Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 80 - Wedding Bells

"So let me get this straight, Kay's immediate family fills the entire front three rows of chairs, but Marcus has no blood kin?" Jade asked Akira.

"Yes, he has no remaining family. His father died about ten years ago under mysterious circumstances, and his mother died when he was seventeen."

"How do we explain Thane's suddenly wildly swollen household?"

"We've decided to pretend his father had been a cad, resulting in a slew of nephews and nieces."

"Many people ask why Thane did not acknowledge Kay."

"Tell them the truth; the mother didn't want her identity revealed and asked for privacy for her and her daughter."

"Won't that centre the bloodhounds more firmly on your comings and goings?" she asked, and Akira frowned.

"Yes, but we can handle it. The problem is that they are speculating about you. If you intend to marry Father, you can't pose as Kay's sister; that would start an uproar. What have you told people?" Akira asked, making notes in her fancy white journal.

"Nothing. I've posed as a wedding planner with ties to the family without elaborating."

"Because you haven't decided what you wanted to do or didn't intend to fall for Father again?" Akira asked.

"Both, but I never intended to leave. I did this for Kay."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"Thane never entered the equation? Be honest, Jade."

"Thane has nothing to do with my decision," she said firmly.

"The resemblance between you and Kay is too powerful to deny. There's only one thing we can do, and that will be for you to take your place as her mother. Everyone thinks she's in her mid-twenties, and you could have been young when you had her. Only a select few fae know the truth about Eve, and they are the type of people who will carry your secrets to the grave. It might still raise a few brows in the human world, but that is unavoidable."

"Is it possible to alter my paperwork?" Jade asked.

"Yes. This should have occurred to me, but I thought Father had less chance of swaying you to his cause than I had of ever being a white fae again."

"Then you should not have interfered."

"I am sorry?" Akira asked, taken aback.

"Don't pretend innocence. When I visited, we passed a guard in the hallway, and Artemis asked why he wasn't at his station. He claimed you sent him to fetch you coffee while you worked on a security issue. I happen to know someone can stop those elevators from the guard station with the right codes."

"The correct response, dear future stepmother, is thank you."

"I am more concerned about what you overheard."

"What I heard was for my good," Akira admitted.

"Thane does love you."

"I know and never doubted it, but it hurt that he didn't always realize it."

"Will everything be ready for the wedding?" Jade asked, changing the subject.

"Yes. If we can't organize a wedding in a year, I should resign as CEO and start a take-out joint."

"I can't picture you serving tables."

"At least I can cook."

"That I would have to see."