace and Peter come up to us next. Peter pulls Oscar to the side and Grace starts talking to me.
“Why don’t you meet me tomorrow after breakfast and I can help you plan the wedding?”
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
We wish them good night and head up to Oscar’s wing. When we get inside I go to Charlie’s room and check on him. I find him asleep in his crib and whisper goodnight to him. Oscar scares me when I feel his hand on my lower back.
I freeze as I watch him say goodnight to Charlie. Then he grabs my hand and pulls me from Charlie’s room. I quietly follow him until he pulls me into what I’m assuming is his room. I stand still when he lets go of my hand and walks into his closet. He comes back with a shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
“Turn around,”
he tells me, but when I don’t move fast enough, he spins me around and starts unzipping my dress.
I try to fight him, saying “Oscar please, no.”
“I’m just taking your dress off so I can clean your bandages before helping you change.”
he says sounding a bit pissed, “I’m not a monster.”
How the hell do I respond to that? Besides that one fuck we had, has only ever been a monster to me. Do I think he maybe isn’t to people who are close to him? Sure. But he hasn’t showed me any sign of that. I watch as he comes back with new bandages and stand tensely as he takes off the old ones and puts new ones on.
“Daniel said he will be coming here tomorrow. I will make sure I’m here when he is here.”
I nod, but that isn’t good enough for him.
“Words, Erin. I want to hear words.”
“Okay,”
I say, but he doesn’t respond to me. He just busies himself with putting the shirt and sweatpants on me. After he is satisfied that I’m dressed, he tells me my hygiene stuff is in the bathroom.
I quickly do what I need to do to get ready for bed, and it is dark when I exit the bathroom. I guess I’m sleeping on the couch or I could sleep on the floor in Charlie’s room. When I grab the door handle, Oscar’s voice startles me so much that I squeak.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“I figured I would sleep on the couch or on the floor in Chalie’s room.”
I hear the blankets being moved around but keep my face to the door afraid to meet his eye. Maybe if I’m lucky, he is getting blankets, and then I can go to sleep. Again, he scares me when I feel his arm wrapped around my waist and his other hand shuts the door before bracing it above my head. I barely hold in my gasp when he brings his chest gently to my back, but even with all these bandages. I can feel the steel rod that is sitting against my ass.
“Why the hell would you sleep in either of those places, aingeal.”
“You were already laying down, and I figured you didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“Oh, aingeal, I want you to disturb me. I want you,”
he says as he grinds his cock against me.
“But I will be good and wait. Once you are healed, I plan on spending the day inside your cunt, emptying load after load of inside of you, and we will do that every day until I know I have you pregnant.”
he huskily whispers in my ear as he moves his hand up my body until it is around my throat, I let out something between a gasp and a moan.
“Now, be a good girl and get in bed,”
he orders me as he lets go of my throat. I nod and as quickly as I can I climb inside the bed. I watch as Oscar in his tight boxers, climb in the bed behind me, and he rotates us so that I’m lying on his chest. My body freezes I have never been this close with a man in such an intimate position, quick fucks in a car are one thing, but this? I have never done this before and it feels weird doing it with Oscar.
He must feel me tense, and he mumbles. “Go to sleep.”
I make myself relax, but I lay awake in this position for hours before I can finally fall asleep.
It seems like I just closed my eyes when I hear Charlie calling for me over the monitor, I start to get up and realize Oscar is already out of bed when I hear him talking to Oscar over the monitor.
“Hey, big boy. Let's go get something to eat and let Mama get some more sleep. She has had a rough couple weeks and needs some sleep.”
Charlie babbles, responding back to him.
“Is that so? You have such a pretty mama, but she is very tired. Mama needs her sleep. But Daidí will feed you, change you, and then we can play until Daidí has to go to work,”
he says and I can hear the smile in his voice even through the monitor. Oscar is offering me a chance to sleep in, but I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Since Charlie was born, once I’m awake, I can't go back to bed.
I’m way too nervous about meeting with Grace anyway, I hope she can help me because I have no idea how to plan a fancy wedding.
Oscar spots me the moment I step into the kitchen and gives me a smile, I watch as he finishes cutting up fruit into tiny pieces for Charlie, who seems to eat it as fast as Oscar is cutting it up for him. Charlie looks up when his plate is empty, but he sees me, and starts to babble.
I walk up to him and give him a kiss on his cheek. “Good morning, baby. Are you eating your breakfast?”
Charlie gives me a big smile.
“Go and have a seat Erin.”
Oscar tells me as he hands me a cup of coffee.
I sit next to Charlie and take a sip of coffee. I close my eyes. “Mhm.”
I hear a low growl and look up to see Oscar staring at me with hungry eyes.
