Oaths and Omissions (Monsters & Muses #3)(89)



“So, what? You just want to be fake engaged forever?” I laugh, but my face heats with shame, and it feels like I’ve been dipped in the thick of it. “Kind of unrealistic for a guy who doesn’t date, don’t you think?”

Asking that question feels like I’m cutting myself wide open and begging him to stop the bleeding.

But I still want to know the answer, either way. Even if it hurts me.

He opens his mouth to respond, a strange, unreadable look passing over his face like a dark storm cloud, but someone cuts him off before he has a chance. Pulling me back against his side, he grips my hip so tight that I can feel bruises forming, but I don’t ask him to let up.

I like the reassurance, even if it is a little hollow.

Mama and Daddy make their way over to us. Behind them, people line the red runway, posing for pictures and stopping to speak to photographers and reporters. As if any one of them are important enough to warrant such attention.

“My goodness, Helene,” Mama coos as she approaches, grabbing my cheeks and leaning in for air kisses. Jonas doesn’t let me budge, though, and after a moment, she releases me and pulls back to peruse my outfit. “What an… interesting fashion choice. A little warm, isn’t it?”

The thrifted faux-mink coat I grabbed right before we left the house felt like a good idea at the time. Something to hide my insecurities in, since I’ve fallen out of the habit of these publicity events.

Running a hand over the soft white material, I shrug, giving a pointed look at the alligator boots she’s paired with a bright-pink pantsuit. “It may be warm, but it’s not more interesting than yours.”

Daddy clears his throat, grinning down at me in his gray three-piece suit. It’s a fake gesture, one I could spot a million miles away, but he leans into it regardless. As if the majority of my life wasn’t spent cataloging those gestures, taking mental notes so I’d know what to do in the spotlight myself, and so I’d know when he needed reigning in.

Now, the only person around to keep him on his leash is Mama, and she was never any good at that in the first place.

Malice lines the dark rings around his irises, and my limbs tense up. Being in public and not being clued into Daddy’s emotions or thoughts beforehand is more unsettling than I thought it would be.

Not to mention, he looks like the cat that caught the canary. Eerily similar to the way he’d seemed after I told him about Preston and his friends, as if the wheels were turning, figuring out how to spin things to fit his narrative before I’d even finished talking.

“Wasn’t sure if you’d show tonight or not,” Daddy says.

I frown. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Events like this used to be our thing. Wasn’t sure if you were feeling up to it or not, given the sudden shift in company.” His eyes flicker to Jonas, but they don’t remain. “I remember what happened last time I let you attend a function without me.”

My spine stiffens, and Jonas grips me harder. Since I didn’t tell him about Daddy’s involvement, I doubt my fake fiancé’s aware of the reference, but still.

Other people could be.

Still, Jonas doesn’t seem satisfied being left in the dark. “What happened last time?”

Daddy’s boisterous laugh fills the air, and he claps Jonas on the shoulder, drawing the attention of several different reporters. Their cameras turn our way, flashing over and over until I start to feel sick.

Or maybe it’s the situation in general making me nauseous.

Either way, bile teases the back of my throat, and I’m about three seconds from puking everywhere.

“You know how girls get sometimes when they’ve had too much to drink.” Daddy shakes his head, like this is some big inside joke we’re all a part of. “Can’t blame her for stepping out on the poor kid, though. Not everyone can be tied down to one person, like her mother and I.”

A snort catches in my nose, and I cover it with a fake sneeze. I suppose being faithful is easy when you’re too busy being evil.

And right now, my father has never looked more so. There’s something sinister in his gaze, dark and contrite as he looks at me.

It sends malcontent slithering along my spine.

I feel Jonas look at me, but I don’t dare meet his gaze. “She certainly seems content enough.”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt. That’s how they all start, and it’s how they get you.” Daddy’s eyes narrow at me, pinning me in place. “Mark my words, son. She’ll break your heart.”

“Could I have a word, Daddy?” I snap, extracting myself from Jonas’s grip. He doesn’t look like he wants to let me go, but since we’re in public, he seems to think better about protesting.

Daddy frowns as I walk away, following after he says something in Mama’s ear. I stop just out of earshot, and he folds his arms over his chest as he comes to stand in front of me.

“What’s your problem?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Excuse me, little girl?”

“No, not a little girl. An adult, actually, who would really appreciate it if you’d stop trying to manipulate her every chance you get.” I grip my biceps, hugging myself.

A muscle in his jaw thumps. “Big words from a girl who has nothing without me.”

The complete disregard for my previous statement burns, though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. All he’s ever done was ignore me.

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