15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Ialready despise Hailey’s family. The way they’ve treated her and her son is despicable.
The only reason I agreed to dinner with them was to keep up the act for Hailey. It would be strange to decline their invitation.
But if I had known it would be this stiff and uncomfortable for Hailey, I would have come up with an excuse with the speed of light.
I’ve never come across a family so selfish before.
Hailey claims her family is middle-class, but they don’t look or live like it.
The dining room is a masterpiece of elegance –high ceilings, a grand chandelier casting a golden glow, and a long mahogany table adorned with crystal glasses and gleaming silverware.
Yet, the beauty of the setting does very little to mask the tension crackling in the air.
Hailey sits stiffly next to me, her fingers wrapped tightly around her glass of wine. Her steak sits untouched on her plate, and I can only assume that just like me, the poison in the air has made her lose her appetite as well.
Across from her, Jared Donovan presides over the head of the table. Occasionally, his sharp eyes scrutinize me with the precision of a predator sizing up its prey. I’m calm, returning his sudden grins with polite smiles of my own.
The probability that he finds me easy to contain causes a smirk to appear on my lips. I’m not prey. And Jared Donovan is nothing but an ant I can crush with my heel.
Hailey’s mother, Elizabeth, sits next to him.
She’s a little skinny for her age, but she’s always perfectly poised.
She sips from her wine glass, throwing occasional glances at Hailey.
She’s too easy to read and it’s like she constantly fights between a mother’s instinct to care for her daughter or her duty as Jared’s trophy wife who heeds to his every demand.
Hailey’s siblings don’t impress me either. Blonde twins, both spoilt and entitled.
There’s Ella, who doesn’t bother to hide her attraction for me with ever-rising blush on her cheeks each time she looks at me. And there’s the brother, John, who looks at me like I’m some sort of god.
“This is a beautiful home,” I say, breaking the disturbing silence. “You’ve outdone yourself with the décor.”
“Thank you,” Jared replies with a faux smile. He’s like a wolf, but he doesn’t know I’m much more. “I imagine your homes are…more luxurious.”
I smile, unbothered at his attempt to euphemize my family’s wealth. “I guess you could say that.”
“We should meet with your parents soon,” Jared quickly adds, like the words have been desperate to leave his mouth. “We’re pretty much in-laws now.”
Hailey’s fork clinks softly against her plate. “Matthew’s parents are out of the country. They won’t be back anytime soon.”
Jared shifts on his seat. “Well, I’m sure we can come up with some form of arrangement and –”
His wife clears her throat. “Hailey, dear,” she starts with a sweetness that makes my skin crawl, “we were surprised to hear about this…sudden engagement. You never mentioned anything about a serious relationship before.”
Hailey swallows hard and forces a grin. “Considering his status, we preferred to keep things quiet. It’s easier to breathe around your partner without the media all up in your business.”
“How did you meet my sister?” Ella questions, her eyes darting from me to Hailey like she can’t understand what she’s seeing. “I mean, look at you. You’re everything she’s not. No offense, but my sister is lame, fat and –”
“Ella, enough,” John whispers harshly. Her cheeks grow pink from embarrassment, before she goes back to picking at her food.
Her audacity amuses me. And it’s not a good kind of amusement. It’s an amusement that stems from deep irritation.
“How old are you?”
Ella looks up at me timidly, but John speaks first. “We’re eighteen. Ignore my sister. She struggles with a serious case of low self-esteem.”
“Kids,” Elizabeth laughs awkwardly. “You can never predict what comes out of their mouths next. You know, you were John’s motivation when he got a football scholarship to Berkely. You being here makes all his dreams come true.”
I raise a brow at the boy in question. That explains the awe on his face when he looks at me.
“That’s true,” he nods vehemently. “I – I never skip your games. Even after the injury–”
Hailey interrupts him before he can delve into the topic I hate the most. “Fill you up, babe?”
The knot in my stomach untwists after I hear Hailey’s voice. I turn to her, wondering how she knew just when to cut off his yapping, but she’s already refilling my glass of water.
She turns to Leo who is seated next to her, and has been unusually quiet since we sat down, picking at his food rather than eating it.
“How about you, baby? Do you want Mommy to fill you up?”
He nods. Hailey refills his glass of water before returning her stern gaze to her brother, who is visibly unhappy by her interruption.
“I don’t think we should discuss injuries or accidents at a family dinner.”
