Strike ( Book 4: Stronger Series )

7. Arrangements

The next day came with impending pressure. Darren's family was coming to dinner to celebrate our engagement while mine was still on the run from him. Even as I tried to ignore it, the unfairness of the situation lingered on throughout the entire day. Fairness was not something I should ever expect when it came to Darren, but I couldn't stop the affect it ultimately had on me or my attitude. If it made him happy, then that was all that should matter, regardless of the suffering it caused me.

But if things continued in the positive, I decided I would ask Darren to call off the hunt as a wedding gift to me. I just hoped Jason could hold them off for another month. If that was even happening anymore.

God, the things I would be willing to do just to know they were safe.

I dressed for the night in a tight white sleeveless dress that stopped just above my knees. A thin gold belt traced above my waistline so I paired it with one of the gold necklaces Darren had gotten me for Christmas last year. With a pair of pointed white heels and my long red hair in curls, I looked damn good.

The only thing lacking was the excitement in my face. I didn't look like a happy bride-to-be, and I doubted I ever would. Catching my ring in the mirror, the sparkle and sheer size difficult to miss, I suddenly found the weight of it very heavy.

I was going to marry the man who was responsible for my kidnapping, who had purchased me, raped me, beaten me, broken my bones, killed and hunted my family, and controlled every aspect of my life. Those facts could not be ignored even if I wanted to because Darren didn't want me to forget what he was capable of. It couldn't get more fucked up than that.

But there was a silver lining here that I couldn't quite ignore.

Darren was beginning to trust me. I'd been with him for almost two years now, and I had learned enough to anticipate his moods and behave accordingly. I'd learned to suppress certain emotions so that I felt almost nothing at all when I needed to. I sought to please, so if Darren wanted to marry me, he must be pleased with me. I should be fucking elated, but I wasn't. Why?

"Miss Jaden," Owen said from the open door. I hadn't even heard him knock.

"Yes?"

"Everyone is here. Mr. Davis is waiting for you to meet him downstairs."

I nodded and moved toward the door with Camaro in tow. I hoped none of her black fur got on my dress. Darren would be pissed.

Making my way down the stairs, I focused on the voices in the foyer until everyone came into view. Daniel was there with his arm around his wife, Katherine. Dominic leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking strangely irate and perplexed. Matt was also there, accompanied by his bitch cousin Regina.

I focused on not scowling. Why the fuck was she here and not Kayla? Last time I saw her, she'd broken her hand attempting to punch me. I dodged her, and she hit the wall behind me instead. The memory easily replaced the scowl.

"There she is," Darren's voice brought my focus to him. He took my hand in his and helped me down the last step. "The future Mrs. Davis," he murmured with pride.

I smiled at him, but the lump in my throat and the churn of my stomach made it difficult. Why was I so nervous?

Everyone congratulated us on our engagement, even Regina, begrudgingly. Though she was having an even more difficult time hiding her obvious disagreement.

"Well? Let's see the rock!" Regina said impatiently.

I cautiously stuck my left hand out for all to see, and Regina's eyes nearly bulged from her head. She quickly recovered, though, and sneered at it.