26. Emmett
CHAPTER 26
Emmett
T he premonition of madness is subtle.
It’s hidden, almost static, humming in the background like a charged undercurrent.
I’d know because for me, my madness has always been present, coming alive and burning in the depths of my fucking chest whenever she’s close.
Ivy Marie Irving.
The bane of my accursed existence and a totally fake wallflower.
She’s pathetic if you really look closely at our history.
Her existence isn’t that significant to me, but whenever she looks at me, I feel it… the slow but irresistible build of consuming fire in my veins.
The way everything in me tightens, strains, and works overtime at her nearness.
But nothing heightens the madness more than the moments when she glances at me with her large, faux-innocent, doe-brown eyes that seem to scan me, piercing me with a sharpness that makes me feel like a damn loser.
But since she walked in the large ballroom ten minutes ago, walking fucking fifteen feet behind the Hughes family like she’s a servant, the madness in me has been raging to burst.
I watch as she stays in the shadows, her demeanor off, as if she’s deliberately keeping a low profile.
Tonight is the fundraiser thing George invited me to a while ago.
By all intents and purposes, Angel shouldn’t be here tonight, especially not the found family that has made it clear to her why they abandoned her and what they intend to do with her.
Something’s obviously off.
I can’t help but notice the stark difference.
The other daughter of the family is walking and chatting with everyone easily. She grew up around this, but even with that, eyes are tracking to Angel.
Beverly Hughes is barely smiling, glancing repeatedly at Angel. The tension is very loud between them, but it’s Governor Hughes that is the surprise of the night.
From the moment their arrival was announced to this mix of extravagant and power-hungry crowd, he’s been going from notable person to notable person, introducing Angel.
To anyone, it might look like he’s a loving father. A family man that’s happy and relieved at having been “reunited” with his family, but I know better.
He’s actively getting ahead of the scandal.
All day he was working double time to monitor the media to fix what their daughter did.
That’s one thing.
However, the real reason why he’s introducing Angel is simply because he’s making a statement.
This room is full of people whose names will never be heard of. Never spoken in public. Actually, these people pay to make sure no one knows they exist.
People like my grandfather. Men and women who thrive in the dark, yet every once in a while, they appear at events like this, disguised as a fundraiser for Governor Hughes, but really, it’s a back deals event.
And George organized it.
Just then, a familiar-looking jackass enters the room. He looks severely out of place, looks around and then he makes a beeline for Angel.
Everything in me tightens.
As soon as Angel sees the jackass, she lights up and smiles.
Freaking smiles! At him!
“That’s him, sir,” I hear behind me. Kai stands there, also having spotted the guy called Jackson who Angel has been in contact with.
“How the hell did he get in?”
“As a plus-one, sir.”
I glance at him and he only gestures down toward the floor where I spot another idiot making his way to Angel.
Apparently Vaughn invited that idiot…for Angel?
I know Vaughn drove Angel last night but how the hell did they get in contact to the point where he’s now doing her favors?
Is it really about the fact that she’ll choose who becomes heir?
As I watch, Vaughn perceptibly raises his head and looks directly at me and smirks.
The jackass suddenly leans in to say something to Angel.
She immediately throws her head back and laughs, attracting all attention to her.
As she laughs, her beautiful neck elongates in a way that taunts me, making me feel feverish with need. I ache.
The sound of her laughter alone gets on my nerves because late at night when I’m alone in my studio, I hear it playing at the back of my fucking head as if I have a recorder just for her laugh.
Over the years, I’ve managed to ignore her simply because I’m not interested in piquing her Interest further.
I did the honorable thing when I told her as much with clear precise words two Christmases ago, and I think that somehow got through to her because since then, she never smiles in my presence like she used to.
When we’re in the same room—which is almost always because we have the same friends—she stays as far away from me as if I have a contagious disease.
I mean, I do have a terminal illness, but still, her distance has been felt all right.
But now, there it fucking is.
That fucking smile that makes me feel like I’m stuck in mud.
