Poppy
With shaking hands,I ran my palms down the front of my dress. We’d gotten through the rehearsal dinner without any hiccups, but I knew something was coming. My own mother—not mother— was glued to Mrs. Madden’s side like she was going to pay her bills. She would lean over and whisper in the woman's ear, and they would both laugh at the joke they shared. Donovan and I watched them with growing suspicion. He didn’t trust his mother any more than I trusted the woman who raised me. At least we had that in common.
I stared out into the sea of unfamiliar people and felt a familiar ache take root in my chest. Even though the Cristof women had began to heal something within me, it was hard to look at all of these people and not see them sitting there. They’d come to the penthouse almost every day since mybacheloretteparty. They brought food and laughter withthem, and for the first time in my entire life, I saw myself fitting in. They didn’t expect anything of me; they just wanted me to feel loved, and that was something I never thought I would get to experience again. Especially since Donovan practically chased off Amelia.
Ivan was nowhere to be seen again. He left before I got up and was in his room by the time I got back from whatever wedding duties I needed to attend to. Sometimes I would hear him speaking to his mother or Jane in the hallway, but when I opened my door… he was gone. I didn’t know what he was doing, but I knew he was avoiding me because of the wedding.
“There she is!” Mrs. Madden declared, taking my hands in hers. Her diamonds sparkled like weapons. “Our lovely bride.”
Mrs. Fairchild—no, the woman who raised me—gave me a smug, satisfied look, as though she’d won something.
“Doesn’t she look stunning?” she purred at Mrs. Madden. “She’s always been so… pliable. Easy to mold.”
My stomach rolled. Donovan’s hand tightened painfully at my waist.
Mrs. Madden’s gaze dropped to my ring, then flicked up to my face with a shrewd calculation. “Yes. I believe she’ll do nicely.”
I felt like a piece of livestock being inspected before auction. But I smiled anyway because that was what I needed to do to get through this farce.
“Just let me know when you’d like the final guest list,” I said. “I’ll need to approve who’s walkingme down the aisle.”
Mrs. Fairchild’s eyes narrowed. “Approve? Darling, I raised you?—”
“Which is exactly why you won’t be doing it,” I cut in.
Silence crashed over us.
Mrs. Madden’s lips twitched—the smallest spark of amusement.
Donovan sucked in a slow breath.
And Mrs. Fairchild? She looked like I’d slapped her across the face. “You think you’d be more grateful for all I’ve done for you, especially now that you know the truth. I could have left you on the streets.” She seethed.
“Ladies,” Donovan interjected sharply. “This is not the place.”
I smiled again, this time wider and sharper than before. I hated Donovan, but at least he put some kind of fear into the woman.
Mrs. Fairchild’s hands balled at her sides. “I should have?—”
“Should have what?” I asked softly. “Killed me? Like you wanted to? Finished the job while you still had a chance?”
Her mouth snapped shut.
Mrs. Madden’s brows lifted. “How interesting.”
“I’m done discussing this,” I said, my voice calm even as my pulse roared like a storm. “I have guests to greet.”
I walked away before my knees gave out. “Just remember, I’m Jane’s guardian, and I can pull that card when I’m ready.”
Another threat, another thing holding Jane over my head. When would it ever end? It wouldn’t, until I slitDonovan’s throat, and I could escape with Jane. We would leave the city. We would find somewhere quiet. We would be different. We didn’t need this place, even though I had friends now.
Chapter Sixty
Ivan
I’d spentthe last two weeks preparing. Preparing my hands to do what they needed to do to pull the trigger so I could free Poppy from this mess. But no matter how many times I sat down at the range… My fingers still trembled, and my heart rate was still high. I couldn’t calm down, and I knew… I knew I couldn’t do what needed to be done. I couldn’t look Poppy in the eye, knowing that I was going to fail her, that I was going to leave her for dead.
Winter was right around the corner, and I would need to go home. I would need to prepare for the colder, snowy months and hopefully get the tremors in my hands under control so I could at least hunt again, and I didn’t mean jobs. I would need to keep myself fed. Sure, I had more money than I knew what to do with now that James Fairchild was taken care of and I’d been a bodyguard to Poppy for almost a year, but the money didn’t satisfy me. I wanted to work for my food, and both of those things hadn’t felt like work.
