chapter five

Chapter 5

Serena's POV

The engagement party was finally coming to an end, and if there was one thing I had learned tonight, it was that pretending to be in love was far more exhausting than actually being in love. 

My cheeks hurt from smiling, my feet hurt from standing, and my social battery had been murdered by politicians, reporters and wealthy people who kept congratulating me as though I hadn't just agreed to spend the rest of my life with a walking red flag. 

At that point, all I wanted was a shower, my bed and enough alcohol to erase the entire Draven family from my memory.

I leaned closer to Cassian and flashed him the same sweet smile that had fooled half the state. "I'm going upstairs," I said softly, already preparing my escape. "If one more reporter asks me how I knew you were the one, I might accidentally tell them I lost a bet."

A few people standing nearby laughed, but Cassian didn't.

His arm tightened around my waist before I could move, and although the smile never left his face, something in his eyes changed immediately. "No."

I blinked slowly before turning to look at him. "No?"

"The press are still here."

I glanced around the room dramatically. "Unfortunately, I can see that."

"They need to keep seeing us together."

I sighed. "Cassian, I've been attached to your hip all evening. At this point people probably think we're conjoined twins."

His smile remained perfectly intact, but his eyes hardened in a way that made me uncomfortable. "Serena."

There it was, not the loving fiancé voice, not the charming politician voice.

This was his command voice; the one that sounded calm enough to fool everyone else but always carried a threat beneath it.

"I'm tired," I said, lowering my voice.

"And I'm running for senate." I stared at him, and he stared right back.

"People need to see us together."

"They've seen us together."

"They need to keep seeing us together… Don't argue with me."

My smile began hurting again. "What happens if I don't?"

His fingers pressed slightly harder into my waist, and the look he gave me was enough to remind me exactly who Cassian Draven was beneath the expensive suits and charming smiles.

"You know how much I hate disobedience."

There it was, wrapped neatly inside a smile…A threat.

God, romance was truly alive. I swallowed my irritation and forced another smile before reaching for a passing waiter's tray and grabbing a glass of champagne.

"Of course, darling," I said sweetly before taking a large sip. "What was I thinking? Clearly standing here smiling until my soul leaves my body is exactly how I wanted to spend the rest of my evening."

Cassian ignored the sarcasm completely. Probably because he was used to it, or because he simply didn't care, and both options annoyed me equally.

The next thirty minutes dragged by painfully. Cassian kept one arm around my waist the entire time as we saw guests off, posed for photographs and listened to endless speeches from people who wanted favors from him. Meanwhile, I focused on finishing my champagne and imagining all the creative ways I could make certain individuals disappear.

That was when my attention drifted across the room, straight to Lucien.

Unfortunately.

The bastard was standing near the bar speaking to a man I had never seen before. They weren't chatting casually. There was something strange about the conversation. The man looked nervous, while Lucien looked serious. Every few seconds the stranger glanced around the room before speaking again, and the more I watched them, the more curious I became.

Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't here to discuss the weather.

The stranger leaned closer and whispered something which made Lucien's expression darken. Then, as if sensing my stare, his eyes suddenly lifted, straight to mine.

My heartbeat immediately betrayed me: wonderful.

Exactly what I needed; a biological malfunction.

For a moment neither of us looked away, then I noticed  the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, amusement flashing through his eyes as though he'd caught me doing something embarrassing. Before I could look away, he subtly nodded toward the garden doors.

The stranger immediately understood, and seconds later both men headed outside.

"What are you staring at?" Cassian's voice pulled me back instantly.

I grabbed another glass of champagne before answering. "Nothing."

His eyes narrowed, as mine widened innocently.

For a second, I thought he might question me further, but before he could, the atmosphere inside the room suddenly shifted.

The change was immediate, as conversations slowed, guests straightened, and several people turned  toward the entrance.

Even Cassian's posture changed, and if Cassian Draven was adjusting himself for someone's arrival, then whoever had just walked in was important.

Curiosity immediately won, as I also turned toward the entrance, and nearly choked on my drink.

A woman dressed entirely in black entered the mansion with the confidence of someone who had spent decades making powerful men kneel. She wasn't particularly tall, nor was she young, but somehow she commanded more attention than everyone else combined. Every step she took seemed deliberate, measured and powerful enough to silence an entire room.

Cassian released my waist immediately.

"Mother."

Well, that explained everything. The legendary Mrs. Draven.

The woman responsible for creating this circus.

Before I could process her arrival properly, Stacey practically appeared from nowhere and rushed forward, then something happened that almost made me laugh. 

She actually formed the sign of the cross in front of her. I blinked once, then twice, trying to convince myself I wasn't seeing things because the woman looked less like a daughter greeting her mother and more like a nun preparing to cast out a demon.

"Mother," Stacey greeted respectfully, her voice carrying an obedience I hadn't heard from her all evening.

 Mrs. Draven barely spared her a glance before giving a single nod in acknowledgement, and somehow that tiny gesture seemed enough to satisfy Stacey. 

There was no hug, no smile, no form of affection.. It was so sad. Yet the woman looked relieved just to have received that much attention, which honestly told me everything I needed to know about who truly ruled this family.

My curiosity only grew as Cassian stepped forward next, and for the first time that night I saw something close to genuine respect on his face. It lasted all of two seconds before he leaned down and kissed his mother on the lips. 

My soul immediately packed its bags and left my body. The champagne nearly went down the wrong pipe as I stared at them in complete horror, wondering if exhaustion had finally gotten to me because surely I hadn't just witnessed that. 

Surely there was some perfectly reasonable explanation for what I had just seen, maybe rich people had strange traditions, or maybe this was some political family ritual, or better still maybe I was hallucinating. Honestly, any explanation would have been preferable to the one standing right in front of me.

"Don't get too shocked."

Paulo's amused voice suddenly appeared beside me, and I turned toward him so quickly I almost got whiplash. "What exactly did I just witness?" I asked, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice. The man actually had the audacity to grin.

"Oh, that?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes, Paulo. That."

His grin only widened as he casually slipped both hands into his pockets, looking entirely too entertained by my suffering. "That's how we greet each other in this family."

For several seconds I simply stared at him, waiting for the punchline. Surely he was joking. Surely any moment now he would laugh and tell me he was messing with me. Instead, he just stared right back, completely serious, and that was somehow worse. 

Dear God. I suddenly needed another drink, not a glass, but the entire bottle, or an entire vineyard. I could practically hear alarm bells ringing inside my head, warning me that marrying into this family might actually qualify as a medical emergency.

Paulo's gaze lingered on me longer than necessary, his eyes moving over my face with a confidence that immediately made me uncomfortable. 

There was nothing openly inappropriate about it, nothing I could point to and accuse him of, but it was there all the same. A subtle interest, a curiosity that felt far too personal for a man who was supposed to become my stepson in less than two months.

"I can't wait to have you as my stepmother."

The words themselves were harmless, and they should have sounded harmless. But there was something in the way he said them that made every instinct inside me sit up and pay attention. 

His smile remained pleasant, almost charming, yet the look in his eyes told a completely different story. That wasn't the look of a man welcoming a new member into the family. It wasn't respect, or admiration, and it certainly wasn't affection.

I forced a smile onto my face and lifted my champagne to my lips, mostly because I needed something to do before I accidentally threw the glass at him. "Trust me," I said sweetly, holding his gaze as I took another sip, "you're not nearly as excited about that as the reporters are."

His grin deepened. "Oh, I don't know about that."

This is so wonderful. One Draven already gave me migraines. Now there were two of them, and judging by the look Paulo was giving me, I had a feeling my problems were only just beginning.