Page 100 of Shadowed Obsession

“You wouldn’t come to us, so we came to you,” her mother beams, her smile taking over her whole face.

When they pull apart, Deirdre returns to my side, and her mother eyes me curiously. “You hadn’t told me you were seeing someone,” she sings, swatting her arm. “And who might you be, handsome?”

I chuckle nervously. “César,” I say, reaching out to shake her manicured hand.

She hums, “César, huh?” And looks at Deirdre. “When were you going to mention him?”

She glances over to me, hoping for a save, anxious and blindsided.

I’ve got her. I’ve always got her.

“We’ve only recently started dating, and felt it would be best that we spent more time together before telling our families,” I quip, eager to rescue Doe.

“I see. Did she ever mention that she is arranged to be married to someone?”

What?

“Mom please,” she begs, all but stamping her foot. “Don’t lie. All you do is scare people away from me,” she grumbles.

“What? We invited a few down here to meet you. Your father wanted to revisit the conversation, given how things ended with Law–-”

“I don’t want to talk about this. Not now. Not ever,” she declares, cutting her off.

“You will not speak to me like that, Deirdre,” her mother warns with a scowl, the mood now shifted into one even I can’t save.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Deirdre says firmly, folding her arm in mine and ushering us away.

She trains her expressions into a forced smile, reapplying the mask she needs for survival. As hard as I’ve worked for her to feel comfortable taking it off, it pains me that she will shrink herself to feel safe. She needs someone to protect her, and I want that to be me, but how?

She leads the way through the halls of the distillery, seemingly to find a spot to be alone. I wonder if she has hiding places here to slip into whenever she grows weary.

“I’m sorry, César. I didn’t know they’d show. My father doesn’t enjoy traveling here. That’s one reason I chose Austin,” she explains, avoiding eye contact.

“And here I thought you came in hopes of finding me,” I joke, attempting to comfort her.

She snorts. “How could I have known you were here waiting for me? I want you to know that I haven’t agreed to marry anyone. After my ex, I figured they’d drop the marriage and grandkids talk. I’ve poured myself into this company in hopes to avoid our marriage traditions. It’s worked for Darius so far. They—” She pauses. “I’m sorry. You’re not feeling well. This is the last you need to be dealing with.”

“Hey,” I say, grabbing her attention. “Let me see your face. Please?" I ask.

I’m rewarded when she turns toward me, offering a soft smile.

There she is.

“It’s okay. I’m here for you, and this is your night, remember? Don’t let anybody ruin it for you. And if they try, they’ve gotta get through me.”

“I appreciate that, but my family doesn’t really back down. I usually just walk away, but I won’t let them fuck with you. Look at my mom, we weren’t even here for ten minutes, and she already tried to run you off.”

“Mírame, I’m not going anywhere, unless you ask me to,” I reassure her, tilting her chin up to meet me in a kiss. “This is to celebrate your hard work, Divin, and your staff. We’re going to enjoy ourselves regardless of who is in attendance. And when you are ready to go home, we will. No questions asked, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers, staring adoringly as she leans in to kiss me sweetly. “I’m glad I’m here,” I murmur against her lips.

“Me too. I’m sure you’ve met Regina, but in case you haven’t met the others, I’ll introduce you, and then we can get the hell out of here, if you want.

If you want to stay, it helps that you make good arm candy and you look like you know how to fight,” she teases.

“Luckily, I do.” I chuckle, holding my arm out for her to take, and we reenter the party.

I recognize Regina and Angelo Jr. speaking off to the side, and when they spot us, they begin to make their way over. I swallow and do my best to seem cool.

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