Plastic diamonds - Marjorie's backstory.

Chapter 21

It was like the room full of hundreds of people went silent for Marjorie. The only words she could hear in that moment were the ones that directly came out of her mother's mouth. Except her mother stood there for a few seconds, silent, her jaw slightly dropped. They hadn't seen each other in over 15 years.

Marjorie watched as her mother's mouth started to move, struggling to find the words. "What– why are you here?" She blurted out, pointing directly at Marjorie.

Marjorie narrowed her eyes again, looking at her for a second. "You know, you should be really careful about letting everyone in attendance to bring a plus one."

Marjorie's mother scoffed, she lowered her voice. "Watch your tone Marjorie, you are not ruining this night for me."

Marjorie raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Enjoy your night, I hope it's memorable for you." Reece, Autumn and Winter had their hands over their mouths, trying to cover their giggling.

Amanda's facial expressions quickly changed. She looked around the room, quickly glancing at who was around, and then leaned down on the table. "I suggest you leave now Marjorie." She whispered in a serious tone. She then stood up straight, took a deep breath and walked away.

Marjorie let out a breath she never knew she was holding. She was snapped out of the silence she was hearing when she heard Winter laughing beside her. She quickly turned her head to look at Winter and Autumn, and then turned her head to Reece who was looking concerned. She closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair. "Are you okay?" Reece asked her, placing his hand on her thigh and gently rubbing her thumb over her skin.

Marjorie opened her eyes again and looked straight ahead, she started shaking her head. "I think I need a shot."

Autumn and Winter immediately stood up. "We'll go to the bar for you." Autumn said, they both walked away.

Reece watched as Winter and Autumn got lost in the crowd. He turned his attention back to Marjorie, who was staring at the wall in front of her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her forehead. "We can go if you want?"

Marjorie leaned into Reece's shoulder. She sighed. "No. I don't know."

"Marjorie." He placed his finger underneath her chin, making her look at him. "I get you want to expose all the family secrets, however please do not force yourself to do it."

Marjorie places her hand on Reece's cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." She smiles.

Before Reece could get another word in, Marjorie's attention was drawn away from him by Winter and Autumn who had returned with a tray full of shots. They had also grabbed a lemonade for Reece as he was staying sober the whole night. Reece sat back as he watched the other three down the shots. He knew he was in for one of the most eventful nights of his life.

An hour had passed, the four of them were sat down talking, often returning back and forth from the bar. Winter and Autumn were clearly not sober, but they seemed to be good at staying sensible. Meanwhile, Marjorie was visibly drunk.

The room was quickly turned silent, as a tall man stepped on the stage. He started thanking everyone for coming, and starting explaining why today was such an important day for the Van Goulds. He then started going on about the success of the Van Goulds, and how they deserve everything they've archived. Reece often glances back at Marjorie during the speech, catching her faintly shaking her head at a lot of the words coming out of the man's mouth.

A few more people, who had a close relationship with the Van Goulds stepped on stage. Talking about their best memories with Howard and Amanda. The crowd laughing along, while Marjorie sat there completely unrelaxed as everyone fell for all their lies. Just as those people finished their speeches, the host got back up on stage. "Would anyone else, from the crowd, like to share some kind words about the beautiful marriage these two people hold?"

Reece immediately looked back at Marjorie, who already had a slight smirk on her face as she heard those words come out of his mouth. Reece shook his head and placed his hand on Marjorie's thigh. "Do not." He whispered.

Marjorie looked at Reece for a second. Debating whether she should go with what her non-sober mind is telling her to do, or listen to her boyfriend, who was completely sober.

She grabbed Reece's hand and brushed it off her lap. She then stood up out of her seat.

"I would love to say a few words."