Immaculate

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Part Ninety-Nine

Victor's POV

I could see her with Mr Blackbourne and Nathan in the front row. She looked amazing in that pink floaty dress and her hair swept up. She was wearing the pearls and it made my heart soar.

I knew that afterwards they would have to take her away before I would have chance to talk to her and that she would not be at the press conference or the after party my parents had organised. I resented it, but I also knew it was to protect her, my parents were already aware of her, but I had made sure that I had never mentioned her again in front of them, and that she was never at the house when they were there. To be honest, she was very rarely at the house and I preferred it that way. It was safer.

I could hear my mother saying something in my ear and trying to tighten the bow tie that Gabriel had already tied to perfection. He had been with me tonight in the dressing room and once again I realised just how much I had come to rely on him when it came to my clothes. It was one less thing to stress over when it came to concerts, and god knew I had enough to stress over. I had come to hate them so quickly, to hate the lack of privacy, the constant pressure from my parents, from the public, from the music managers.

I knew that my father was working on trying to get me to bring out another album, which would mean another six months or so locked in the producing studio. I had put up with it before, if I was needed for any jobs during the time it took to put an album together, Kota would always either reject them or help me with them. But it was different this time, it would mean time away from my princess, and I wasn't going to allow that.

Gabriel appeared in my peripheral vision and I quickly turned from my mother towards him. He was also dressed in a tux, but his ever present orange bow tie took the severity away from it and made it his style.

"Oy! Who's tried to strangle you!" he snapped and re-did my tie exactly as I liked it. I sent him a grateful look as he met my eye. He winked at me just as my father came over.

"Victor, you're on in two minutes!" He gave Gabriel a sneering look and then looked back at me. "I wish you would remember your social standing Victor," he hissed, but it was loud enough for Gabriel to hear.

"Constantly hanging around with one of those types will do nothing for your chances of a good match, darling," my mother chimed in.

"One of what type, Mother?" I inquired heatedly, even as Gabriel shook his head at me.

"One of those types," she repeated it as I should automatically know what she meant. "I mean I have nothing against them personally, but it could harm your reputation and chances."

"I have no plans on marrying anyway, Mother," I told her and meant every word of it. There was no legal way for all of us to be able to marry Sang, and there is no way I would marry anyone else. I would never marry her over my brothers unless it was done for her protection and I was the best option she had. Although, to be honest, if that were ever the issue I think she stood to be protected more by marrying the Doc or Mr B as they were almost twenty and in a much better position.

"Well, of course you don't," my mother was saying. "Not yet anyway. But you are nearly seventeen, Victor."

Which reminded me, Kota' birthday was the 3rd of January. Because it was so close to New Year and Christmas and because of our families, we had always had a double celebration, but nothing had been said this year and I wondered what we were doing. But I didn't have time now as I was being introduced on stage.

Gabriel elbowed his way past my mother and put his mouth by my ear.

"Play for Sang," he whispered and then stepped away from me. I grinned at him and nodded, stepping out onto the stage that I had a love/hate relationship with. It had given me everything I had, but it had taken so much.