Under My Skin

20 | just one kiss

Chapter Twenty:

"Ever heard of invitation only?" Reid hissed into Sihem's ear as he seized her upper arm, lugging her away from a crowd that had gathered around them to view the commotion.

Blaine was somewhat successfully reeling the crowd back onto the dancefloor to give the couple and their respective families some much-needed privacy.

Sihem snatched her arm back from her son, "Invitation only? It isn't a birthday party or a secret rave. A mother shouldn't need an invitation to her own son's engagement party. I'm the woman who birthed and raised you, or have you forgotten that?"

Reid scoffed, "Funny that because I thought the definition of a mother constituted more than just birthing a child. I thought it meant actually being there, not running off when the going gets tough."

"Reid!" Ria interjected, "don't speak to her like that! She's still our mum and the only parent we have left." She wedged herself between the two, noticing the growing tension, "I missed you, mama. We both did. We just wished you'd have called us first, that's all." She added quietly.

Reid sneered, "Don't defend her, not right now. She left us, Ria."

"You act like I was never there. I was always there for the first twenty-one years of your life, Reid." She spoke softly, "I'm not proud of the decision I made...after...what happened," Her voice cracked as she spoke, "but I'm back now, and I'm here to stay, okay? I'm just asking for a second chance. You've given those out before, haven't you, Reid?" She said the words so quietly that Reid almost missed it. "Anyway, we can talk about this later, in private. Right now, I'd like to see my daughter-in-law." She searched around the room, squinting her eyes as she did so.

Lydia beamed at the brunette woman, propping her shoulders up as she took a single step forward to introduce herself, "Hi, I'm Lydia. It's lovely to get to meet you finally. I've heard so much about you."

Sihem's cocoa-coloured eyes continued to roam the room, barely acknowledging the girl in front of her, "that's nice. But where's Indiya?"

Lydia's shoulders slumped down, the grin on her face waned and a lump formed in her throat. Of course, Sihem thought Reid would be marrying Indiya. She felt a sense of disappointment building in her stomach that the man she would marry hadn't bothered to clarify things with his mother.

"Actually, Sihem. This engagement party is for Lydia and me. My wife-to-be is Lydia." Reid emphasised his fiance's name, each syllable echoing in the air as he grew increasingly exasperated with his mother.

Sihem's eyes widened as she finally took in the blonde woman standing before her, "Oh. Right, I'm sorry. Nice to meet you too." She mumbled, pressing a soft but half-hearted peck to her cheek. "I just...I didn't even know that you and Indiya had broken up."

"Yeah, well. That's kind of what happens when you disappear for three years. Life goes on, whether you're there or not." Reid snickered before continuing, "Wait, how did you even know about today? And how did you know where we would be?"

The older woman lifted her phone in the air, showing Ria's Instagram story post, which showcased the interior of the hall with the caption, big bro's engagement party. She sighed, "It's at the point that I find out about my son's life through social media. It's easier than having my phone calls rejected, right, Reid?"

Reid shook his head before turning on his heel, "thanks for ruining our day. Ruining our lives wasn't enough clearly," he mumbled under his breath as he rushed towards the garden. In his haste, he collided with one of the waiter's, causing the tray in his hand which was equipped with empty wine glasses to tumble down loudly, the shattered glass now lying splayed across the dance floor.