by Celeste Raye
“It doesn't matter what girl it was. It's a girl that I can't have.”
“Unrequited love?”
“I wouldn't go that far. It wasn’t unrequited, but it is not meant to be.”
“So how long are you going to sit here and stew about it?”
Trent took another shot and refilled it with the bottle that was left by the bartender.
“I don't know, Frank. Does someone need this seat or something?”
Frank waved him off and told him not to be stupid. Trent was defensive and it showed.
“It’s nothing like that. I just hate to see you so upset. Where is your dad at?”
“Pretty sure he's upstairs.”
“That's right; I heard the good news. You are going to have a wedding here in a couple of days. Weren't you the one that found that girl?”
Trent was quiet for a moment because he was thinking about ‘that girl.’ The one that had changed his life and made it far more complicated than he wanted it to be.
“Yeah, I found Sienna and brought her home. She just got a little nervous, but I think everything's going to be okay now.”
Frank stopped for a moment, and Trent made sure that he wasn't meeting his gaze. He felt like if he did, Frank would know exactly what was happening. He couldn't let that happen.
“Well then, everything has worked out, hasn't it?”
Trent agreed, but of course, he didn't feel that way at all. Nothing had worked out the way it was supposed to. Everything was a mess, and now he wasn't sure how much he was going to have to drink to forget about it all.
“Yes, I guess you could say that. How are the plans going for the wedding?”
“Everything will be just as your father wants it. He was very specific. There are going to be a lot of guests and I'm hopeful that we're going to have enough room to accommodate all of them. I have never been so glad to have made the additions that I have than I am now. I might just be able to contain it all.”
Trent could see that he was getting excited. He should because it was going to be a huge event and he was most likely going to make a lot of money off of it. Trent had no idea how much his father was paying for the place, and he didn't really care.
When he first got to America, he wasn't worried about any of it. He was only there to attend a wedding for his brother. Nothing else had been in his mind, but now it was full to the brim of everything else. Namely Sienna. How was he supposed to watch her walk down the aisle with his own brother? There was no way that he could even fathom it. Ever.
“Are you sure you're okay, Trent?”
“No, I can't say that I am, Frank, but I'm going to be.”
Trent really hoped that what he said was true. For his own sake. At the moment, it didn't feel like anything was ever going to be okay again.
Trent had a little too much to drink, and a few hours later, he was escorted up to his room by a man that Frank called to help him. He had never seen him so drunk before, and he decided to talk to his father. Ronald would be able to tell him what was going on, or at least he could give him a direction. Something was going to happen if he continued on the way it was. He could feel it inside of Trent. The man was about to snap.
“I don't think there is anything to worry about, Frank. Are you sure that you didn't just watch a boy drinking a bit too much because he hasn't learned his limits yet?”
“No, Ronald. It was nothing like that. We have known each other for a long time, and I would not come to you with this if I didn't think it was something important. There is something heavy on his heart and I just wanted you to know what was going on.”
“But you haven't told me what's going on. You just told me that there's something going on with my son, but you don't know what it is. How am I supposed to fix it if I don't know what the problem is?”
Frank and Ronald had known each other for years, but they hadn’t experienced this sort of problem before.
“Just talk to him, Ronald. That's all I'm saying. I didn't want to get into it with you. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Most likely, he had a rough go of it. They were stuck up in a cave for a couple of days, and I would imagine that he wants to let off some steam. I hear that Sienna can be a handful.”
Frank smiled and agreed. Why had he not seen it before? It was Sienna that was making Trent so bothered. He should have seen it right away.
Chapter Fifteen
At first, it seemed like Sienna’s parents were happy to see her, but that changed as soon as everyone went away for the day. Sienna knew that her father was going to be pissed off, and she was right. How could he not be? She had directly gone against what he wanted her to do.
Sienna would have run again if they would have given her the chance. Sienna already knew that they wouldn't. Her movements would be clocked until the wedding and then she would be someone else’s problem.
“How could you do this to the family? Do you know how embarrassed we are?”
Her father's face was turning bright red. He was usually a stoic type that showed no emotions, but he never seemed to have a problem showing anger. That was something that he thrived on. She had certainly seen it enough.
“I didn't do anything to the family. I left. It was nothing against anyone else. I just don’t want to get married. You know that, and you don’t care.”
“You left, knowing that you were going to leave your family in the lurch. We need their money. You know that.”
Sienna understood it all very clearly, but it didn't change anything for her. It was still a sacrifice for the better of everybody else, at her expense. She had never liked the idea of that, especially when she was the one being sacrificed.
“I know that you are using me to get what you need. It is not us and the pack that needs the extra money. It is you.”
“That is pretty rich for you to say. You have benefited from all of the extra money, as much as I have. As much as your mother has. And your sister. Have you forgotten about them?”
