After taking a big swig of my champagne, I pointed the empty glass toward my mother and said, “You’re right. I was raised better than that. I should’ve kept my thoughts about Minerva’s pending nuptials to myself. Or even better, I should be impressed that she’s willing to marry a man she doesn’t love and who also doesn’t love her just because he’s incredibly wealthy. Even if he’s off banging some random woman while we have Christmas dinner together.”
My mother and sister gasped in outrage, their cheeks flushing with anger. But my dad stepped in before they could gang up on me.
“I’ll have your tea brought to you in the library, Narkissa.” There was a thread of steel in his voice that left me with no doubt that he expected to be obeyed. “Take however long you need to pull yourself together before you head home.”
My mother sniffed in disapproval. “And I expect you to apologize to your sister before you leave.”
“But—”
My dad heaved a deep sigh as he lifted his palm toward me. “You heard your mother.”
“Okie dokie, then.” I pushed my seat back and stood. Turning to Minerva, I murmured, “I’m terribly sorry I implied that the reason you got engaged to Charles was because he’s wealthy. Since he’s not actually here to celebrate Christmas with us, please do pass my apologies along to him as well.”
“Narkissa,” my mother growled.
Luckily, my dad interrupted before she could get going. “That’s enough, Carmilla. Narkissa has apologized. I’m not going to spend the holiday listening to the three of you bickering. It’s over.”
“Fine,” she huffed.
I made a beeline toward the door, mouthing to the housekeeper, “Please bring me some dessert, too,” along the way. About five minutes later, she brought me in a pot of chamomile tea and a chocolate souffle. I had planned to leave once I was done with them, but with my belly full and curled up on the couch, I drifted off to sleep and didn’t wake up until hours past midnight.
The teapot, cup, and dessert plate were gone, and a cashmere blanket was tucked around my body. I must’ve been totally conked out because a fire was also blazing in the hearth. I was half tempted to stay where I was until morning except I didn’t want to bump into my mother at the breakfast table. So, I forced my feet into the heels I’d slipped off and went in search of my coat before heading out to my car.
It was windy and bitterly cold outside. I was freezing by the time I made it into my car, and I was grateful that my dad had talked me into getting a model with seat warmers. As I made my way across town toward my home, I decided to make a quick detour to a twenty-four-hour convenience store to pick up some supplies in case the snowstorm headed our way was a bad one. I was perfectly content to get stranded at my place for a few days without having to see anyone, but only if I had plenty of snacks to tide me over.
No other cars were parked in front when I pulled up, so I was able to snag a spot near the door. In the short time it had taken me to get here, the snow had already started to fall. I raced inside as fast as I could, hoping to stay dry and relatively warm.
I had expected the store to be empty except for a clerk, but several men were inside. As the door shut behind me, I came to an abrupt stop, second-guessing my decision to pop in and grab supplies. I didn’t like how their conversation had ended the moment I’d stepped into the store. Or how they were looking at me. My imagination must’ve been going haywire because I would almost swear their eyes had a red glow to them. They were staring at my neck, and I had an odd urge to cover my birthmark. The two little circles on my neck were yet another thing my mother looked at a blemish.
Deciding that I’d rather starve in the middle of a blizzard than get any closer to them, I swiftly turned to throw the door open again, but I crashed into a hard, male chest instead. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“What? How?” I didn’t understand how he’d slipped behind me when the bell on the door hadn’t jingled like it had when I’d opened it. But then my fight or flight instinct kicked in when he wrapped his hands around my upper arms and started to push me deeper into the store. The self-defense training my dad had insisted I get when I moved out of their home took over, and I kneed the guy in the balls before ripping myself from his grip. Only I didn’t get far. There were too many of them for me to make my escape.