EMARA
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I kept my stare out of the window, nervously picking at my nails while Kade silently drove. I could tell he was concentrating on driving and the last thing I wanted to do was distract him with my nerves.
My hands began to shake and I straightened out my white dress, playing with the hems that ended just a few inches above my knees. I was trying to calm my erratic breathing pattern and I haven't even gotten to the house yet.
There was nothing more that I wanted to do than jump out of the moving vehicle I was in. I never had a moment when I was so stressed out but the mere thought of having to see Tristan's parents made my entire body freeze up.
The couple were never fond of me and their golden boy together. When I first started dating Tristan, I always kept to myself and was secretive about my life — in most cases, I still am —, not coming from a wealthy family like Tristan did.
And if Mr. and Mrs. Black couldn't get any fortune out of me then I was useless; I wasn't good enough for Tristan, in their eyes.
Tristan cared about what his parents thought, as much as he told me he didn't. I could see it in his eyes how upset he got whenever they would talk about how he deserved better. He worked so much to prove that he was still the amazing son they raised even though that meant sacrificing time between the two of us.
"Calm down," Kade said and I jumped, looking at him. I could see him staring at me through the corner of his eyes and I sighed, shrugging my shoulders.
"I can't," I mumbled back, staring out of the window again. "It's so difficult even thinking about them because I know how horrible they can be."
Kade silently nodded, thrumming a beat against the steering wheel.
"If it makes you feel any better, my father despises me for just running off after I realized how Tristan was still getting all of the credit, even after I had practically made the company," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "As you can tell, this is going to be a pretty shitty night."
I chuckled just as we drove to a giant iron gate. Two men stood on either side and one of them walked up to the car. All he had to do was glance at Kade, then me, and then he walked back and pressed the code in.
Once the gate was open, Kade drove in. My eyes immediately landed on a giant three-story Victorian-style mansion with bricks in the shade of grey, and giant windows on every floor. Standing in front of the large double-doors at the front were two large white pillars that were stands for the balcony on the second floor. Bright green grass and sprinklers watered every square-inch of the large lawn and lanterns showed us the way as we travelled down the large driveway, eventually circling the gravel circle. Just as I unbuckled my seatbelt, Kade turned the car off, unbuckling his own seatbelt.
"I'm sorry that you have to experience this nightmare of a dinner without Tristan," Kade said sincerely, causing me to sigh and look through the mirror to fix up my red lips.
"I'm just tired, Kade," I muttered, not breaking eye contact with myself as I stopped, fixing any stray hair from my eyebrows. "Tristan needs to get his shit together before I get mine and move out."
Kade chuckled, getting out of the car. I opened mine just as he got around the car and took his hand. He helped me out of the car and looped his arm around mine; walking towards the large steps of the front porch.
"Just tell me if you want to leave early, alright?" Kade mumbled into my ear, knocking on the cherrywood doors. "I'll take you to a bar or some shit like that and you can vent to me about all your life problems over something alcoholic."
I smiled, nodding my head just as the door opened. A butler that looked to be around fifty nodded to us. I recognized him as Frederick, Mr. and Mrs. Black's top butler of the house and my personal favourite.
"Good evening, Mr. Black, and to you as well, Ms. Giovanni," he spoke. "Mr. and Mrs. Black are currently waiting for you in the main dining hall, if you could follow me?"
I silently nodded, tightening my hold on Kade's arm as we walked through the giant house. Though the outside looked Victorian and old, the interior had all modern appliances and decorations. It was an odd transition, if anything.
My heart pounded in my throat as my heels clicked against the dark flooring, my hands clenching into fists as if it would subside the horrible sweating that was returning.
Just as I felt Kade give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, my phone began to ring through the loud silence. I took it out and glanced at the name, my face falling into a scowl when I saw Tristan's name glowing. I answered it, pressing the phone to my ear.
"What do you want?" I asked, my voice a quiet hiss. "I'm busy."
"I figured," Tristan said, sighing. "Emara, I don't want to not talk about this. We left our phone call on bad terms and—"
"Maybe if you learned to keep your word then we wouldn't even be having this conversation," I snapped back. "Or if you were actually home for once."
I could hear him swear to himself. "Emara, please. I know you're upset about this but if you would just see this in my perspective—"
"I've been upset, you selfish asshole!" I snapped, stopping in my tracks. "Don't you dare tell me to look at this in your perspective because I've been doing that for the last three years! You have left me countless times after knowing I can't stand being alone, knowing that I can't get on a plane for the life of me, and I hate leaving the country! YET YOU STILL DO!"
"Fuck, Emara—"
"I'm staying at Jake's place until you can get your shit together," I interrupted, and that caused him to go deathly silent. "You obviously want to focus on your job right now and you're dragging me down with our relationship."
