Show Me How (Oak Point #1)

Chapter 1

MILLIE

I flinch when my mother tugs tighter the ties of my corset, nearly sending me toppling backward. She yanks like her life depends on it, and I’m genuinely concerned that I’m only five minutes away from losing consciousness.

Palming my stomach, I gasp when she pulls again, this time grunting at the effort. She sighs and digs a finger between the silk ties.

“Have you gained weight, Millicent? I don’t remember having to work this much at your last fitting.”

I ignore the dig. “You weren’t the one pulling.”

And yes, I probably have gained weight. The idea of making myself appear in the best shape of my life just to marry a man whom I don’t love wasn’t even slightly appealing.

I’ve ignored the meal plan she had created for me and have ordered in every day for the last two weeks.

The only thing I regret is not trying harder to get food poisoning last night.

“Either way. I’m sorry, but it has to be like this. You won’t have to do much moving once we’ve finished with photos and the ceremony starts. I recommend standing until it’s time to go,” she snips, the apology lacking feeling.

“When do we have to go?”

“An hour. Your makeup needs touching up. Meredith!” Fingers rub at my face and poke at the backs of my arms before the makeup artist appears. “You forgot the lashes.”

“I don’t need them, Mom,” I say, lightly pushing away the artist’s hand when I spot the thick black eyelashes in her fingers.

“You forget how many cameras will be out there. Do you really want to be caught with a flat, bare lash? Don’t be ridiculous.” She pushes forward and takes the lashes from the artist before jabbing them onto my eyelids.

The tip of her nail glides across my eye, and I wince, blinking past the burn.

“Don’t cry! You’ll smudge the rest of your makeup!”

Looking up, I try to keep the tears from falling. “I’m trying.”

“You’re being ridiculous today. First, it was the sulking, and now you’re just trying to sabotage the entire day.

Are you not happy with the arrangement? There are a thousand other women in this country who would be jumping at the opportunity to marry Chadwick today.

You’re being ungrateful. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? ”

If he’s so amazing, why don’t you marry him, then?

I keep staring at the ceiling. It’s high, with skylights covering the entire thing and diamond-encrusted chandeliers that glimmer in the sunlight.

There’s nothing subtle about this venue, and that’s exactly how my mother wanted it.

It’s supposed to be the wedding of the year, but it feels nothing like it to me.

“You’ve never been happy with anything we’ve given you, Millicent.

I don’t know what else you want from us.

All I hope is that after today, you’ll be able to let this bitterness go and enjoy your time with Chadwick.

The jet leaves tonight at ten on the dot, and I expect you to treat your new husband with the respect he deserves on your honeymoon. He spent quite a pretty penny on it.”

I keep my lips sealed, trapping the scream that’s trying to escape.

My mother doesn’t wait for a reply before huffing and stepping away. The makeup artist takes her place and begins to pat a powder puff beneath my eyes. The pity written all over her isn’t surprising.

The room is so large that I don’t hear the knock on the door before Mom’s there, pulling it open with a star-studded smile. It’s hard to grow stiff in a dress this time, but my muscles still try.

“Oh, Chadwick! You look phenomenal! What are you doing here? Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see your bride before the wedding?”

“Thank you, Celeste. Your beauty puts mine to shame,” he drawls, his voice sounding just as putrid as it was during his speech at dinner last night. “I had to risk coming. My bride and I haven’t had a moment alone since the rehearsal, and I’d just really love to get one before we’re at the altar.”

The awe in my mother’s voice is disgustingly expected. Her adoration for powerful men knows no bounds.

“That’s so romantic. Who am I to keep two people in love apart? Please, come in. I’ll just step out for a few moments, then.”

With a snap of her fingers, she has both the makeup artist and hairstylist rushing after her. They follow her out of the suite, and I turn away, trying to suck in a full breath before he reaches me.

The hot touch of his hand on my bare back is enough to have me considering ripping my dress off and running from the room. I think I’d prefer everyone outside seeing me naked than being stuck alone with Chadwick.