Her eyes twinkle like a thousand stars, but that might be because of the crystal chandeliers that are currently hanging low in this damned ballroom.
And she has all eyes on her.
Including mine.
But she just doesn’t have my fucking eyes on her, she has my fucking attention even from across the damn room.
“Whoa,” George whistles low beside me. “Who shit in your fancy tea today?”
“Fuck off,” I mutter.
I stare at Angel, but more importantly, I glare daggers at the fucking prick she’s giving that smile to.
Just last night, her entire world came crashing down around her, but tonight, here she is, smiling like all is right in her fake world.
But then again, she’s always been a stellar pretender, this girl. She deserves a gold medal.
“No, seriously, who do you want to murder… Ooh. Why is Ivy here?”
I glance at the fucker standing next to me.
Most days, I’m pretty good at ignoring everyone and everything.
Hell, I could go as far as entertaining my friends’ bullshit when I’m in the mood, but today isn’t that day.
“What the fuck?” I mutter as Vaughn confidently reaches Angel and actually hugs her!
He fucking hugs her as if they are old friends when they literally just met last night.
“Ahh, is that the infamous ruthless Easton Family Consigliere?” George says with interest as he also stares at the trio.
“You say that as if you haven’t met him before.”
“It was a dark room.”
As if that would hinder this jerk from having detailed background info on every person of interest in this room and otherwise.
Vaughn’s presence tonight is not a surprise to me. In fact, I knew he'd be here.
I might not care for him, but after last night, things have changed.
The fact that he’s actively trying to get close to Angel tells me everything I need to know.
“Is he your rival?” George questions nonchalantly.
“Like hell,” I grit out, which makes George laugh.
“You should see the look on your face.”
I’ve never felt this kind of burning before.
It’s like my blood is on fire.
For some stupid reason that I don’t understand, my fists are clenched tight.
My jaw is locked and I’m grinding my damn teeth into fucking powder and my eyes are fixed on her as if they want to be glued to her.
What kind of reaction is this?
Is this a new side effect of my fucking blotched heart?
Looking away is the best option for the sake of all the witnesses here, because the longer I stare, the more the anger in me simmers, stirring that premonition of madness into an active eruption.
Too much skin.
She’s showing off way too much of that fucking silky soft skin in that backless number that looks like it’s been poured over her luscious, curvy body.
I look around, only to get even more pissed when I see almost several pairs of fucking leech eyes trained on her from all directions.
These animals are not even trying to hide the hunger and lust in their damn eyes as they look at her like she's a fucking snack.
“I’ll take that.”
The champagne flute in my hand is snatched away.
I look away from the danger and straight at the culprit.
George gives me an impassive look as he puts the cracked glass away. I didn’t even notice that I had cracked it.
“What is she doing here?” I demand. I keep my voice low, but there’s no hiding the angry growl.
I frown. Why the hell am I angry?
For a man whose days and heartbeats are numbered and hidden in broken moments, I can attest, it takes a whole fucking lot to bring me down to my knees.
And she’s a lot.
Everything about her is a lot.
“I should be asking you that question. Don’t you know what will happen later?” George says tightly. We both look back at Angel.
“Governor Hughes is her father,” I tell him.
“Wait, what?”
“And his wife is Nurse Marie’s daughter that abandoned Spider and Ivy back home.”
“Holy telenovela!” the jerk beside me says. “I mean, I always knew there was more to the Irving kids’ story but I never thought… does Spider know?”
“That his clueless sister has been stubbornly searching for people she should’ve never searched for and that she’s in over her head?” I mutter. “Yeah, he knows.”
“But does he know that she’s here and that she found them?”
“Actually, the sister lured her here.”
George stares at me then back to the crowd from where we stand in the shadows of the balcony at the back of the room.
“You need to get her out of here,” George mutters.
“Like she’ll listen to me,” I grit out. “Besides, Governor Hughes has been working the room.”
“Don’t tell me he’s…”
“And would you believe me if I told you I tried dissuading her from finding these people?” I mutter, anger filling my veins. “And now she’s about to see the ugliness of the world.”
