Page 208 of Malice and Surrender
The camera immediately found her in the crowd, her image plastered on the massive screens, and I wasn’t the only one who looked like they would pass out. Her blue eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider, and all the color was drained from her face.
“What is he doing now,” Kai asked.
I looked at Kai. “I didn’t know about him outing me to the entire world. You really think I know what he’s doing now?”
“Shhh, I want to listen,” Kai said, and I thought I might just take my chances and punch him again.
Raine stood and walked along the aisle to loud cheers. Damon met her at the bottom of the stairs and helped her up. When she was by Jace’s side, her lips barely moved, but I could tell she was asking him what he was doing. He simply linked their hands together.
“I have one more thing to say, and then I promise to get off this stage so you can all get on with your night. Most of you don’t know this, but my entire family was murdered a few years ago.” There was once more a collective gasp. “I’ve managed to keep it quiet until now, but I feel it’s important you all know.”
So many shocks for one awards show the media had to be salivating with the headlines.
“I’m sure some of you even saw it on the news, but I’m mentioning this because it would’ve been easy to allow the tragedy of that loss to consume me, drag me down, and make me turn my back on humanity. I was tempted and held a lot of anger for a long time. On top of that, a close personal relationship with depression almost got the best of me, and I never want any of you to feel that way. The band and I will be starting a help group for anyone suffering, and more will be announced in a few days as we launch this endeavor.”
“Is what he said true,” Kai asked. “I tried looking him up, but nothing other than his music career showed up.”
“He pays to keep it off all search engines, but yeah, his mother, sister, and brother were all shot by his stepfather. If we hadn’t left to head back to college, we would probably be dead too. Jace lives with that guilt. It’s why you bother him so much. It’s not your jerk attitude or the time you spent behind bars or even that you want to be in Raine’s life. You remind him of what he lost and how easy it can happen again,” I answered.
“Fuck,” Kai mumbled. “Don’t I feel like the asshole now.”
I glanced over at Kai. “You said it.”
“Jerk.”
I smirked even as my hand shook in anticipation. I chugged the beer but kept my eyes on the screen, unable to look away.
“I want to tell everyone to hold those you love tight, never let them go, and fight for what you want.” His eyes turned to Raine. “This beautiful woman came into my life, and as reluctant as I was in the beginning, I couldn’t stop the warmth of her soul from seeping into my heart. I can breathe for the first time in so long, Raine, with you and Avro in my life. You make everyone around you feel loved and safe with your big heart and kind soul. We should all try to be as gracious and loving as you are. This world would be a far better place.”
Jace’s hand gripped the little podium, and I could tell he was getting emotional. These weren’t just pretty words for the camera. I’d known him long enough to see through the mask and could tell fact from fiction.
“Raine, you make everyone that meets you want to be better without even trying, and I’m blessed that you came into my world. You and Avro are it for me, and I want you to know, in front of all these witnesses, I love you. This world is better for having you in it. I was so lucky to find a diamond like you.”
A tear trickled down her cheek, and under the bright lights on stage, diamonds were exactly what the tiny droplets looked like.
“He certainly knows how to captivate everyone,” Kai said.
“Yeah, he does.”
Jace stepped away from the podium, and it was harder to hear what he said, so I turned the volume on max. He was whispering so low that the mic couldn’t pick it up, but I was positive he was warning her that he would kiss her in front of everyone. He was taking a page from my book. I got one hell of an earful for doing that. Jace lowered himself to one knee just as I took a sip of my beer, and it sprayed all over the coffee table.
“What the fuck?” Kai and I said together.
The television suddenly blared at us. “Raine Eastman, you’re the light that will always lead me through the darkest of days and keep me warm on the coldest of nights. You have helped the fire inside of me burn brighter and restored my hope. I thought I’d healed from my family being stolen from me, but I realize now that something was still missing, and you are the piece that has completed the puzzle of my heart.”
“Holy shit,” I mumbled. My mouth hung open as Jace pulled a jewelry box from his pocket. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. My entire body shook with the adrenaline racing through my system, and I couldn’t decipher if I was happy about this or terrified that I’d just been cut out for good. Had I brought us all together to lose them both?
“Raine Eastman, would you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming my wife?”
The cameras zoomed in on her face, and Raine looked as shocked and confused as I felt. I could feel her brain working from here, which gave me hope that this wasn’t a plan of theirs that I was cut out of. It was horrible that I could even think that, but Jace always told me what he was going to do, and this was the biggest of big deals. Why had he felt the need to keep this from me?
Raine licked her lips, her face flashing with anger under the shock, and for the briefest of moments, I thought she would slap him and walk off the stage, but that wasn’t Raine. She might kill him after, but to make an even larger spectacle wasn’t in her DNA.
“Yes, of course, I will,” she said, and the entire place erupted with deafening cheers.
Grabbing the remote, I muted the television as they kissed and sat there staring as they cut to commercial
My head slowly turned to look at Kai as he looked at me.
