Black Wedding by Emma Luna
As we walk through the opulent entrance corridor, I am in awe of the house’s beauty. High ceilings, original features, and bright white walls give off a sleek, clean appearance. The hall leads into a large welcoming room. The most enormous crystal chandelier I have ever seen is hanging above us. The sweeping staircase is covered in white and grey marble, making it look lustrous and grand. Evan leads us to the right, and we all follow in uncomfortable silence.
The further into the house we get, the darker the decor becomes, and our moods begin to match as well. With every step we take, each Doughty seems to change a little more. They all have rigid, straight postures, like someone has shoved a pole up their ass, and they have no choice but to stand tall. Yet, they don’t hold their chin high. Instead, they are all looking towards the floor. The more I glance at Liam, I watch as his eyes glaze over, and it’s like I am watching them all turn into mindless zombies.
We reach a closed door, and Evan knocks twice, loud and firm, before returning his demeanour to match that of his family. As soon as Evan’s fist connects with the door for a second time, Liam gently pulls me behind him and lets go of my hand. I try to grab it again, but he doesn’t let me. Finn takes a step towards us, and at first, I am worried. I haven’t been able to read whether he is a danger like his older brother or a victim like his sweet mother. But as he stands side by side with Liam, both blocking me from the danger behind the door, I decide he maybe is a victim. Although, there’s still a chance of him turning, I will need to remain vigilant around him.
I open my mouth to speak to Liam, mostly asking for his hand back as I need to feel his warmth and strength, but as soon as the first sound leaves my lips, both Liam and Finn turn and shoot me with the most evil stare I have ever seen. At that moment, they look like twins, with the same dark and dangerous eyes.
A loud booming voice with a heavy Irish lilt shouts through the door, breaking our staredown. “Enter!”
Evan opens the door, and one by one, we file into the large office. The feminine, lustrous white decor that fills the house is nowhere to be seen in this room. Instead, dark mahogany covers the walls, the bookshelves, and the large desk that takes up most of the room. It’s dark and foreboding from the minute you enter the room.
Liam’s father, Desmond Doughty, sits behind the large desk, leaning backwards in his wide office chair. There is only one seat on this side of the desk, and I wait for Von to take it, but nobody does. Instead, Desmond stares at us all with large, dark eyes. Desmond looks good for his age, he is what some girls would refer to as a silver fox. He clearly keeps in shape and looks well-groomed in his posh black suit. His grey hair and matching beard are trimmed stylishly and distract from the dark eyes and slightly too large nose, not to mention the frown lines. But when you look at him, you don’t see any of that. Instead, it is just the evil scowl that accompanies his sinister stare.
With Desmond’s slight nod of the head, Evan takes the only seat in the room, and my conscience tells me I should say something. But, luckily, the sensible part of my brain is winning today, so I keep quiet and remain hidden behind the boys.
“I see the prodigal son has returned,” Desmond sneers towards Liam, who just remains still and silent. “Why don’t you introduce me to my new daughter-in-law? That’s the reason you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Father, this is Brianna O’Keenan.” His voice remains monotone as both he and Finn take a small step to the side, revealing me to Desmond. Although, I notice they both remain partially in front of me, and make no move indicating I should approach him to shake his hand. Especially since he didn’t offer it. It doesn’t escape my attention that Liam doesn’t introduce Desmond. Maybe it’s some weird power thing? I will stay silent until I know what is going on.
“Hello, Mr. Doughty. Nice to meet you,” I reply, trying to sound as cheerful as I possibly can in a room full of monotone zombies.
From the second Desmond gets a glimpse of me, his dark gaze that was already sinister takes on an even worse tone. His glare reminds me of how a starving person would look at a chocolate cake, like he wants to devour me. Liam clenches his fist in front of me, but I’m the only one who sees it because Liam is always in my line of sight. To Desmond, his clone army is still standing perfectly still, void of anything, but I saw Liam’s flicker of emotion. That protective instinct he has towards me is still there, so I know I can bring my Liam back.
“Well, well, well. Aren’t you a pretty little thing? Thank God you look more like your mother than that eejit of a father you have. Though the red hair is unexpected. Maybe your mother was friendly with a redheaded member of staff?” he asks, and I know there is no point in replying to his bullshit. He is just trying to wind me up. Liam seems to quietly release the breath he is holding when he realises I am reluctantly staying silent.
