Page 47 of Oblivion
But I understood what he meant, and I also knew that deep beneath that brilliant smile he was sporting now, the same devil he always was still pulled all the strings. No matter how much makeup I wore, or how many nice dresses and perfect smiles I put on me, the bloodthirsty side of me would always exist.
“Where are you sitting?” Addison asked, breaking through the tension between Cole and me.
“Uh, I’m not really sure. I was about to sit there.” I pointed toward the fifth row that was now fully occupied. “But now I don’t know.”
“We can just sit here.” She started walking toward the seventh row that was still half empty and pulled Cole with her.
I could feel his eyes on my face, but I avoided looking at him. It’d been years since I last saw him and I knew we had many things to discuss, starting with my alleged death. It was ridiculous, feeling butthurt over the comment he made but mixed with my feelings and everything that had been happening right now, it just didn’t sit well with me.
Addison went in first, Cole after her, and I sat right next to him, keeping my gaze plastered toward the altar. There was only enough space for Cillian to fit if he even wanted to sit with me right now.
“Phee,” Cole whispered, and I turned toward him, seeing the apologetic look on his face. “I didn’t mean it in that way.”
“It’s okay, Cole.” I smiled, hoping it reached my eyes. “I know you didn’t mean anything bad. It’s been a truly fucked-up period of my life. But that’s not on you.”
“Do I need to kill someone?” he asked, and I erupted in laughter, earning a glare from a grandma sitting two rows in front of us.
“No, you idiot.” I swatted his hand. “I can do that myself. But,” I looked up at him, “I do need to talk to you, and Nico as well.”
“Hmm,” he mumbled. “At the reception?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“And Ophelia,” he said, looking straight at me. “You need to explain what happened in Santa Monica. We all thought you were—”
They all thought I was dead, but he never got to finish the sentence.
The soft music started playing around us, and I turned toward the entrance just in time to see Nico entering with a worried look on his face, heading straight toward the altar.
I had never once seen him nervous, not like this. I’d seen him angry before, numb, complacent, but nervous? Never.
He fumbled with the buttons on his suit jacket, and I started laughing as he passed next to me. He was obviously sweating through his suit. He looked down at me, surprise evident on his face and for the first time since he entered, he smiled as he continued toward the area where he would wait for his bride.
“You think she’ll show up?” Cole whispered, making me laugh again.
“You’re a terrible person, Cole.”
“I never said I was the good one. But look at him.” He cackled. “He’s about to combust if this wedding doesn’t start soon.”
As soon as he said that, I felt a presence on my right and turned to see Cillian standing there.
“Really?” He frowned seeing Cole next to me and sat down. “Cole Mancini?”
“Play nice,” I gritted out. “Cole.” I looked at him. “This is—”
“Cillian Nightingale,” he answered, taking Addison’s hand in his. “We’ve met.”
I didn’t need to be a genius to know that it wasn’t a friendly kind of meeting.
“Well, shit.” I chuckled nervously. “Just remember boys,” I looked at Cillian then at Cole, “you’re not allowed to kill each other until after the wedding.”
“Nah.” Cole shook his head. “He’s not the problem. His brother on the other hand.”
“Kieran?” I stared at him, confused. “What does he have to do anything with—”
I was cut off by the wedding bells and a version of “Here Comes the Bride” I had never heard before.
All the guests stood up and looked toward the entrance of the church. Nico was fidgeting at the altar, fixing his collar, his jacket, the flower in his pocket, but as soon as she stepped inside, he only had eyes for her.