It was always a guilt trip when it came to her father, and she just kind of waved it off. Sienna had had enough for the day. Every time she thought about her conversation with Trent, her heart broke a little bit more. It didn't even matter anymore. It didn't matter that she had to get married to a complete stranger. Or that her father was mad. Nothing mattered now.
“I have not forgotten about any of it.”
“And still you are willing to flee?”
The fact was, he didn't really need an answer because he had already had his own.
She wanted to run as far away as she possibly could. When she was leaving, the last thing she was thinking about was how it was going to affect everybody else. They certainly didn't seem to care how it was going to affect her. Sienna wanted to be selfish. They could call it whatever they wanted to, as long as they didn't make her sacrifice her life for their comfort.
“Obviously.”
“And you have no remorse for it?”
It was another question that already had an answer, but he wanted to hear her say it. Sienna had had a bad enough day that she didn't mind giving him what he wanted. Usually, she would see it for the trap that it was.
“No father, I don’t think that I do.”
“Where is the daughter that obeyed and was sweet? The one that I remember?”
Something about the way he said it, really ticked her off and she looked him in his eyes and smiled.
“The father I remember wouldn't do this to his daughter. I guess things change.”
She moved towards the stairs to go to her room. It was the only place that she could have a moment to herself. She wanted to think about the few nights she had spent with Trent in the cave. Sienna wanted to hold on to those moments, knowing that her life was going to change so dramatically, so quickly.
“And don't think about leaving, Sienna. I made sure that the windows were boarded up. There will be no more jumping to your freedom. I should have done that a while ago.”
&nbs
p; Sienna wanted to say something, but she knew better. It wouldn't her do any good. She could mention the fact that she needed air to breathe and the sunshine, but none of it mattered. She had resigned herself to her fate, no matter how bad it seemed to her.
“There is nowhere to go, Father. I know that now.”
Sienna took the stairs slowly and tried to absorb it all. In two days-time, she would be married. Then she would be moving across the world, and she would never see any of them again. Sienna wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. At the moment, it felt like it was nothing at all. She certainly felt nothing.
As her emotions waned, she almost got to her room before she saw her sister. She had lots of questions to ask, but Sienna wasn’t answering any of them. She just wanted to sleep. Maybe she could sleep until it was over.
Chapter Sixteen
The day of the wedding was fast approaching, and Trent was doing his best to stay out of it. The last thing he wanted to do was be around all of the activity that was going on. He tried to hide out in the bar at the Dynasty Club, but it was almost impossible to get away from the wedding. It had taken over everything. The wedding was a big deal, and everybody wanted to go.
He found his familiar spot at the bar and tried to stay out of the way. He tried to avoid Frank as well. Frank was too nosey and seemed to know too many things. Trent did not need to look at Frank and see the mirror that was in front of him.
Trent usually didn't drink, but that was something else that changed since he met Sienna. It had only been a couple of days, and he felt wrecked. How was he supposed to be the best man to his brother? How could he even look at his brother again for that matter? He wanted her, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was he supposed to sit back and watch the two of them get married? It was torture just to think about.
Ronald walked into the bar and made a disgusted face at Trent when he saw what he was doing. Trent finished the glass because he knew he was about to be sent to do something he didn't want to do. When Ronald thought he was doing something wrong, he would make him busy. He figured that if he kept Trent busy, he wouldn't be able to get into trouble. And some instances, that was actually a good plan. This time around though, Trent doubted that it would work.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“What does it look like, Dad?”
“It looks like you're drowning yourself in your own sorrows. What the hell is wrong with you? Ever since you got back with that girl, you've been acting strange.”
Trent was nervous that he went immediately to Sienna. It shouldn't be that obvious. He tried not to make it that obvious, but apparently, he had failed miserably. Like he had failed at many other things.
“I just want to get out of here. I don't see why I need to stick around. The wedding is going to be said and done and then the honeymoon. I don't want to stay for another couple of weeks.”
“Don't you find the accommodations pleasant?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. I just don't like the people.”
He squinted at Trent a little bit like he was lying, and Trent looked away because he never was good at staring someone in the face while he lied to them. It was something that he had not mastered in any way, and Trent had long since given up.
“You need to stay for your brother. We need to show a united front.”
“What about what's going on with the McClellans? Don't you think that one of us should be there to make sure that it doesn't go too far?”
“We will be there soon enough. I am waiting to get some word on what is going on, but right now, it seems pretty quiet.”
Trent cursed out loud. Of course, it would be quiet when he was trying to get back. Anything that he wanted to happen, would apparently not happen. That's how things were for him as of late.
“Besides, Trent, I didn't realize that you were so ready to get home. Do you have an Amber at home as well that I don’t know about? I would imagine you’d know how to be more discreet than your brother.”
