Chapter 26 #2
Wow. She looked gorgeous. I knew she was gorgeous, but in her family’s cottage, she appeared a queen in a room of peasants.
What was more, she knew it. How had she gone from the insecure girl to become the goddess?
And how did she get through every day after she lost all of them?
It wasn’t something I let myself think before, but suddenly I realized the weight of her being alone.
Dina loved those men enough that she’d agreed to a life she couldn’t fathom, but they were gone.
Yet she remained, and she still shined. At seventy-something years old, she commanded every eye in the room as if it had always been her birthright.
I finally spotted all four of my Lents entering together.
They wore matching blue blazers, yet each one of them dressed slightly differently.
Their pants matched, too: expensive khakis.
I grinned. Barrett wore a bow tie, which struck me as the perfect choice for him.
The guy who restored his Mercedes wears a bow tie to events .
Julian’s collar was open, and I could just peek at a bit of his golden chest. Jeremy’s shirt was untucked, but Phoenix was buttoned all the way up—he even actually wore a red and blue tie.
The large headphones around his neck suggested he might put them on and tune out the world at any given moment, though.
His eyes were clear, and I breathed in relief. He likely only took the meds he took when he wanted to be alert—over alert. He took them to be on edge.
The older three were stopped by adults I didn’t know and started chatting. Someone tried to grab Phoenix, but he winced away before he struck up a conversation.
I shifted from foot to foot, because I should probably enter the room fully, but being a wallflower felt more comfortable.
The Joneses from Jersey were there, but I didn’t see Jo or Randall.
I spotted Marco with people who looked like his parents.
His mother wore a white dress so sheer she could’ve been naked.
It looked like a spread from that old eighties show, where everyone looked rich and glamorous. I noticed, though, how everyone watched everyone else. I could stream those on YouTube.
A band outside played music, which then repeated through speakers hidden throughout the house.
They likely had dancing on the outside patio, but the inside decorations made the house look like a star- filled night.
A chandelier I’d never seen before added to the effect, its twinkling small lights pouring over the dining room.
Food overflowed from the buffets, with servers running around with trays of smaller offerings.
Phoenix spotted me, and my whole body knew it before I even looked up to meet his gaze. He walked away from the woman talking to him without a backward glance. Abruptly, he stopped, grabbing a flower from a vase before he resumed his stride over to me.
“Hello, Red.” His voice was low as he handed me the rose.
I blinked, heat flooding my cheeks. “I love giving you roses. You glow like I handed you a diamond. I would, you know? Hand you a diamond. I would hand you anything. Seeing you in that dress is like a fulfillment of a dream I didn’t know I had. ”
I stared into his sincere brown eyes. It was such an un-Phoenix thing to say, so beautiful.
“Don’t give me diamonds. I love this rose.
I loved the last one, too.” Despite forgetting it in our rush to the Hamptons.
“You look incredible. So handsome. I never could have pictured you in a suit and tie.”
“This look? This is how I’ll be at Pullman all year. I hate it.” He drew me against him. “You are stunning. What have they done to you? I feel like … I feel like I’m seeing a different version of you from some other time.”
It was as if he’d read my mind from earlier. “Don’t I look like I’m playing dress up in someone else’s life?”
“You look like you’re too good for me to talk to or touch, but I’m going to anyway.”
Julian appeared at his side, his gaze sweeping over me. “I couldn’t have imagined this. You are so gorgeous, the most beautiful woman in this room.”
“Stop. You look handsome, too. I can’t decide if I like this or if I want to hide.” I shook my head. “I asked them for something that wouldn’t make me stand out too much.”
He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek. “They failed.”
Julian pulled back just in time for his brothers to arrive. Barrett shook his head. “I was afraid I imagined it, how beautiful you looked, but I didn’t. You are so pretty.”
“A vision, really, ” Jeremy said in a low, reverent voice. “I could look at you all day.”
Over his shoulder, Stephen caught my eye.
While he chatted with someone else, he furrowed his brow.
Something concerned him. I didn’t get to question what because Rosalind arrived right then, at the top of the stairs, on Kit’s arm.
She wore a gray, sheer, sparkling gown that clung to her every curve.
All conversation stopped and everyone stared in breathlessness as she floated down the stairs.
Her hair hung in a flowing banner, gracing her delicate shoulders.
Kit wore a black jacket with a white shirt and a black and gray tie, his attention entirely focused on Rosalind.
They could be royalty.
“Your mother is incredible,” I whispered honestly to all of them.
Julian touched the small of my back. “Alatheia, you know you’re breathtaking, right? Can’t you feel it?”
Conversation picked back up and to my surprise, Rosalind turned toward us. “Alatheia, you look stunning.” She touched the side of my face. “Beautiful. Enjoy yourself. Boys.” She smiled at them. “You all look so handsome. I think they did a nice job with the decorations.”
Barrett smiled at her. “They made your vision come true, Mom. We all know it’s all you.”
“Oh!” she practically glowed. “Have fun. I know this is not your favorite thing, but maybe tonight will be better than past years?” She smiled at me again.
Her kindness confused me—didn’t she hate me?
Dina floated over to us. “Gentleman, your uncle Stephen needs to see you. Outside. Now. Alatheia, come with me. I want to introduce you to some young men.”
“You what?” Jeremy whirled around, but the glint in his granny’s eyes stopped him. “Not funny. Keep her away from all the other men, Granny. What does Uncle Stephen want?” As he asked the question, he joined his brothers on their way out the door.
Dina took my arm. “Come meet my friends, darling.”
For once, I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong. I felt included—like one of them—and I found the sensation heady. I could literally roll around in it.
