50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Twenty-One

    After dessert, the gathering relocated to a massive living room area with oversized, dark furniture and patterned rugs that gave the large mansion more of a log cabin feel. Aubrey got the fireplace going, and then a few of his friends approached him.

    Destiny decided to give him time with his friends, and spent quality time with her family. Seated in one of the large armchairs, she held Sadie on her lap while speaking to her mother. The entire time, she felt Tasha's eyes on her.

    Mr. and Mrs. Richards were bubbly and excited. Even Kevin expressed his well wishes for her, giving her a warm embrace before turning and giving his wife an expectant look.

    Tasha, lightskinned with hair she kept cut short, looked Destiny up and down. "I barely even recognize you," she said, her voice deceitfully light in contrast to the words coming out of her mouth. "I love your dress, but the choker? It's a bit much. Is a piece of jewelry that obnoxious really necessary?"

    "Is that your way of saying 'Congratulations'?" Destiny asked her. "If so, then thank you, Tasha."

    Tasha tilted her nose up into the air. "I'll congratulate you after the marriage lasts for ten years," she said. "From both of your speeches, it sounds like your relationship is already in trouble. You haven't even been together a solid year yet."

    "Tasha," Mrs. Richards hissed. "If you don't have anything positive to say, then you can go to your room."

    "If she doesn't have anything positive to say, I'm willing to drive her to the nearest hotel," Carlos quipped, approaching them all and standing beside Destiny. "Not that I have a car yet. I'm just saying."

    "Stand down, Carlos," Destiny said calmly. "She's just Aunt Tasha. She's crazy and pessimistic and jealous. That's just her personality."

    Tasha took a few steps forward, even though Kevin tried to hold her back. "Crazy?" she demanded. "Jealous? Of who? You? A child?"

    Tasha's shrill voice caught the attention of Aubrey and his crew. They all looked in Tasha's direction, and Aubrey wore a concerned look on his face.

    Destiny took the final steps forward that closed the distance between them. "Listen to me, and listen to me good, Tasha. The only reason you're here tonight is because you're my uncle's wife. And because Aubrey was kind enough to invite your ass. I never asked him to invite you. I never gave any indication I would want you here, because I don't. You're rude, you always have something negative to say, and for the life of me, I can't understand what my uncle sees in you. But know this: if you can't come to an event like this and see beyond your own hatred to wish me luck and happiness, then you are nothing but a hater. Knowing that that is what you are...a hater...it makes me want to take Carlos up on his offer and have him drive your ass home. Because this is the best night of my life and I refuse to let you ruin it for me. Do you understand me?"

    Tasha's eyes widened and she sucked in her breath.

    Destiny's voice was calm as she repeated, "Do...you...understand...me?"

    "I hear what you're saying," Tasha muttered.

    "I'm sure you do," Destiny told her. "Make sure you retain it. I don't want to have to repeat myself." She raised a hand to the collar at her neck and glanced across the room at Aubrey, who was still looking in their direction. "And by the way...this obnoxious piece of jewelry that you think is a bit much? Yes, it's completely necessary. I'm nice enough to tell you why. Do you see that man across the room?"

    Tasha rolled her eyes and turned her eyes onto Aubrey.

    "I'm talking about the tall lightskinned one with the fade and the beard," Destiny explained unnecessarily. "The one wearing the sharpest suit I've ever seen in my life. The one who looks damned good in that suit. I love that man over there. This obnoxious piece of jewelry is a reminder of the love that I feel for him, and the love that he feels for me. It's a reminder to the both of us that I belong to him, and he belongs to me."