Not A Cinderella

59

April

The day of the ball and my nerves have peaked. I don't get nervous but this is the man I fell in love with, I gave my all to and it could be taken away from me.
"April are you ready to go?" "Yep I sure am" "you look absolutely stunning" I grinned "thanks Brenton and you look very.." he smirked "handsome but I prefer the normal you" "as I do you now come on" I nodded.

"Ma'am and sir?" "Brenton Mancini and April maltri" "of course sir, go right through".
Entering the ballroom, I looked at everyone's eyes as they landed on us. Brenton had his hand on my lower back as he always does but in this moment it felt like nothing. I know it's my mind playing tricks on me. most of the women and men here aren't actually dating, they do it for show.
"You are tense" "Im fine".
Seeing Evelyn and Emre, I walked straight towards them with Brenton by my side. "Evelyn and Emre it's good to see you" "wow look at you, you look picturesque" "thank you and you look beautiful" "never thought I'd see the day" I grinned at Emre "one time only" he chuckled "your hand is empty" "I plan to go to the bar but I wanted to say hello" "of course you did, future mother in law and all" I chuckled "no rush Evelyn" "please do" Brenton smirked "don't scare her away" "oh I could never".
"I'm sure I will see you shortly" "I hope so".
Brenton put his arm on my lower back as we walked to the bar. Seeing Byron I grinned as I reached the bar.
"Ma'am and sir, what can I get for you" "now now Byron, no need for the formalities" he looked at me curiously then shook his head "April Gomez" "April maltri and you know what I drink" Brenton chuckled "you must've left a good Impression on him" "she is the only one who had the balls to sit at the bar and drink beer. This is not something I expected to see after the last time you two were here" "I like to keep people on their toes" "I can see that".
"Brenton Mancini it's a pleasure to see you again" Byron smirked "your beers".
"Meredith" "who is your lovely lady?" Brenton pulled me close "Meredith meet April" "you" "now now that is not the way to be respectful and polite now is it. It's lovely to meet you again Meredith" "argh what are you doing with that wild woman?" "She is quite a beautiful woman and I am happy to have her by my side" "your beers April and brenton" "thank you Byron" picking up both beers, I handed one to Brenton. as I looked Meredith in the eyes I took a sip of my beer "you are a disgrace to women" "you do not speak to April that way. Come on April let's go" "Mister Mancini I have no idea why you would be with such a disgrace of a woman" "Meredith you need to lower your voice this is a ball not some football game" "oh Mister Hampton. I would like you to meet someone. Mister Hampton this is April Gomez" "I'm sorry mister Hampton it seems Mrs Coleman here isn't good with introductions. My name is April maltri, it's lovely to meet you" putting my hand out he shook it "and you too April. I have heard so many great things about ventures. My grand daughter is quite a fan of your company" "thank you. It is why I built it" "I think you are mistaken Mister Hampton this woman is a gold digger with no manners and.." "oh Mrs Coleman if you did your research you would know. This young woman is a billionaire, she does not need money and as for her company it is quite successful. I feel you are under threat making these passes at this lady" I internally grinned "nice to see a woman around here that doesn't rely on a man's money and by the look of it, can drink something that doesn't taste.." "like cat urine" Mister Hampton grinned "you are correct" "argh I can not stand around and listen to this" "have a good evening Mrs Coleman" when she looked at me he hers showed hatred and I grinned.
"Miss maltri, how is it that you have become so successful?" "I didn't back down. It was something I put my heart into with the help of friends. I never expected it to be so successful but to my surprise it did" "and you Mister Mancini, I heard you sold your company?" "I did. It did not appeal to me. But I am going into business with April. We are opening a resort for parents and children on the spectrum" Miater Hampton looked surprised but a genuine smile showed on his face "I'm sure it will be quite successful. I have heard you do a lot for Charity?" "Yes I do" "rumor has it you put your mother and the baxters into prison?" "The judge did for what they had done" "and what exactly was that?" "The placed hidden cameras in my home invading my privacy" "hmm it seems a lot of women here find you as a threat" "that is not my intention, I am just doing what I love" "and good for you. Maybe these woman can learn a thing or two" I internally grinned "only if they wish".
"Oh Brenton, I would like you to meet someone" seeing a woman grab brentons arm he walked off with her. "Is he your partner April?" "Yes he is" "hmm a lot of women will be envious please be careful" "of course" Mister Hampton grinned "have a good evening" "and you two".

"He just walked off" I nodded "another beer?" "Yeah please" sitting at the bar, I kept my eyes on Brenton. Seeing a young woman wrap her arm around his, he never budged. A gut sinking feeling sat in my stomach. She was running his hand up and down his arm. "Make it a bourbon" "April?" "I said a bourbon Byron" he nodded.

For an hour or two, I don't know how long I watched as she kept her hands on him and not once did he remove them. Looking at Evelyn and Emre, their Eyes met mine instantly with a look of hurt. I know they like me but I can't stay around and watch This.
Sculling my drink, I walked straight over to them. "Thank you for inviting me this evening but I need to go" "April he loves you" "yeah.. take care okay" "you are going to just leave?" "I think it's best that I do" "April you need to understand that family is quite prestigious. he is trying to impress them" "I would not allow some male to do that" walking away, I heard Emre call my name but I walked straight out the front. Taking a deep breath, I called Owen.
"April?" "Can you pick me up from the hall, I will be walking down the road" "you do not sound okay" "no" "I will be there soon".

Brenton.

For hours I had to stand here and listen to the Medlocks talk. Justines hand ran up and down my arm and it made me cringe.
"Get your hands off of my son" "Evelyn you need to think clearly" "oh I am. Remove your hands now" Justine removed her hands and I looked at mom "you and I need to talk right now" "mom I am.." "I said now" I nodded "excuse me".

"You have been standing there letting that woman touch you for hours. Look around Brenton" looking around, all eyes were on us "what?" Mom shook her head "I should never of invited you and April. That poor woman. A good woman at that. Watched everything and you didn't even notice she left" "what? where the hell is she?" "She left nearly two hours ago. Probably hurt and Angry. Her sweet face showed she was fine but her eyes.. no they showed a completely different emotion" "where is she?" "Couldn't tell you Brenton but you did this and you need to fix it" "what was I supposed to do?" "Push the woman off" "oh good, you are away from that awful woman" "shut your cake hole Meredith and get your head out of your fucking ass" I looked at my mom in shock "mom" "oh no I have had enough of this bullshit" "excuse me. how dare you" "I can do what I fucking like now piss off you overgrown muppet" "Evelyn" mom shook her head at Emre and me "you are a disrespectful.." "I said piss off before I reveal your little secret" hearing Meredith gasp an evil look showed in my mom's eyes and she walked off to the stage.
"Oh she is going to reveal it to the world" "we need to stop her" "let her go".
"Excuse me everyone. While everyone is here I like to introduce everyone to someone" shit "Renee can you please come up here".