It’s bad enough when we’re somewhere surrounded by people far more interested in him than me.

They’re a much-appreciated buffer. But alone, there’s no one to save me from his endless business babble and arrogant demeanour.

The thought of having to spend three weeks alone with him wherever it is he booked our honeymoon . . .

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Millicent,” he says into my ear.

I stomp down my true feelings and slip on the mask I’ve grown used to wearing over the last twenty-six years. Smiling, I let him take my hand without smacking him away.

“Thank you.”

He turns me to face him fully before grabbing a long look at my body.

I swallow, keeping my chin up as his eyes linger on my breasts.

It’s no surprise that’s where he’s gotten lost. Not when my mother’s tightening of my corset has them one wrong move from spilling out of my dress.

I’m still surprised she didn’t choose a dress more modest for me, considering how much she’s always complaining about my heavy chest. It makes shopping for me that much harder, she says.

The only reasoning I have for her choice of dress is that Chadwick had something positive to say about it when she showed him the options. Which, I knew she did.

Chadwick brings his knuckles to my shoulder, tracing the curve of it as he meets my gaze and smirks. “The dress looks better on you than I imagined it would.”

Bingo.

“It’s beautiful,” I say.

“And one of a kind. I had the designer change a few things, and I’m pleased to see they paid off.”

“Did you want to speak about anything specific?”

His eyes flare at my tone, and the gross smirk on his lips stretches. “No, Millicent. I just wanted a moment alone with you.”

Dread rains down on me. “Well, we’ve had that. We don’t want to risk bad luck with us being together so long before the ceremony, do we?”

“Not so quick.”

It was only a matter of time before he did this.

He never approved of our parents’ decision for us to wait until our sham of a wedding night for the physical aspect of a marriage to begin.

Besides a kiss on the cheek, I’ve gotten away without feeling his lips on mine or his hands drifting anywhere lower than my shoulders for ten years now.

Ever since we were introduced at sixteen, he’s been too desperate for my father’s approval to risk a quick peck or grope.

That’s the only reason I’ve been okay with being alone with him thus far.

But today, it seems he believes he’s waited long enough.

We’ll be husband and wife in only a few hours, after all.

“My father could come in any minute,” I warn him, beginning to fidget.

“No, he won’t. He’s too busy with mine. Their lawyer is here preparing the paperwork for the merger. That’s where their heads are at today. We’ve got a few more minutes. Don’t make me beg you, Millicent,” he groans.

My stomach swirls, the thought of kissing this man entirely unappealing. “Chadwick—”

He cuts me off with his mouth. His lips push against mine with a rough pressure that makes them throb. The hand he uses to paw at my waist is overly hot, but it’s nothing compared to the one he uses to claw at the hair at my nape.

I clamp my teeth together when he tries to slip his tongue into my mouth and push a hand against his chest. He curls his fingers in my hair, effectively pulling them from the intricate updo that took hours for the stylist to complete this morning.

My lipstick smears across my mouth, and the thick foundation rubs off my nose.

“Chadwick,” I say, giving him a firm but restrained shove. “My makeup.”

He pulls back, brows slanted together to expose his frustration before he looks at my ruined mouth, nodding. “Right. You need that fixed immediately.”

“Yes, I should get on that. My mom will bring everyone back in.”

“I’ll be thinking about this all today, Millicent. Once we’re alone, you’re mine. You’ll finally be my wife,” he says excitedly, as if any of this should be celebrated. With hooded eyes, he steps back and looks me over once more. “Soon.”

My lungs constrict to the point of pain as I avoid rubbing my lips together. “Yes.”

“I also hope you’ve thought about what I proposed last night.

There’s no reason to wait once we’re married.

You don’t have anything to lose, and I would hate for you to grow bored in our home when we return.

At least you could keep busy with doctor appointments and preparing a nursery.

Without a career, you’ll need something to keep yourself busy, and a baby is the perfect thing for that.

The last thing I’d want is for you to become needy for my attention while I’m busy with your father’s company. ”

My breath catches on the massive stone in my throat.