That's when he began to speak up. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean you being gone all the time for weeks at a time, then you come home and work as if you haven't already been doing that! Do you know how sick I am of never seeing you, Tristan! The first time I saw you since your last trip a month ago was when you kissed me good-bye to go to Rome!"
I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and I jumped. They began to slowly rub them and I closed my eyes to stop the tears of anger.
"You're not joking," he muttered.
"Why the fuck would I be joking about something like this?" I barked back. "I have a dinner to attend to, Tristan. I'm not talking about this subject until we're in person."
"Emara, don't you—"
I hung up, silencing my phone and closing my eyes tightly. When I turned around, Kade was watching me with concerned eyes, looking over my face slowly.
"You okay?" He mumbled softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, shaking my head to myself. "I'm just tired of this constant circle we've gotten used to."
Kade hummed, moving his hands to the sides of my neck. "If you ever need anything, let me know, Em. I know it's been so long since we've last spoken but I still care about you, okay? My dumb-ass of a brother may not be there for you but I am."
My cheeks warmed up and he gave me a smile, pulling away. He nodded his head to the direction in front of us, turning me around gently and guiding me there. A pair of white tinted-glass doors came into view and Kade glanced at me one last time before opening it.
I walked in and was greeted with two sets of eyes. I cleared my throat, walking inside with Kade. The door closed behind us and we sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Black, who continued to stare us down.
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Black," I greeted, faking an enthusiastic smile while Kade tucked my chair in.
They returned it with tight-lipped smiles. I looked down at the table, clearing my throat.
"She's not the fucking plague, Dad," Kade spoke. "Stop acting like children."
"Watch your language, boy," Mr. Black said, making my forehead rest against my palm. This was going to be a horrible dinner. "Where's Tristan?"
"Oh, he's out of the country again," I answered with a shrug.
"Then why did you come?" Mrs. Black asked, her voice coming out soft. It was something I've never heard her direct towards me, specifically.
"I know how much you wanted to have this dinner, even if it wasn't with me," I said. "It seemed disrespectful not to come."
I saw her lips twitch up and she opened her mouth to say something but one glare from Mr. Black made her close it once more. I glanced at Kade and he must have seen my confusion because he simply shook his head before narrowing his eyes at his father.
"That's a shame, he isn't here," Mr. Black continued. Kade tightened his grip around the silverware he was holding and I sent a glance in his direction. "Quite the smarts running such a business."
"Yeah, and then the castaway son who made the fucking business and is five times more successful than that self-centred bastard," Kade snapped, making his mother's face fall in her hands while I could see a vein popping out of Mr. Black's forehead. "But, no, because I don't like being in an office twelve hours a day because I don't want to be a zombie, I'm the bad son."
My eyes went wide and I looked at Kade, finding his entire body tense and his jaw clenched.
Tristan told me that Kade helped with only a tough proportion of the business... But hearing the fact that he's been lying to me was sick; he took all of the credit for a business he didn't even make.
What else was he lying about?
"Maybe a real son wouldn't have disappointed his own parents by abandoning the industry I raised you to take over."
"I've been working on my business," Kade snapped. "Just because I work at home more than in a building doesn't mean I've abandoned my work. Tristan, however..."
I made eye contact with Mrs. Black, hers showing an emotion I've never seen before — guilt.
"He's a good son," Mr. Black said. That caused me to snort, making his eyes snap at me. "I don't want to hear a sound from you. Tristan is out there keeping you under a nice roof and you're going out with his brother. I've always known you were nothing but a gold-digging slut."
"Calvin!" Mrs. Black exclaimed, her mouth going over her mouth.
"Shut up, Marlene," he snapped back. "She deserves to know exactly how I think of her. You've only been with Tristan for the money. You knew exactly who he was since day one and you've still managed to make him believe otherwise."
I opened my mouth to say something but he continued. "I've never met someone so disgusting in my entire life" — I could feel the tears building up in my eyes — "and it's impressive that you have the nerve to walk into my house."
I felt one of my tears fall down my cheek and Kade dropped his fork on the almost empty plate.
"I can barely look at you anymore as much as it is but this is the last fucking straw!" He yelled, standing up while I wiped the tears cascading down my face. "Emara has done nothing but given her absolute best to show you how important this entire family is to her and you continue to beat her down for not being a snot like all of Tristan's other rich friends!"
"You better watch your—"
"I don't want to hear anything from you," Kade snapped, pointing at his father. "Emara is amazing inside and out and you're so fucking spoiled that you can't accept that she's the best person Tristan has ever had! It's still a surprise that Mom's still with your ungrateful ass after all these years."
Mr. Black seemed to have enough because he stood up, his cheeks red with anger. "Get the fuck out of my house, boy! I don't want to see you're ass here ever again!"
"Good, because I'd rather be in hell than look at you for another second."
Kade pulled my seat out and grabbed my coat, sending an apologetic look to his mother before guiding me out of the house
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