First to the Altar Wins (Wattpad Reading List choice)

29. Lilith: Taking A Stand

Early morning. The air was light and warm, and a lone bird sang a song. There was something about this place - Hurtmore - that made it feel like it was a world all its own. But more than that, there was peace in it. Here, Lilith felt free. She could be herself and there was no one to judge or scrutinize her.

She lowered her head, looking to where her hand sat entwined with Brandon's on the edge of the chair. Beside her, Mrs. Moore was dozing somewhere underneath that pile of hair, while in their respective corners, Kendall and her father sat in their own awkwardly-positioned slumber.

Lilith tilted her gaze to Brandon's face, expecting to find him asleep. Instead, he was gazing at her beneath lowered lashes, the morning light bringing a touch of gold to his hazel eyes.

Lilith blinked as he reached over and curved his fingers through a lock of her long, red hair. "How are you feeling?" she whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up.

"Me?" He cracked a smile. "I'm happy."

"Happy?"

"Because you're here."

She paused, drawing in a slow, quiet breath. "Brandon, you must never do anything like this again, do you hear me?"

"Were you worried?"

"Of course I was worried."

"I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

She pursed her lips for a moment. "You know what kind of a position you put me in."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"Oh?"

"I could take you away from here. We could go anywhere you wish, see the world, build a home. We could start anew."

"What about my family? The twins?"

"They'll be fine. They have their own lives to focus on, just as you do."

"And how will my father treat your family if we were to do something like that? He'd be so angry, Brandon."

He took a moment, pondering over her words. "We can't go on with this kind of fear of your father, Lilith. That goes for all of us."

"You don't know him as I do."

"I know the hold he has on you."

She started to respond, but was distracted by the sound of a carriage outside. "That's him," she said in alarm. "It has to be."

She started to get up, but Brandon held fast to her hand. "This is not your house."

"What??"

"Let him come to us." He shifted, moving to sit up.

"Brandon, don't."

"You don't have to face him alone," he insisted, staring up at her.

Lilith didn't know what to say. Footsteps came pattering down the staircase, and they saw that it was Logan, moving hurriedly. A few servants followed at his heel, handing him a coat which he quickly pulled on. Logan paused at the foot of the stairs, and the rest of the Moores began to stir at the noise. "Looks like it's time to face the music," Logan voiced her thoughts. He observed her and Brandon's joined hands, doing a dry smirk. "Are you ready?"

Brandon did a brave nod, more confident than Lilith.

"Good luck," Logan offered, before going to receive his guest. As it turned out, her father was not alone. He had brought Regina with him, either for company or added pressure, Lilith was not sure. The two of them came through the hallway, and Lilith's instinct was to pull away and run, but Brandon would not let her. Despite his condition, he held her hand tightly, so that when her father and stepmother walked in, that was exactly what they saw - a couple holding hands.