Page 28 of Fractured Loyalties
My mouth opens, but I can’t come up with anything to say. I don’t know how to thank her, and she doesn’t wait for me to try.
She stands and lets out a sigh. “Don’t embarrass me tonight. The party has already started, but there’s no rush.Pleaselook presentable.”
With that, she leaves, and I get up. I hold the dress against my body, watching my reflection blur and sharpen in the full-length mirror. Part of me hates what I see, because I can suddenly visualize the similarities between myself and my mother. However, there’s the other part—the part that never felt good enough for her—that’s sickeningly satisfied to wear her dress and her family’s pearls.
So, I lean into that and send Kade a text to let him know I’ll be at the party.
Then I get ready.
I don’t makeit to the west wing ballroom until almost nine, but no one seems to notice. It’s better that way, too, because honestly, the whole scene is foreign and the very definition of overwhelming.
The room is cathedral-sized and full of wealth. Every wall is glass or gold, and every inch of the table is crowded with food, fountains, or crystalware. There’s a live band, black-tied and brimming with musical professionalism. There are teens in designer gowns and tuxes, clustered in corners, laughing with mouths that don’t quite open all the way.
What the fuck is this?It’s like something straight out of a movie, and Ineverthought this level ofpartyeven existed in real life.
I scan the crowd for familiar faces. The first ones I see are Blair and her clone army circling the champagne tower, snapping selfies, and occasionally tossing a glare my way. They don’t look happy to see me out of my cage, but they also don’t look all that threatening in the moment either…
This is my domain, even if it feels a little weird.
I make my way to the edge of the room, trying to disappear into a potted palm, but a server materializes at my elbow, tray extended. The man is older, seems kind, and gives me a look of such genuine sympathy that I want to cry.
“Champagne?”
“Um…” I stare at him, knowing full well that I’m not of drinking age, but considering everyone else is doing it… I take the glass and sip, expecting something sweet. I’m surprised to find that it’s dry, bitter, and immediately makes my lips numb.
The room is loud, with music pressing in from all sides. However, despite all the grandeur, I count three couples already sneaking off toward the hallways, two guys openly vaping by the window, and one girl in a gown so short I can see the outline of her thong.
Maybe this party isn’t so different from others after all.
I laugh into my glass, alone in the crowd, and try to imagine my dad here. He would have hated all of this; every glitzy, empty inch of it.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Kade’s voice booms from behind me, so close I can smell his cologne. It’s citrusy and earnest, and totally unlike the musky, predatory cloud that always trains Roman.
I turn to face him, immediately smiling at the warmth in his eyes.
“It’s good to see you,” I say, taking in the tux he’s wearing. He has left the bowtie untied, and the shirt is a little rumpled. His hair is damp at the edges, and his eyes are so bright it almost hurts to look at them.
It’s nice to see a lack of perfection, here in this perfect house.
“You clean up nice,” he says, giving me a slow, appreciative once-over that should feel like a threat, but doesn’t.
“Thanks,” I say, my voice catching on my words. “I wasn’t sure I’d even be allowed in, honestly. That’s why I didn’t text you back until it was almost too late.”
He leans in, the curve of his body blocking out half the room. “Well… you’re a Woods now. They couldn’t keep you out if they tried.” He nudges my glass. “You want something better? They have a full bar in the library. I’ve spent a lot of time here.”
I look down at the champagne, then back at the room. “Is it always like this?”
He grins, then shakes his head. “No, only for the big parties. Usually, it’s just us and a bottle of whatever we can sneak from the staff kitchen, because they don’t want toencourage underage drinking.”
I laugh, and then I let him lead me through the crowd, the brush of his hand at my lower back both reassuring and electric. People are staring, but not at me. They seem to be staring more at Kade, and as selfish as it sounds, it’s nice that the judgment isn’t on me for once.
I wonder who he is to them…
In the library, the air is calmer. The noise is muffled to a distant thump, and the only people here are a couple making out by the fireplace and a staff member in the corner, texting.
“Over here,” he gestures to the bar, and I lean against the old mahogany as Kade pours us both something brown and burning. The first sip is like gasoline, and I nearly choke, but I follow him to a private corner to sit. The second sip feels better, and by the third, my whole body feels as if it’s wrapped in velvet.
And it’s not the dress doing it.