Chadwick doesn’t wait for me to collect myself and respond before turning on the heels of his expensive shoes.

He stalks through the suite and lets my mother back inside.

She immediately stares at his mouth, no doubt catching the nude lipstick left there before shooting me a furious look.

It’s there and gone in a blink, because when she gazes back at Chadwick, she’s smiling and offering him a silk handkerchief from her clutch.

The words she whispers don’t reach me, but I can only imagine what they were.

She ushers the team of women she brought with us this morning past her and toward me once he’s gone. I prepare for the lash of her voice yet still flinch when it reaches me.

“You just couldn’t help yourself! You know your father’s rules, and now look at you.

You’re a mess. We don’t have time for this, but here we are.

You’ll keep your hands to yourself at the ceremony until they’ve declared you husband and wife.

And when you see your father, you won’t mention this. It never happened.”

I simply nod, taking it on the chin because there’s no point in telling her it wasn’t me that initiated what happened. She’d never believe me, and even if she did, she both fears and admires Chadwick too much to mention it to him.

The makeup artist gets to work with fixing me up, and I close my eyes, falling into the endless halls of my mind. Where I can be alone.

The panic sets in after I take my first step down the aisle.

My father keeps a strong hold on my arm, keeping me locked beside him.

It’s like he can sense what I want to do and isn’t going to allow it.

I dart my eyes through the rows of people, searching for even one familiar face amongst them, but there isn’t one.

Not a single person who I could hope to free me from this prison cell I’m about to be locked into.

My palm shakes at my side, fear tasting sour in my mouth.

Chadwick is at the end of the aisle, his posture perfect and face chiselled to perfection.

It’s hot in here, and I can’t help but stare through the windows behind him.

The mountain ranges and their promise of freedom tease me and beckon me closer, their call hitting deep in my chest.

I’ve always wanted freedom. To run away and cleanse my soul of the poison fed to me every day of my life.

But I’ve never chased it. This is all I’ve ever known.

My life has been planned out for me since I was a child, and I’ve been stuck here, too afraid to leave.

All I’ve ever known are expensive homes, designer bags, and lacklustre conversation with those who couldn’t care less about me.

I’ve let too many years slip by. Chadwick won’t ever let me go. The moment I say I do, I’ll be trapped forever in this endless cycle, yet somehow, with even fewer choices.

My father removes my arm from around his, and I wobble onto the altar on a pair of heels I didn’t have time to break in.

Sweat drips down my spine as I look at Chadwick, my mind racing.

He reaches for my hands, but I keep them at my sides.

The prick of my ID and bank cards in my bra reminds me that I’m running out of time if I want to do this.

I’m frozen, panic becoming the only feeling in my body.

I glance at the mountains, and they scream for me to run.

“Millicent,” my father hisses beneath his breath.

Chadwick chuckles tightly, eyeing the rows of attendees. He tries to play this off, but I’m already stumbling backward. My mother’s voice rips through the air, and I grip the gauzy material of my dress in both hands and start to run.

“Millicent!”

I shake my head, stumbling slightly on the thin heels as I pick up speed. No one chases me. They wouldn’t risk the way that would look. Still, I keep running. Without looking back, I dive out of the venue doors and gasp in the crisp October air.

Behind me, I swear I can hear the mountains clapping for me. A breeze licks my back, and I kick off my shoes before snagging them from the pavement.

My car is still parked at the front of the ski lodge parking lot, and I quickly get into the driver’s seat. I’ve never left the doors unlocked before. Not until today. It’s like I knew before I even went inside that I’d be here, doing this.

I find the spare key where I hid it in the console and turn the car on. The engine roars, and I roll down every window before peeling out of the parking lot.

The highway I turn onto is unfamiliar, and that’s why I decide to keep going. I need to go somewhere new. Somewhere I’ve never heard of before and where my family won’t be able to find me.

I’ll keep driving until I find the place that calls to me the way the mountains do, wherever that is.