Accepting Fate - (Slums to Riches, Book one)

Chapter 40

Nothing could compare to the last eight years of her life. Nobody said she needed to procreate or consummate her marriage, so bonding with a man she could not love, or loved as a brother, had to suffice.

Andrew's darker skin had never contrasted with her pale hand as it did that day. She longed for a hand browned by the sun and calloused by hard work, belonging to a man who did not want her. So, she settled for the hand clutching hers.

Andrew explained how Cook instructed him to guide Angelique to the double doors beside the dinning room, not lead her. He placed her hand over the back of his and then held both their hands out in front of him as if to say, "lead the way." So she did.

Someone straightened her train, but she kept her eyes directed at the floor ahead of her. She could not risk looking at anyone or anything or her traitorous tears would fall. She knew now her bout of tripping and fumbling was due to her magic fighting off the drugs they forced on her, but she did not trust the heels, so she placed her feet carefully, one in front of the other.

Jenny and Michael stood by the doors waiting for them. Since Jenny couldn't wear anything but purple, she wore a pale lilac frock studded with tiny shimmering sapphires. Michael wore a black suit and a pink shirt and tie. For the first time since they arrived, he had color to his cheeks.

Scrunching his nose in disgust, he said, "They made me wear pink, so it matches Jamie's dress or something. Why couldn't Jenny wear pink?"

Angelique swallowed passed the lump in her throat until she could breath easier. "Jenny can't wear pink. It's a long story we don't have time for. You look really handsome, even though you had to wear pink."

His cheeks flamed as he stared at his shoes and mumbled his thanks. Together, Michael and Jenny pushed open the doors, then he bent to pick up a pillow and Jenny retrieved a basket of petals. 

The song Ty recorded especially for her when she had one of the most dreadful days in school, started playing. It fractured the wall she built around her emotions. Her tears run freely, yet hidden behind her veil. 

Jenny sprinkled the rose and honeysuckle petals as she walked beside Michael who held onto his pillow as though his life depended on it. Emotions from every person seated in the hall bombarded her. She fought to construct walls as she read in Cook's book, but without the constant practice, they still filtered through. She clenched Andrew's hand and stopped when a sudden rage filled her. She tried to find whom it came from, but with all the other emotions filling her, she could not focus. Before she could call to Ty, something hissed behind her and the stench of cologne filled the room.

Andrew spun around and then fist hit flesh. Angelique could only focus on wrapping a protective shield around her before her eyes started swelling. She did not need to endure blindness through her bonding ceremony. By the time she took her first breath, Andrew and Ty dragged a man out the hall and handed him to Alex.

"Make sure that asshole does not come back here. Ever!" Ty shouted. "Cook, can you clear away that stench before it affects Ann?"

A gust of wind funneled through the aisle and carried the overwhelming spicy stench with it. It smelled the same as the cologne on the man whom she kicked in the living room.

Jamie confirmed her suspicion when she said, "That guy can't take a hint."

Trevor, one of the men she last saw as a boy, brought his very pregnant wife to the vacant seat, and returned to his spot at the back of the hall. The whispers stopped and the music resumed as Andrew once more held out his hand to Angelique.

She had a suspicion the necklace blocked her emotions from affecting the weather, because the sun streamed through the open doors before Alex returned and closed them. He remained in front of them with his hands clasped in front of him, but winked at her before straightening his face into a serious mask. Logan chose well for their head of security.