Brought by Kane industries

chapter 7: The wedding night

The pop that had cut through the ceremony turned out to be nothing more than champagne, uncorked and poured out by a line of ushers in matching gloves and tailored suits. The tension in the hall broke into laughter almost as fast as it had gathered, and the night rolled forward from there.

The reception came quickly on the heels of the ceremony, and the master of ceremonies wasted no time urging the newlyweds toward the dance floor for their first dance. Mara's face twisted at the suggestion, something close to a growl catching low in her throat at the thought of Adrian's hands anywhere near her. Adrian, for his part, raised both hands in mock surrender and did exactly as asked, while Mara stayed seated, expression carefully blank.

Her gaze drifted across the room, catching her father's face, lit up with pure, uncomplicated joy, and her siblings, working through more food in one sitting than they'd had in longer than she cared to think about. She let out a slow breath and finally rose, letting her hand settle into Adrian's as they crossed to the center of the floor.

His palm found the small of her back, and something unwelcome sparked through her at the contact, his face dipping close enough to her neck that she could feel the warmth of it.

Too close.

His breath rolled against her skin in slow, deliberate waves, and every second of it stretched out far longer than it had any right to. Adrian, meanwhile, looked like he was having the time of his life, smirking and winking every time their eyes happened to catch.

Mara felt every set of eyes in the room settle on her at once, and something in her chest demanded an exit, immediately. She waited for the right beat in the music, then deliberately missed a step, driving her heel down hard onto the toe of his Italian leather shoe. He winced and let go on instinct, giving her exactly the opening she needed to retreat to her seat.

He looked more startled than actually hurt, and by the time she glanced back, he was already laughing under his breath, clearly aware that had been no accident at all.

The evening dragged on around her after that, laughter and music shaking the whole hall while Mara sat mostly silent through it, the only still point in a room full of celebration that wasn't hers to enjoy. When it finally wound down, staff guided her up to her room, and she let herself breathe as she listened to the last of the expensive cars pulling away down the driveway.

All the day is finally over, she thought. Finally, some peace.

The thought didn't last long enough to settle before her door burst open.

Adrian.

A half empty bottle of wine dangled from one hand as he stumbled into the room, clearly far past drunk, his steps uneven as he crossed to the bed and dropped heavily onto it beside her. Mara had already changed into the nightwear she'd picked up at Armani Yakub's, and she pulled the blanket higher over herself the second he sat down.

He looked over at her and grinned, loose and unfocused. "Why so uptight, luv? Loosen up a little." His accent slipped further than usual, the wine clearly doing most of the talking now. "Here, have some." He waved the bottle toward her face.

She batted it away and set it down hard on the nightstand.

Before she could put any real distance between them, he'd already closed it, leaning in far closer than comfort allowed, his eyes dropping lower than her face, lips parting like he was about to say something else entirely.

Mara scrambled off the bed and retreated to the window seat, grabbing the small decorative pillow resting there like it might actually protect her from anything. Adrian tried to follow, made it half a step, and lost his footing completely, collapsing face first into the mattress.

For a moment, Mara froze, unsure whether to laugh or check if he was actually hurt. Then the snoring started, loud and immediate, filling the room with proof that Adrian Kane, billionaire, weapons magnate, insufferable groom, was now simply and thoroughly passed out.

The sight nearly pulled a real laugh out of her, his blazer twisted halfway around him, one shoe half off already. She crossed the room anyway, working the rest of his shoes free, and pulled a blanket up over him, tucking it around his shoulders the way she might have for a difficult patient who didn't know any better.

She dimmed the lights and made her way back to the window seat, pulling her knees up against her chest, watching him from a safe distance.

He mumbled something in his sleep, low and slurred, barely more than a breath. Mara went still, straining to catch it.

"...don't leave. Please don't."

It wasn't her name. It wasn't directed at anyone in the room at all, his brow pulled tight with something that looked far more like old grief than drunken nonsense. Whatever memory had pulled that out of him, it clearly wasn't one he'd have wanted her to hear.

Mara sat frozen at the window for a long while after that, watching the rise and fall of his chest, the furrow in his brow refusing to smooth out even in sleep, and found herself wondering, against every instinct she had, exactly who Adrian Kane had once been before he became the man the whole world thought they already understood.