What? But I look down and see the tent in his sweatpants… Oh shit.
“Sorry,”
I say, and keep my eyes on Charlie. I hear Oscar mumble something under his breath but I can't understand.
“Just eat,”
he says as he sets our plates down. We don’t say anything to each other, but with a slight smile on his face as he watches me with Charlie. I guess even though I am being forced into a loveless marriage at least I can take comfort in knowing he cares for Charlie. Let’s be honest I have known for years that love was never in the cards for me. Why would it be?
This isn’t a fairytale. I’m no Cinderella, and Oscar is definitely no Prince Charming. Maybe he will be for someone, but not for me. He is way out of my league, but I will do anything for Charlie.
“I will stay here with Charlie until the nanny shows up. You need to get ready to meet Ma.”
“Okay,”
I tell him as I bring the plates to the sink and get ready to start washing them.
“Leave them, Erin. We have a maid.”
“It’s really no big deal.”
“Erin. I said you need to get ready.”
“But…”
“I said go get ready,”
he says grabbing the plate from my hands. He places it in the sink before pushing me out of the kitchen and toward the bedroom. I decided against protesting and just get ready.
Oscar pulls me towards the closet and opens the door. I watch him as he walks inside, and he looks back at me and curls his finger, calling me toward him. I step inside the closet and my jaw hits the floor.
“How? Why? What?”
“I bought you your own wardrobe.”
“But why?”
“You are going to be my wife and you will dress as such.”
Ouch. I know I am beneath you. You don’t have to rub it in my face, asshole. I watch as he studies my face. By the smirk on his face, I didn’t mask how much I want to strangle him. Kill him with kindness. I give him a smile, watching as he goes from cocky to annoyed.
“Here wear this,”
he says as he shoves a dress at my chest before he storming out of the closet.
A couple hours later, I’m sitting down with Grace, Bia, and Kayleigh. We have only been working on plans for about an hour, and I already feel like my head is going to explode. I couldn’t believe it when I was told the wedding would be around three thousand people. Three thousand!!!! Then Grace told me they saved five hundred people for me to invite.
“I don’t know five hundred people.”
“Sure, you do darling. It can be family, people who you went to school with, or old co-workers. Anyone you want to show off to.”
“Honestly, I don’t. I am an orphan and don’t barely have any friends. I tend to keep to myself besides a few people.”
Bia grabs my hand and squeezes it.
“No worries, you have us now. And I think you are extremely brave for what you did.”
“You don’t hate me for keeping Charlie from you?”
Grace walks over to my chair and lifts me up before, giving me a hug. It feels so…. warm and…. safe. It takes me a minute to wrap my arms around her, and I cling to her, not wanting this feeling to end. It has been years since I have felt like this.
When she pulls away, I don’t even realize I am crying until she wipes the tears off my face.
“It’s been a long time, huh?”
“Yeah, since my parents passed when I was a little girl.”
“Oh, darling. You are family now, regardless of what happens between you and Oscar. You did what you thought was right. You kept Charlie safe when you thought Oscar could be a danger to him, you protected him like any mother would.”
“Thank you. I really thought I was doing what was for the best.”
“I know that it may take Oscar a bit longer to understand that. Out of all my children, he is probably the most hardheaded one, but he also has the biggest heart. He has been searching for you since you disappeared on him.”
“What?”
“The men don’t think I know what goes on, but I do. I knew that he had been searching for a aingeal.”
(his angel)
“Oh, I had no idea.”
“It’s okay. Why don’t we stop for today? Plus, I want to spend time with my grandbaby and I have months of spoiling to make up for. Come on.”
I follow her up to Oscar’s wing, and we spend the next few hours playing with Charlie. At one point Peter joins us. I expect him to be cold like the rumors that I have heard about him say he is, but I watch as he gets on the floor in his suit that would cost me a lifetime to afford and builds blocks with Charlie and falls to the ground dramatically every time Charlie knocks them over. Peter’s face lights up every time Charlie laughs.
We join everyone for dinner but Oscar never shows up. He didn’t even show up for my doctor’s appointment like he said he would. After dinner, I bring Charlie to Oscar’s wing and put him to bed.
When Oscar climbs into bed, in the middle of the night and pulls me to his chest. I can smell an overpowering amount of perfume on him and see a lipstick stain on his neck, both a clear giveaway about where he had been. I tried to pull away, but his arms of steel won’t budge. I wait until he falls asleep, and his arms relax around my body. As soon as I can I get out of his arms and scrub my body before I fall back asleep in the chair in Charlie’s room.
At least now I know where I stand with Oscar. If he wants to sleep around that’s fine, but he won’t be sticking his infected dick in me.