“And yet you’re still standing here, not doing a damn thing.”
I stare at Angel. She’s still talking to my cousin who is actively blocking that jackass idiot from talking to Angel.
I might not like Vaughn but he’s useful at times.
“Haven’t you heard that saying… ‘ saying something a million times is never as good as living it once ’”
“So you want to teach her a lesson?” George hums. “If my sister hears of this...”
“So long as a deluded little someone learns her lesson about desperation and curiosity.”
Besides, I won’t be around for long.
If she’s going to suffer her stupidity, I prefer it to be in my sights, which means it has to happen now.
“Well, we grew up together and she’s one of the only people that still cares for me, so I’m going over to say hello,” George says, and then he smiles slyly. “Besides, I want to measure the soon-to-be corpse of your cousin and Ivy’s date.”
With that, the bastard raises his glass at me and leaves.
After a few minutes, I watch him boldly and easily make his way across the room, straight to Angel.
Anyone who is anyone knows exactly who George is, and they all try to stop him to talk, but just like his father, George doesn’t pay any of them an ounce of attention.
As soon as Angel spots George, the smile on her face brightens up tenfold, stopping my damn heart.
She goes straight for an affectionate hug.
She looks genuinely happy and pleasantly surprised to see George, but the asshole goes too far when he kisses her cheek.
They get to talking, and then the idiot gestures to me, with a huge smirk on his damn mug.
Ivy slowly follows George’s gaze until her eyes track to me on the balcony, watching her.
I see it on her face before I feel it slam into my chest.
The premonition…
We stare at each other.
She tries to smile at me, but it doesn’t quite happen.
That’s when her fucking date says something and then she actually smiles and looks away from me.
Like hell!
I go down the stairs, round the hall, and then I’m striding across the room, evading the people that try to grab my attention as swiftly as I can. Intensely aware of my heart stuttering in my damn chest, I’m right there in front of her.
I can feel interested parties looking my way…including Governor Hughes, but I ignore him and his family.
“ Angel. ”
Her name sounds like a command on my lips, a curse of sorts… or exactly what it is. Poison.
She whips her head to look at me, the curls of her hair bouncing around her shoulders.
In this setting, in this fucking moment, she steals my damn breath away.
I’m already a man who feels pain each time the thing in my chest beats, but when this girl looks at me with all those emotions swirling in her eyes, I almost surrender.
To what exactly? I’m not sure but she weakens me.
It’s fucking annoying.
Her shoulders straighten and her facial features school into forced politeness.
One thing about Ivy Marie Irving, she’s a fucking phony.
“Hello, Emmett.”
Her sweet voice sounds stilted. Hmm, let’s apply some pressure.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” I ask calmly when I’m feeling anything but.
I can feel Vaughn watching, quietly observing, but I don’t give a damn. This isn’t about him.
“Oh yes, we were just about to get an introduction,” George says with a smirk, then he turns to look directly at the asshat Vaughn was blocking. “Who are you?”
George, Vaughn, and I turn to look at the boy standing beside Ivy.
He looks… ridiculous.
There’s nothing about him that screams remarkable and frankly, he looks out of place, like his crooked nose and even more crooked teeth.
“Oh, uh… crap, I just got tongue-tied,” the douchebag starts. “I’m happy to meet the friends of my Ivy.”
His Ivy?
“Who are you?” Vaughn repeats immediately as the atmosphere shifts.
I can tell people are glancing at us, but my eyes are on Angel.
And she’s watching me.
“Me?” the asshat stutters. “I-I’m Jack?—”
“Jackass, got it.”
Without sparing the asshole another moment I can’t afford, I grab Angel’s hand and lead her to the dance floor, leaving the shithead standing there with anger in his eyes.
He doesn’t even know that if he steps a toe out of line, he’s done.
“What are you doing?” Angel demands breathlessly.
“Wondering.”
“What?”
“How it must feel to have to pretend, lie, and deceive all the time with no time off.”