I met five or six of Dina’s oldest friends.
I wondered if they lived a lifestyle like hers, but I didn’t know how to tell.
In any case, they embraced me as Dina and I promised several times to visit all of them in the City when I got back home.
They wanted to show me their New York, because all of them had favorite spots I just had to see.
Barrett appeared behind me, taking my hand. “Excuse me ladies, I’m stealing her.”
“It was so nice meeting all of you,” I managed to say before Barrett tugged me outside to the patio.
He said simply, “I need to dance with you.”
That is so sweet. “Is Stephen okay?”
“Yes. He just needed to remind us of some truths. Apparently, we weren’t quite playing our roles correctly, but I am going to dance with you. Everyone is going to have to be okay with that, because I have been dreaming of dancing with you since we found this dress.”
He tugged me against him on the dance floor. I pointed out, “You know I can’t dance.”
“You can.”
It was like a fairytale. I never dreamed of being a princess, preferring to slay my own dragons, but I loved how it felt to dance with Barrett Lent.
When the song ended, he led me away. “Thank you, Alatheia. That will be the best part of my night. Of many nights.”
People were still entering the party—apparently not everyone got the memo that they were supposed to be there before Rosalind made her entrance. I saw a fire breather entertaining a crowd and a magician in another area. It seemed no expense had been spared on entertainment.
My mind stuttered then. For a second, I couldn’t believe what I saw, then I thought I must be crazy. I blinked twice, because it couldn’t really be happening. Entering the room with another laughing couple was my Aunt Amelia followed by her boyfriend, Ted.
I nearly lost my balance when Barrett didn’t expect me to stop and almost yanked me forward.
“Sweetheart?”
I stared at them still, trying to make it be anything else, but I knew. It absolutely was them. They are here. What are they doing here? My heart pounded fast and hard in my chest, but it felt as though all breath left my body. How can they be here? Why?
Amelia made eye contact with me before turning to Rosalind, who stopped to greet them. Ted’s gaze traveled over my body, as it always had, and my skin went icy cold as nausea turned my stomach. The color faded from the room.
Rosalind turned and stared at me before looking back at them.
What is she saying? I had to get closer even as every cell in my body begged me to turn around and run from the room. I need to flee. Danger .
The last time I’d seen her, she’d beaten me.
The last time I saw Ted, he tried to rape me.
But they are here . Aunt Amelia, tall and severe with her sharp features, stood beside Ted, whose presence was menacing with his cold eyes and imposing build.
Unlike the rest of my mother’s family, she was blonde haired to go with her dark eyes, a beautiful woman.
Probably the prettiest out of all of my mom’s sisters, and everyone told her so.
The twins were cute. Did my mother like being called cute?
I couldn’t think about that. I just couldn’t think at all.
I could hear my aunt’s shrill voice, and every word hit me like a coffin nail. “I just can’t believe you have her here. You know she isn’t to be trusted. I’m sorry but you need to get her out of here. You won’t believe what she tried to do to Ted.”
This is happening. Again. In the middle of this party . “Sweetheart,” Barrett said again but this time he had Jeremy with him. “What’s happening?”
I clutched at my throat, the pearls not giving me any strength, but how could they? It was such a nice fantasy, the idea I could make things work. Aloud, I managed, “Barrett, do you remember what I told you about what happened to me in Chicago?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“What happened?” Jeremy looked between us. Julian arrived, his hand on my back, and Phoenix hovered next to Barrett.
“That’s Ted. And my Aunt Amelia.”
Barrett whirled around. “What?”
I couldn’t say it again. “That’s them.”
I turned to Julian. To Phoenix. To Jeremy. To Barrett. I tried to speak to all of them at once. “I’m going to faint. I’ve never fainted but I am. I’m going to faint, or I’m going to die. I don’t know which.”
Barrett stormed over to his mother and Kit, still in conversation with my aunt and uncle while the other three surrounded me. “What is happening?” Jeremy demanded my attention and it actually helped me to think.
“That’s my aunt. I lived with her in Chicago.
Her boyfriend T-Ted.” Apparently, I was stuttering.
“He tried to rape me one night. Fortunately, I got away, but he told my aunt I tried to seduce him, and she believed him. She beat me up for it, and sent me away. That’s why I’m in New York.
They all think I’m some slut that hit on her boyfriend, but I’m not. I swear I’m not.”
I didn’t want to make a scene, but I could tell heads were turning in our direction. I turned to run but Julian stopped me. “That man, there?”
What is he going to do? My hands shook, but I couldn’t force myself to answer him.
“Alatheia,” my aunt called out to me. “I can’t believe it. Are you aware good people shouldn’t have you in their homes?”
“Get out,” their mother said in sharp tones. “Get out of my house, Amelia, and don’t ever come back here. I didn’t invite you, and you aren’t welcome in my home. Alatheia is our guest and you, and your nightmare date, need to leave right now.”
Kit extended his hand, pointing toward the door. “You can leave, or I can throw you out.”
What is happening? Phoenix took my hand. “Just breathe if you can. I know that sometimes it seems like it’s not possible. I can promise you, they just made an error they won’t recover from by coming here.”
I couldn’t complain about them being dealt with—but they’d already won.
Everyone around us had heard what they said about me.
They would spread the story, and others would hear it, too.
There would be whispers. Wherever I went, I would be Alatheia, the girl who tried to seduce her aunt’s boyfriend.
Alatheia, who imposed herself on the family after she did that awful thing.
My family did it on purpose. They believed Ted, and they wanted me ruined because Dina Lent had taken my aunt Tricia to task.
Everything always blew up in my face. Why did I forget? Just because I dressed like one of them, it didn’t make me their kind.