Trent disagreed almost immediately. He had an Amber that was there, but she was about to get married to somebody else, so there was really nothing he could do about it. All he could do at this point was try not to worry about it too much. Try not to think about it. The conversation that he was having with his father was not helping the situation.
“No, I just don't like it here. I want to get back to where it's familiar.”
Ronald agreed. “As much as I like to travel and see a new place, I do like to be home as well. It won't be long. You don't have to worry about it.”
“I know. I just want to leave, and this seems like the best place to be, if I'm going to stay here.”
“Well, don't get too sloppy, because I need to send you to get a few things. Your brother forgot his attire for the wedding. I need you to go pick it up from a pack that's nearby.”
Trent wasn't sure how to feel about it, but he was actually glad to get away for a little bit. Maybe he just needed a change of scene. Staying around the Dynasty Club daily while everything was set up for the wedding was certainly not helping anything.
“Alright, give me the address, and I'll go.”
“You need to go as you. There is a lot of activity going on right now, so no shifting unless you have to.”
Trent agreed and was about to walk away when his father stopped him with hand on his shoulder.
“So, I wanted to ask you about Carl.”
Trent stopped and turned back around to look at him.
“What about him?”
“Why did you let him go?”
Trent shrugged at his father. “Why wouldn't I? He had no idea what we are, who we are, and he did nothing wrong.”
“He offended your brother.”
“I have a feeling that Darius is offended often. I'm certainly not going to attack the world because of it.”
“That's not what I meant, Trent. It was a flagrant attack on your brother. That was his bride he ran off with. The man was her lover.”
“That wasn’t her lover, Father.”
Ronald wanted to know how Trent knew that. Trent told him that he just did and left it at that.
“All you have to know is that I am one hundred percent sure of it. Carl was not her lover, so I saw no harm in letting him live. I didn’t perceive it as a diss to Darius. I think you’re stretching if you do.”
Ronald was the one that showed that it didn't matter. “Well, it has been taken care of either way. You don't have to worry about it again.”
“I wasn't worried about it.”
Trent walked away and had an ill feeling in his heart. The one reason that she had chosen him was because of Carl. Now it didn't matter, because Carl was exactly where he would have been if somebody else would have found him. For some reason, that bothered Trent the most.
It just went to show that no good deed goes unpunished. Or that whatever he did, it didn't matter in the end. Either idea made Trent a little colder inside.
Chapter Seventeen
Sienna was up before everyone else. It was still dark outside, and her mind was a million miles away. There were a few moments in the last few days that she thought about leaving. All she had to find was a window of opportunity, and she could be gone. But then they would just find her. It did not matter how far Sienna went; she knew that she would be found and dragged back.
There was also a part of her that wanted to run, just for the idea that Trent would be the one sent after her. Maybe she could convince him once and for all. Maybe she could convince herself.
None of it mattered, and instead, she walked the halls because she knew not what else to do.
“You are up early, daughter.”
“This is my last day as your daughter, so I guess I am just taking it all in. Everything is about to change.”
“It doesn't have to be a bad thing. Change can be good.”
Sienna wanted to argue that point, but it wasn't worth it. She knew that nothing she said was going to ch
ange the situation, so why waste her last few moments of freedom doing so?
“Uh-huh.”
“I don't want you to leave on these terms. We have never been like this before.”
“You've never asked me to marry someone and told me that I didn't have a choice before.”
“It is for your own good.”
Sienna was sick of hearing that. It was their excuse for everything. They could force her to do whatever they wanted, and since it was for her own good, she was just supposed to be happy about it. She was quite certain that she never was going to be.
“I am just trying to wake up, Mom. I'm sure we can talk about this later.”
“So, you don't want to mend fences?”
Sienna shook her head that she didn't. She just wanted to be done with all of it. And Sienna was pretty sure that she was done with all of them. She was going to be moving to the other side of the world, and it wasn't like they were going to see each other that often anyway. Maybe it was best just to cut ties then so that she wouldn't miss them later.
“I don't think there is a point, Mom. I probably won't see you again. This is what you want me to do, so this is what I'm doing. I just wish I had a choice because I would certainly not pick this. I would rather just leave and leave with nothing than marry someone with a bunch of money.”
Sienna had told herself that she wouldn't say anything of the sort, but it was hard for her to hold it all in. She couldn't believe that her mother was making her do it. She had always been the reasonable one. Her father had always been demanding and giving her no choice. But her mother doing it was more than she could bear.
“Sienna. You know that I would do anything to make you happy.”
“Then let me go. Give me a little bit of time, and I will leave.”
“You know that I can't do that.”
“Then obviously you don't care. I just don't want to do this anymore with you. I just want to have a few minutes to myself before my whole life changes. Is that too much to ask?”