“They have come to celebrate their engagement. I have arranged the party for tomorrow, as you instructed,” says Von, her voice shaking as she speaks. I want to move to her and give her my strength, but I am quickly learning that if everyone else is as still as a statue, I should be as well.
Desmond looks at his wife with a sneer. Clearly, there is no love between them. She quickly averts her eyes and looks as though she wishes she had never spoken. Liam obviously is not happy with the way Desmond treats Von. His fist has almost turned white from all the tight pressure, yet he doesn’t move, and when he speaks it is still emotionless. “You didn’t need to throw us a party or go to all that trouble for us.”
Desmond laughs, deep and insincere. He sounds like a stereotypical bond villain. “Oh, don’t be an eejit, boy. The party may have your name on it, but it is all for me. To show my business colleagues about our new alliance,” he sings, smiling sadistically at Liam.
“And what alliance would that be, father?” Liam asks. His voice almost remains neutral except for the slight growl he tries to hide as he says father.
“Well, from what I hear, your marriage means that you will inherit the London firm from Vernon. So that means the Doughty’s will finally have a stake in the English capital,” he jeers, looking very pleased with himself.
Liam starts to respond, but I cut him off. If I don’t assert my dominance now, I never will. “I’m sorry, Mr. Doughty, but I think you have the wrong information. I will be inheriting the London firm, and Liam will be ruling with me, but I will be the one in charge. Of course, if you wish to develop a working relationship with me and my people, we can look into that. But you are wrong to assume you will automatically get power because of my feelings for your son.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, chaos ensues. Von, standing right next to me, lets out a frightened cry as Desmond stands up in a roar. Evan copies his father but sounds a little more unsure of his actions before facing his family. Finn audibly groans but takes a step back in front of me, a move that is mirrored by Liam. Except Liam doesn’t make a sound and still looks just as hyper-focused as before, only now his gaze looks to have a little more light, and they are aimed straight at Desmond.
“How dare you come into my house and disrespect me?” he barks, and I notice Von shrinks back a little, as does Finn. On the other hand, Evan is wearing an evil grin, looking as though this is going exactly how he wanted it to.
“I didn’t cause you any disrespect. I merely stated that I will be taking over from my father. I am not asking for your respect as I believe respect is earned. You may not like this arrangement, but that’s how it is,” I say firmly.
Desmond slowly contemplates his reply, but instead, Liam addresses him. “We are here, like you asked, to announce our engagement. That is all. You can’t use me in a play for power because I am no longer part of this family, and that is well known. Bree will lead the London firm, and she will be fucking great at it.” Slowly with each word, I can hear my Liam coming back to me, and as soon as he swears and Desmond’s eyes narrow, I know he is fully back.
“Why don’t we all go and get freshened up? Then, we can meet for dinner at seven in the main dining hall,” Von whispers, her voice shaking. I may not know much about how Liam was raised, but I am starting to get the picture pretty fucking quickly.
We all part and agree to meet back up in a few hours. Finn leads us to the opposite west wing, up the grand stairs, and as we walk down the long corridor, I watch both boys transform before my eyes. They start to relax, slouching more as they talk to each other. The banter and laughter come easily between them. It quickly becomes clear Finn is much more like Liam than Evan, which is good because I’m still considering stabbing the eldest brother for his whore comment earlier.
Finn walks us to the very end of the corridor, pointing out a room opposite which he indicated was his, and the one next to him was Evan’s. Next to our room would be the room for his sisters when they get here tomorrow. I am excited to meet them; I know how important they are to Liam. As Finn shows us around the room, he opens a cupboard to reveal a secret fridge.
“I didn’t know what you would like, Bree, so I just stocked it with lots of chocolates, some cream cakes, a bottle of red, white, and rosé wine, some diet coke, and of course Liam’s favourite, beer. If you want anything that isn’t in there, I can get it for you,” Finn states, looking at me with a big, bright smile. As he hands me my favourite chocolate bar with a cocky smirk that matches Liam’s, I can’t help but smile. This one is definitely the charmer of the family.