Wrath

Chapter Two

(2)

We stand in silence for a few fleeting moments. Before I'm able to process what he said, the door is opened once again.

"Leave us be." Wrath snaps upon seeing Pride emerge from behind the set of doors. Ignoring the threat in Wrath's tone, Pride approaches us, taking my hand in his own roughly.

"I was worried you'd whisked her away," Pride laughs humorlessly as if it would mask the obvious tension. The brothers exchange angry glances as I become trapped between the two. I work my hand out of Pride's grasp to which he pays no mind, still glaring at his fuming brother whose stare had become dangerous.

"Not yet." Wrath muses, breaking eye contact with Pride, he casts his stare down to me. As he smiles at me like a hungry wolf, something begins stirring within me. Increasingly becoming uncomfortable witnessing an argument I was so clearly not meant to be apart of, I clear my throat, turning my attention to Pride.

"Thank you, Pride, for inviting my mother and I to dinner." He finally looks down to me, his expression softening. "But, I believe it's time for us to return home. I'll collect my mother." I offer a tight lipped smile. I needed to step away and formulate a way out of this instead of entertaining the idea that one of these men could buy my affections. I have no business concerning myself with their petty rivalry.

Pride's brows knot together. "Can I not offer you a drink before we say goodnight?" Sick of the formalities, I shake my head no.

"I don't drink." I lie, to which he thankfully nods, accepting my departure. With that, I don't give the two a second glance as I make my way back to the dinning room. My mother was giggling like a school girl, flirting no doubt with the older man who sits beside her. Smiling deviously, his hand grasped her mid-thigh. I approach them quickly, my eyes trained on the man.

"Do you grope all the women you've just met at dinner parties? Or perhaps only drunk widows." I ask with a stern expression. The table once again falls silent as he removes his guilty hand from my mother's thigh. Their faces flushed from embarrassment, I take the opportunity to lead my mother out of the dinning room. The very second she'd gotten Pride to agree to the arrangement with legal document was the second she no longer cared for keeping up appearances. I eye her struggling form as she attempts to walk in heels much too high for her.

As we exit, we are met with Pride and Wrath who still stand where I'd left them. Both seemingly less tense. "You were a-" hiccup "-wonderful host, Pride. I cannot wait until we're able to do this again. I'm terribly sorry it was cut short." My mother smiles.

"Of course miss Croftwell." He says with tight lips, a growing edge to his tone. His focus quickly shifts to me as his blue eyes attempt to find mine. "You may be hesitant with the arrangement understandably, but I hope you will have an open heart. Goodnight Ember." I say nothing as he places a soft kiss across my knuckles.

There was something so terribly off about these men. The strict formalities, thick unidentifiable accents. Not to mention the fact they'd practically appeared out of thin air. My parents acquainted themselves with every demeaningly worthy family in the city, yet this was the first I'd heard their name.

I glance to where Wrath had been standing to find he'd left prematurely. Slightly relieved from his absence, I begin making my way towards the car, my mother following closely behind. "That was humiliating, Ember!" She huffs as we reach the car. Our driver opening the door for us both. I keep my expression neutral as I climb inside.

     "You're entirely ungrateful. I managed to get you a catch of a fiancé, and you treat me as a loose woman." She mumbles, pulling down the ends of her dress which had ridden up her thighs a bit. I roll my eyes at her theatrics. Seeing her throw herself at the nearest man so soon after the death of my father was sickening. It'd only been a few weeks since his death and she seemed to have returned to her life as if he'd never existed.