Page 47 of Corruption

“As long as you play your part.”

That is, as long as he pretends to be a decent human being and mostly lets me be, I’ll pretend to be an excited future bride. I’ll laugh when I’m supposed to. Smile when I’m supposed to. Talk when I’m supposed to. Save face when I’m supposed to. Won’t bring up that he tried to rape me, proceeded to throw me out his house, and that I’m living with his brother and sister-in-law.

“Good,” he says with a smirk and predatory gleam in his eyes. Because he knows as well as I do that he only has to behave until I walk down the aisle and am officially his.

That doesn’t matter tonight though. Tonight, I still have power over him.

The ride over is uncomfortably silent. Tension thick in the air and not like the tension that was thick in the air between Alik and I or Nadia and I after our outings and moments together. This tension is filled with animosity and makes it hard for me to breathe. Like being in the car with my mother when she picked me up from that party.

I practically lunge out the car when the door opens, and I stumble when I’m on my feet. A hand on my arm steadies me.

“Careful there, Kiya,” Nadia says, though I have to do a double take because she almost always calls me “Pretty Girl” nowadays. Then I remember that Vaughn is right behind us.

“I’m fine,” I say.

I turn to Vaughn. He offers me his arm. I take it. We walk up the paved path into Adrian’s and Addy’s house. We step out of foyer, and Addy’s and Adrian’s children see me before I see them.

“Kiya!” they all exclaim.

Bella, still not grasping the concept that she shouldn’t run in her dress, runs and gets to me first. She immediately reaches up for me to pick her up and I scoop the dark haired, blue-eyed girl into my arms.

“Hello, Bella,” I say.

“Kiya,” she says, placing a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Can we color?”

She means she wants to paint together but doesn’t get the distinction between my canvases (both physical and digital) and her coloring books.

“If we have time.”

“Wait until you open Mom and Dad’s Christmas present. You’ll find time,” Leon says.

“Don’t spoil it,” Lady says, managing to hug me around holding Bella.

“I like your makeup,” says Velia. “Who did it?”

“Nadia did it for me,” I say without thinking.

Then I remember that I was supposed to have been living with Vaughn all this time. It’s not really a big deal. There’s a bunch of reasons Nadia could have been able to help me that wouldn’t be suspicious. Thankfully, I don’t have to think of them.

“Good thing Vaughn knew to call me over because otherwise, you would have been hopeless," Nadia says.

“I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re settling in and getting along with your future family then,” Adrian says, walking into the foyer.

“Hey, Dad,” I mutter, setting Bella down.

He stops in front of me to look over me, and even though I know it’s not possible, I wonder if he’s seeing through this ruse. I wonder if somehow he knows I haven’t been staying with the man who he kidnapped me for. That instead I’ve not only been spending all my time with my future brother and sister-in-law, but have let them do things to me that are only intended for Vaughn to do to me.

“You look well,” he finally says and then gestures for me to hug him, just like I’ve seen him hug every one of his children. Just like the public has seen him hug every one of his children. So it would be strange if he did anything different for the girl he kidnapped and is claiming as his daughter.

Despite knowing this is all just pretense, it still feels good to be greeted as someone’s daughter. To be greeted with the enthusiasm his children are as though I’m really their older sister.

“Where’s Addy?” I ask.

“Getting Aiden down for the night before she lets the nannies take over,” Adrian replies. Then he looks at Vaughn and says, “I see I was right to trust my daughter to you. Clearly, she’s been taken care of.”

Clearly? What’s that mean? Does it mean anything?

Vaughn smiles. “We’ve gotten to know each other some over the last couple of weeks.”

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