Chapter 18 - Henry Jr.
Chapter eighteen
“Both families would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it here tonight to celebrate this gorgeous couple!”
Fuck me. I would rather stab myself than stand up here with this bitch.
“Tonight will kick off the wedding event of the year, of Miss Natalya Taranova—”
And that’s exactly what she is. A fucking bitch. Spoiled rotten bitch.
“To the gem of a man who we all know and love—”
She’s nothing compared to the woman who’s still carrying my DNA inside her.
“Mr. Henry Sinclair Jr.!”
My siren. My lover. My…Blanche?
The crowd cheers, but my eyes are locked on the one woman I can't get off my mind. Did I summon her? What fucking drugs did Carter give me earlier?
I blink as discreetly as I can because certainly that was a hallucination. Even as high as I am, it’s concerning that I can summon a phantasma so…real.
“Henry, what is wrong with you? Everyone is looking at us. Smile!” The shrill whisper of my fiancée reminds me of my reality as I snap my attention to her.
Putting my game face on, I flash my bride-to-be a gleaming smile for the crowd, hoping she can see how much I loathe her.
She needs to learn soon that this union will be nothing but hell on earth for her.
I’ll certainly be in one of my own. Having experienced the presence of my goddess yet being forced to live a life without her will be worse than any hell that could possibly exist in the afterlife.
“What were you looking at anyway?” she asks, snaking her hand around my arm.
Fighting the urge to shake her off, I glance again to the spot where I imagined my…
fuck. She’s still there. And I know she can’t be something I’ve conjured because I would never make her look at me with that look in her eyes…
not joy or lust. Not fear or pleasure. It’s shock and hatred laced with… pain? And not the kind I enjoy seeing.
Fuck.
“Henry!” Natalya hisses, squeezing my arm when I don’t respond. “Henry Sinclair, I swear to God, if you don’t sort your shit out right now before this entire room full of people looking at us think you are anything but elated to be standing by my side, I will go crying to your fucking father.”
Slowly, I turn my attention from the beauty in the crowd to my bitch of a life sentence, forcing myself not to throw up when she gives me the ugliest fake smile I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, that got your attention, huh? Daddy Dearest has quite the hold over you, doesn’t he?
I hear he has some…unique methods of keeping you in line. ”
“Fuck you, bitch,” I spit. “You better watch yourself because I’ve picked up a thing or two from Daddy Dearest and don’t think for a minute I won’t be thrilled to use them on you.”
I swear to god I’m two seconds away from choking this bitch out right here in front of everyone, consequences be damned.
But John Carter comes to my rescue just in time, sweeping the whore off my arm with his practiced chivalry and positioning himself between us.
To the room, it looks like the best man is congratulating the bride- and groom-to-be, but I know he’s saving my ass.
“What’s going on up here, man?” he asks, draping his arm around my shoulders.
“What the fuck is my goddamn secretary doing here?”
He scans the room before landing on the woman who’s wrecking my world right now. “Holy shit. Fuck.”
Before I can respond, he grabs the microphone, his arm still around Natalya’s waist, no doubt to keep her away from me. “Alright, everyone! Let’s get this party started!”
In a flash, he’s let go of my fiancée and is grabbing on to me again, pulling me off the stage to the most discreet corner he can find. “What the fuck is Blanche doing here? Do you want your dad to kill you?”
“I didn’t invite her!” I try turning around to get another glimpse of her, but Carter holds me in place, a look of terror on his face. “What is it? Let me go!”
The moment he lets up, I’m spun, watching a suave motherfucker pull Blanche into a tender hug. Rage like nothing I’ve known floods me as she melts into this mystery man. What a little gold-digging cunt.
Before I can storm over there and knock the asshole out, Carter grabs me, pulling me farther away from the crowd into the waitstaff prep area.
“Look, let’s figure this out before you do something you’ll regret.
Like cause a scene and put that woman in danger from both your father and the fucking Taranovs. ”
I can hardly breathe as John catches the attention of one of the servers. “Hey, do you know where Gregory is?”
The small man trembles as he looks wide-eyed back and forth between John and me. With a gulp, he finally nods.
“Can you get him for us? Pronto?”
“What the fuck is Gregory going to do right now?” I ask Carter as the server scurries off at a speed I didn’t think possible for such a small guy.
“He’s the only one of your father’s who would have been included in the planning of this stupid event and who would also not rat you out to the bastard. He’s our best shot at knowing who any of these people are.”
I grunt my approval as I pace back and forth, waiting on this one last hope to tell me that my obsession isn’t just a gold digger, whoring herself out to the highest bidder and trying to climb up in the world.
Surely not, right? She wouldn’t have had such an issue with sleeping with her boss if that was her MO. She’s different…
“Hey man, maybe she’s a stalker! It wouldn’t be far-fetched for her to have access to this invitation, considering she’s your secretary. She could’ve easily gotten onto the guest list somehow…”
“Gentlemen, can I help you?” Gregory barely has time to get the sentence out before I’m dragging him back to the ballroom.
Scanning the room, I quickly find my culprit, dancing with the she-devil herself. “Who is that guy over there dancing with the beautiful brunette in the crimson dress?” I say, pointing in their direction.
“Oh, that’s Charles Bedford.”
“Bedford?” John asks, fixing me with an all-knowing look. “Who did he come here with? A…sister perhaps?”
“He came with his aunt and uncle, Robert and Emilia Bedford, and their daughter Blanche.”
“Holy…”
“Fuck.”
Carter and I both look back at Blanche, dancing with her…cousin, apparently.
I’m too stunned to speak, let alone voice any further questions, but luckily, John has my back. “Um, can you tell us a little more about their family? Are they friends of the Taranovs, perhaps? Or maybe new to society? We just have never seen them around the parties…”
“They’re technically guests of the Taranovs, but they’ve been around.”
“No way, I would’ve remembered seeing that woman before,” I breathe out, finding my voice at last.
Gregory smiles as he looks out at the crowd, at Blanche and her cousin. “No, sir, you might not have seen her before. Blanche went away to university as soon as she would’ve been of age for social events such as these. She actually just moved to the city, so you might bump into her someday…”
John slaps me on the back as I choke on my saliva, and I can tell that motherfucker is fighting back a smile right now.
“Oh, wouldn’t that be something else, huh, Henry?
It’s not every day you run into a beauty like that…
I mean, you’re engaged now, so you couldn’t do anything about it, but me, on the other hand—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I cut John a death glare before smiling at Gregory.
“Thanks so much for the info. You wouldn’t mind keeping this between the three of us, would you?
John over here seems to have a thing for Blanche, and I wouldn’t want her to find out before he has a chance to tell her. ”
“Oh, yes, of course, I’ll keep my mouth shut. I know as well as anyone just how gossip can spread. Anyway, you boys have a good night! And congratulations on the engagement, Henry.”
“Thanks, Gregory,” I mumble as Carter cackles like a hyena.
“Oh man…you. Are. Fucked!” He’s already bent over laughing, or I would sucker punch the fool. “You went and fell in love with a socialite!”
“I didn’t fucking fall in love with her, you idiot.”
“Oh sure…that’s why you can’t take your eyes off her at your engagement party. I don’t care how much of a bitch your fiancée is; if your dad saw you looking at her like that, he would skin you both. You’re lucky he hasn’t figured out who she is yet.”
“Goddammit, Carter…why do you have to be right?” I give my goddess one last look before bracing myself. “Let’s get this night over with.”