Chapter Thirty
Lily
? “Me and Your Mama (Mixed)” – Childish Gambino?
I have never cried so much in my entire life.
Not when my parents told me they were proud of me for going to law school, not when I lost my teddy bear on a plane as a kid, not when I broke my arm on the playground.
But for the past couple of months, I have been a constant sob.
First it was when Jace asked me to marry Mateo, then when Celeste left me, then when Mateo proposed to me, again when Jace confessed his feelings, then when he told me we were married, and now, in front of this crowd of unknown people.
I ripped the white wedding dress off when Jace left the room.
I couldn’t let it signify a fresh start, a new journey with a new partner, pure and innocent.
I only had a couple of weeks after I bought Mateo’s wedding dress to create this silk black dress covered in black lace.
Black can signify evil and darkness, which is what this wedding is.
But I wanted to show the beauty in the color, the authority it can give you.
The power it holds is an undeniable statement.
And I needed to hold the power during the wedding.
I wanted to feel in control of the situation.
I couldn’t stop myself from finding Jace in the crowd, his eyes never leaving Mateo’s as he smiles and claps his hands together, creating a sonic boom.
Play the part, Lily.
I grab Mateo’s hand, smiling at him as we walk down the stairs and down the aisle.
I keep my head down to avoid looking into bright blue eyes as we walk out of the church to the limousine that waits for us.
Mateo opens the door for me to get in. I grab the bottom of my dress, stuffing it and me inside the vehicle.
Out the window, I can see people starting to leave the church.
I immediately spot Jace, Axel, and a younger looking guy who I assume is Noah.
They quickly squeeze by people as they round the church, down an alley.
I turn toward Mateo to see him already texting on his phone. “Take us to the airport,” he says into a microphone in limousine.
“Honeymoon already? I thought we planned a party after?” I smile at him, pretending to be fucking giddy about this whole situation, but in reality, my heart is pounding in my throat.
He turns to me, laying his phone in his lap. His bright brown eyes have turned into a void. Not an inch of his body moves, as if he doesn’t need air to breathe. “You know, people talk a lot about the cat and mouse game."
There’s only silence after his sentence. My smile falls as I stare back at him. I can feel the hair on the back of my neck stand. “Um, okay. What does that have to do with where we are going?” I force my lips to slightly curve again.
Play the part. He will find me.
“But people forget there is a more dangerous predator to the mouse than the cat.” Mateo lifts his hands to his face as he turns to inspect his fingers like he just got a fresh manicure.
“The venom is injected instantaneously into its prey and slowly, the poison weakens it until it succumbs.” He laughs, his head falling back.
“And can you believe they are looked down upon?! Seen as evil creatures?! Can something or someone truly be evil? Immoral and wicked? Or do we just do evil things?” The car becomes silent as he stares at me.
“Who says what we do is fucking immoral?! Who made the rules of what is wicked?! What is morally wrong?!” He scoots closer to me, his hand reaching out and brushing a strand of hair that has fallen into my face.
“What makes people so fucking evil, Lily?” His tongue darts out, licking his lips.
I say nothing as I push my hands under my thighs, sitting on top of them to stop them from shaking.
“You think you guys are so fucking clever, huh?” His hand still roams my face, outlining every feature of mine.
“You think you guys are the cats in this game? Chasing the mouse?” He clicks his tongue against his teeth, moving his hand toward my throat while his eyes follow the movement.
“The only thing you were chasing was your own demise.”
I’m unable to swallow, the feeling of a cactus lodged against my throat.
The dress is becoming too tight, the car too hot.
His hand tightens around my throat when I reach for his arms, trying to take them off me.
“Such a stupid bitch to trust those three idiots. They failed once. They will fail again.”
My mouth pops open as I try to inhale.
“You better pray to a god that they deem you worthy. Because I sure as hell don’t,” he spits as his foot slams down onto mine.
A small cry falls from my lips, barely making a sound as my windpipe is constricted.
Even with the heels I have on, I can feel the pain in my toes.
Multiple tears fall down my face as I continue to claw at his arms and gasp for air.
The more I scratch, the tighter his hand grips my throat.
I let go of his arm and whip my palm across his face.
His head bends backward before he slowly turns to look back at me, laughing.
“A fighter. Maybe they will deem you worthy. They love a fucking challenge.” His tongue lashes out, licking away my tears from my cheeks.
“I wonder who they will chose for you? Whoever it is, they don’t get to have a piece of you until I have my share.
I’ve waited too long for this. You’ve given yourself up to everyone, but you’ve refused me. ” He bares his teeth at me. “Me!”
My vision becomes blurry and there’s a pounding in my ears.
“You’ll have my child first before you give any to them.” He finishes and slams his foot down on my other toes. He pulls my face closer to his, his lips brushing against my ear. “Welcome to the snake pit, baby.”
Through my vision, I see his fist pull back, and hot searing pain hits my face before everything goes dark.