June. That was also when Dawn was officially scheduled to graduate from RhIDS, Victor noted with a pang of guilt. But he pushed that senseless emotion away.
This woman was younger than Dawn. By eight years. Smart, and obviously at a prime age to start a family. Any Chinese bachelor would consider her an ideal candidate for marriage.
Also, his relationship with Dawn was purely about revenge. That was what he had told himself. What he needed to be true. So he ignored the guilt twisting his stomach and signed, “You are very smart. And I’m sure you will be a very valuable asset to your family. The 24K and soon The Silent Triad.”
A shadow fell over her eyes at his words. But before Victor could analyze it, she smiled and signed, “I believe this union has much potential. Should we call my father in for a toast? We bought several bottles of a vintage Dom Perignon just for this occasion.”
A silent beat passed, tense and expectant. He could sense Han and Phantom holding their collective breath.
There was no need for them to worry. Victor was clear now. Clearer than he’d been in ten years.
“Yes,” he signed. “Call him in, and we will toast our eventual union.”
Their engagement meeting hadn’t lasted even five minutes.
Victor knew this because Kuang pointed out that fact with a laugh as soon as he returned to the room. Again much faster than expected. And an attendant trailed behind him with two pails of champagne on ice. Obviously, Kuang had expectations for the outcome of this meeting. Expectations that had been met.
“Your father would very much approve of this,” Kuang said, his eyes shining with affection as the attendant poured bubbly into crystal champagne glasses. “He would be proud of you.”
Victor nodded in complete agreement with the man who’d known his father so well. This was the marriage his father would’ve wanted for him had he lived to see this day.
They toasted their past and future fortunes. Then they set a wedding date for the fall.
“How do you feel?” Han asked when they climbed back into the car about an hour later, slightly buzzed on vintage champagne.
“Like I need to triple down,” Phantom answered, climbing into the fleet Audi’s driver seat. Phantom had abstained from drinking. He didn’t believe in “pussy shit,” like having other people drive him around. So he was always their designated driver. “Betcha 3000 bucks that there’s something wrong with her. That mafia princess was too good to be true.”
“I wasn’t asking you how you felt,” Han pointed out.
“Ya shoulda been. I’m the one who’s out 2K,” Phantom shot back.
“I feel great,” Victor answered Han before he and Phantom could devolve into squabbling.
He spoke the truth. Marriage to another woman would be the best way to finally lay to rest this obsession with Dawn.
“I don’t feel great,” Phantom let them know, pushing the car’s start button and pulling out.
“Why did you make the bet if you were going to be such a bitch about losing?” Han demanded.
“Take my triple bet, and maybe I’ll stop whining,” Phantom shot back.
“Hey, I’m not one of your extortion rackets….”
Victor chuckled and pulled out his phone. Not to check Dawn’s security feed. Simply because he had been out of pocket for quite a while. He wanted to make sure there weren’t any urgent messages he needed to attend to as they set out on the long drive back to Rhode Island.
He furrowed his brow when he saw the message from Wayne above an image notification. “She said he was just thanking her. But thought you should see.”
The smile completely fell off Victor’s face, his good mood disappearing in a flash, when he saw the picture Wayne had sent.
“What’s wrong?” Han asked in the seat beside him.
17
DAWN
Hey Dawn!
Good news and bad news.
Bad news first: I tried with Pirelli, but he shot me down on switching places. Sorry.
Good news: an alum from my Dramatic Writing program just got tapped to do the movie version of Chrysanthemum. She talked about how she and the director had put some animation about the history of slavery into the opening sequence. I told her about LOVE ORIGINS. She made a call, and long story short, one of the animation directors over at Yinz Animation Studios wants to talk with you! All her info is below if you want to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Asher
I nearly fell out of my chair when I read Asher’s email just a few days after our conversation. Then I transcribed it by hand and deleted it from every conceivable folder before Victor or whoever he had monitoring my email could see it.
Chrysanthemum was a mega-popular opera about a woman who goes from slavery to working in Abraham Lincoln’s White House. It had been touring for years, and I saw it three times when it came through the Newport Performing Arts Center. Though sadly, never with Sirena Gale, the opera singer, who would also be playing the title role in the movie.
