AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, she was hired to be the maid.” Ian let out a dry laugh.
“It was simply to get my bride to us. She’s not the maid,” Conrad fired back at his dad. Wow, he was defending me? My hero. I rolled my eyes as I sat with them.
“Demi, we are going to do your bridal gown fitting in the morning. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, and then you’ll even get to select the bridesmaid’s dresses just in case we let you have them. We’re going to go to the best bridal boutique in Charlotte tomorrow,” Mrs. Ivory said, delighted.
I sat up immediately. “Wait, we’re going to leave the house?”
“Well, of course, we are. We have an entire girls’ day planned, darling,” Mrs. Ivory chirped as she smiled. “We have five days until the wedding. I always thought we’d have slightly more time, but now we know Conrad is in dire need of a woman’s touch. Clearly.” She glanced over at her son.
Cringing inside, I knew she was referring to the fact that Conrad had attacked Daisy and then almost did the same to me. She was implying that he needed his wife to relieve him so he wouldn’t go around assaulting women in front of an audience out of spite.
“Speaking of…” Ian cleared his throat and handed a small box over to Conrad, who set his glass down.
Walking toward me with the black velvet box in his hands, Conrad dropped to one knee.
Oh no.
Mrs. Ivory gasped and flung her hand over her mouth, as if she was completely surprised by the clearly staged, gut-wrenching proposal. I didn’t think I had ever thought about this moment in my life. Maybe because I knew a girl like me would never have a prince charming riding in on a white horse to save me from the fire-breathing dragons. Maybe because I always knew the only way someone would be on their knees in front of me was if he were the villain.
“Demi Rao, you have taken my breath away since the very first time I laid eyes on your photograph. I remember so clearly flipping through the pages of the…” He paused and flicked his eyes to his dad, who shook his head. “I remember all the girls were blurring together. Boring, dreadful, bland… but then you were a vision. I knew the only way I’d want to improve my bride-to-be was simply by altering your hair, and now look at you. You’re perfect.” Conrad cracked the box open, and I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the massive stone in front of me. It was a massive, emerald-cut diamond solitaire on a thin gold band.
“Demi, will you do me the greatest honor of my life and marry me?” Conrad flashed his pearly white teeth at me, and for a moment, I tilted my head and thought how many women in the world must dream of this moment.
I wanted to say no and slap him. I wanted to spit on his face and storm out of here. But I knew they’d hunt me down and gut me—and worse, they’d hurt him.
They’d kill Bradley and make me watch. My stomach curled as I thought of my finger having to carry the weight of this ring being from this disgusting scum of a man. But, I knew better. I knew that I was a girl without choices. I knew there weren’t multiple choices here. So, I sucked in a breath of air and looked at my shaking fingers.
“Yes,” I whispered so low that I hoped in some way I wouldn’t hear it so I wouldn’t have to think of myself as the most pathetic human in the planet.
Clapping and laughter erupted around us as Conrad yanked my hand and slid the massive stone onto my finger. Standing, he pulled me into his arms and forced a sloppy kiss across my lips.
“Say cheese!” Dr. Ivory held a camera up and took a photo. The bright flash blinded me temporarily, and as I opened my eyes again, I could see her.
My sweet sister, laying in her own blood, watching me sadly as I held a knife in my clammy hands to put her out of her misery. She’d be heartbroken that this was why she died.
But then, as I thought of my sister, while the clicking of Ian Ivory’s camera sounded in the background, it occurred to me.
My sister told me to run away to Charlotte, North Carolina. She specifically made it clear that I would make it here. A sick feeling in my stomach rippled through as panic set in.
Did my sister send me into a death trap?
I looked at the Ivory family—the three were chattering away, eyeing me periodically—and suddenly, the weight of the ring on my finger felt heavier. It felt like it was burning.
But then as I looked at the large stone on my finger and my skin growing red underneath the band, I realized it didn’t just feel like it was burning.
It was burning.
Letting out a distressed scream, I tried to tug the fitted ring off my finger as my skin began to peel and burn underneath.
“Ah!” I cried out as I finally got it off and saw a reddened circle around my finger.
“What the hell?” I was breathing heavily as Conrad slowly dragged his feet toward me.
Lifting my hand up, he smiled at the flaking skin. Pressing his lips against the new wound, he sighed. “An Ivory tradition, sweetheart. Now, we’re bound together, skin-deep.” He looked at me proudly… possessively.
“You did this on purpose?” Jerking my hand out from his, I looked over his shoulder at his attentive parents.
“Demi, darling, it’s a tradition. I, too, went through it. It’s actually romantic.” Mrs. Ivory lifted her overly drawn-in eyebrow.