Her father’s gaze flicks to her and Leo briefly, before returning to me.
“So, Matthew,” he begins brightly, “what exactly is your long-term plan? Surely someone in your position must have an idea of where they see themselves in the next five or ten years.”
I lean back slightly in my chair, my smile never wavering as I gesture to Hailey and Leo. “You’re looking at it.”
I feel Hailey’s gaze on the side of my face. Despite the strong fa?ade she wears, her knee bounces under the table.
So, I place a hand on her thigh to calm her down. Stay with me, Hailey.
Jared raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“You asked for my long-term plan,” I say. “Hailey and Leo are my long-term plan. I couldn’t ask for anything better. Considering the family-oriented fundraiser you hosted three days ago, I’m assuming you understand just how important it is to have a family. Am I correct?”
The words hang in the air, both a declaration and a challenge, as his expression hardens. The room grows hot like it’s been sealed with a vacuum, the weight of unspoken judgments and past grievances hanging heavily over the table.
“That’s a little unexpected,” he says with a tight smile.
I squeeze Hailey’s thigh. “Sometimes, the best things happen unexpectedly. I knew from the moment I met Hailey that she was someone I wanted in my life permanently.”
“I can’t let her go,” I add, turning to look at her. Right now, I’m not even lying to her. It’s a truth I’ve refused to admit to myself all this time. “No matter how hard I try.”
Hailey looks at me, her lips parting slightly as different emotions flash through her eyes.
This thing…this act is starting to become difficult for me. The line between real and fake is becoming thinner and thinner and I fear that it will get to a point where it will cease to exist.
Leo, oblivious to the undercurrents, finally speaks up, his small voice breaking the tension.
“Can I have dessert now?”
Everyone turns to him, startled by his sudden interruption. It’s the first words he’s said since we sat down to eat, and I can’t help but chuckle softly.
Hailey smiles at his timing and gently ruffles his hair. “Of course, we can honey.”
Her father, however, simply exhales sharply and waves a hand toward a staff to bring out the next course. The evening trudges on, unspoken tension brewing beneath the surface.
While dessert is being served, Hailey reaches for my hand on her thigh and covers it with her own. She gives me a soft, swift squeeze without even looking at me, and pulls away.
It’s a fleeting gesture, but it speaks loud enough for me to know that she’s grateful that I’m here.
***
“Well, I’m glad that’s over,” I say as Hailey and I head toward our apartments.
She’s carrying a sleepy Leo on her hip and caressing his hair. “It was tamer tonight. Dinner with them is usually much more suffocating than this.”
“No offense, Hailey, but your family is one big pile of shit.”
“Lucky me,” she chuckles, typing in her passcode. She turns around when her door clicks open, hesitating slightly on what to say. “Thanks for tonight. They’re entranced by you.”
I shrug. “What can I say? We both know how charming I am.”
She rolls her eyes. “When are you never not cocky?”
I grin. Despite the toll I know that dinner took on her, she still looks beautiful. “If you think the truth is cocky, then be my guest.”
She takes a step back, but I shake my head.
“That’s it then?” I ask, feigning a frown. “No goodnight kiss? What kind of couple are we?”
Hailey smiles sarcastically at me as she waves her fingers in my face, the emerald glinting under the bright hallway lights. “A fake one.”
“Well, that sucks,” I tsk, closing the gap between us with one big step, “because I really want to kiss you right now.”
Her face warms with color as she stares at me. She doesn’t make an effort to step away from me, but she doesn’t lean in either. She just looks at me in silence, her chest rising and falling slowly.
A small whine rips the moment between us apart. Leo shifts in her hold, burying his head deeper into her neck.
Hailey blinks and swallows as she leans back. “We should go to bed.”
But I’m selfish and I don’t want to let her go just yet. So, my brain quickly scrambles for a good excuse.
“We still have the campaign to work on tonight,” I say, stopping her before she can disappear behind her door. “Remember we had to cut today’s work short because of your parents’ dinner. And we promised Evelyn not to let this get in the way of our job.”
Hailey pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right. I can’t believe I forgot about that.”
Satisfied, I walk backwards to my door. “You can put Leo to sleep, change and come back to mine. So, we don’t disturb his sleep, you know?”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I close the door in front of me before she can get the words out.
King barks as soon as I walk in, bounding after me as I make my way to my room. I strip out of my clothes and jump into the shower.