Temporary Alliance

Chapter 7 : Regrets

The dinner table was eerily silent as Mrs. Blades stared at my left hand. It became creepier when she began to tap her index finger on the table in a steady beat. Even Alexander, who usually didn't mind his mom's interrogation, was silent and frozen still.

No one was eating.

"What's that?" Mrs. Blades eyed the ring on my finger.

Neither Alexander nor I dared to answer her.

"Have you found anything?" I heard Alexander ask his father. Without even confirming, I knew he was talking about my parents.

"Nothing substantial. I'll get back to you after I check something out," Mr. Blades answered back. "Your end?"

"Nothing yet."

Silence fell upon the dinner table once again. I was about to eat thinking that I had evaded the brunt of the questioning from Mrs. Blades about the ring, but I was wrong.

"What. Is. That." Mrs. Blades' voice was getting colder and more aggressive as she asked once more.

"A ring," I answered back stiffly as I put the fork back down, feeling my appetite vanish.

"I can see that. Why?"

I cleared my throat, folded my hands and put them on my lap under the table, trying to look innocent. "It was pretty." Immediately after saying that, I tightened my lips into a thin line, regretting what came out of my mouth.

"You never wear jewelry."

I nudged Alexander's leg with my own, trying to get him to talk to his mother so that I wouldn't need to.

"What's going on?" I could feel the ice in Mrs. Blades' voice nip at my soul, sending a shiver down my spine.

When Alexander remained quiet like his usual self, I stomped down on his foot as hard as I could without his parents knowing. I took a quick glance at him, thinking he might have winced but I noticed that he looked calm and in control.

"We're engaged."

There. He said it. Well, legally we were married already but she didn't need to know that.

"Is this some ploy to get me?" Mrs. Blades eyed both of us extremely carefully and goosebumps rose on my skin.

"Of course not." I smiled brightly and simply hoped that it passed off as real smile. The moment I opened my mouth, I regretted it because she stared into my eyes. "Absolutely not. What ploy? Why would we ever lie to you?"

Suddenly, I felt a hand squeeze my thigh and I jumped a little in my seat. Alexander was warning me because I had started running my mouth off again.

"I don't believe either of you." Mrs. Blades narrowed her eyes at us.

Alexander reached over at my hand, laced our fingers tightly together, then raised it up so both Mr. and Mrs. Blades could see.

"I love her." The fake smile dropped off of my face and I probably looked as shocked as his parents. I cursed my heart for faltering a millisecond, almost forgetting that he was laying on the act to convince his mother.

I tilted sideways and leaned on his shoulder stiffly, trying to help our relationship look as real as possible, since convincing his mother was a part of our contract.

A few moments of silence later, Mrs. Blades smiled. "Okay."

When I heard that, the breath I had felt like I was holding, flowed out of me and I could finally breathe normally. I would have began to slouch in my seat from relief if I didn't have to worry about Alexander's mom start thinking that I was being odd. Sitting up a little straighter, I slipped my hand out of Alexander's grasp.