Enemy Beloved

10 | faithless promises

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C L A I R E

Shit! I'm so late.

As I step inside the house, I am greeted by darkness. The lights are off and everything is pitch black. Visiting the Jacksons is about to earn me a lecture from Dad. I quietly slip out of my shoes and pick them up, dangling them on two fingers as I climb up the stairs. I tiptoe most of the way, not wanting to wake my parents up.

The lights are switched on just as I am about to enter my room, making me stop on my way.

The universe is against me today.

I am past my curfew time and even though I am a mature adult capable of taking care of myself and it shouldn't matter at all, Dad will be pissed when he sees me now. The man doesn't give a damn about my independence but is very cautious of me so that I don't end up dying like his son. It is annoying but that is the only thing I can't call him out on.

I turn slowly, shoes in hand, and find Mom and Dad looking at me. They are already dressed in their nightclothes which means they were about to retire for the night but the sight of Mom's messy hair and the hickey on her neck makes me aware that they were doing something else entirely.

Mom flicks her eyes between me and Dad, wringing her fingers nervously and I look at the floor, ashamed at being caught.

"Was that Jacksons' driver who dropped you off?" Dad asks and I nod slowly.

I spent a little too much time with Rose. She gave me to examine twelve of her new dresses and I had a fun evening telling her my thoughts about each of them; I even helped her pick an outfit for tomorrow for a blind date. It wasn't until hours later that I realized how much time had passed.

"I called you, mija. Why didn't you pick it up?" Mom questions, her voice soft and her tone civilized, unlike Dad.

"My phone was on silent," I reply.

I hear Dad sigh and he pinches the bridge of his nose before looking back at me. "You're about to be married in a week and you—"

"In a week?" I interrupt, startled by this new information. "What do you mean by a week? That's too early!"

Dad's jaw sets itself in a hard manner and his eyes keep me rooted to my spot with a dark look in them.

"It's in a week. I already talked to Vaughn and he has agreed."

"What nonsense!" I shout, dropping my shoes to the floor and stealing a glance at Mom who is staring at me with a guilty expression on her face. "How can you fix my wedding date without even telling me? It's a matter of my life!"

"You're marrying a Jackson!" Dad shouts too, matching the pitch of my voice. "You've no right to talk about matters regarding the Hills anymore. I need no favors from Vaughn. If I struck a deal with him, then I'll fulfill my part of the gain just as soon as he does his."

"But why the wedding?" I argue. "You could just have held an engagement."

"And risk you changing your mind so that Vaughn has leverage on me?" Dad points out. "Never."

He is too clever for me. I miss the Dad I had when my brother was alive. He used to be so kind and soft towards me — from taking us to the amusement park every Sunday to chatting happily during dinner, asking us about our day. He was so different. We were a happy family then and look at him now.

"But I have dreams, Dad. Dreams about how I want my wedding to happen. You can't take that away from me. It's about my whole life." I attempt to make him understand. "How can it all happen in a week? There are so many arrangements to be made."