Engagement of the Year (2)

"Take my hand, insolent child!"

---

Walking down long, slippery stairs was never a difficulty, yet Sirena abruptly felt her legs' muscles weaken. She struggled to keep up despite trying to match the same steps as the matriarch beside her.

"Break a smile. My collaborators are staring." The matriarch whispered curtly as she grasped Sirena's gloved hands on hers and gave them a tight squeeze. Her expressionless features changed quickly, breaking into a wide apprehensively wry smile. From the guests' point of view, they looked like a lovable family, which was not the case. Stuck between a stone, Sirena tried to tilt the corners of her lips upward, however, they twitched instead.

The blurry, quivering fluorescent torches in the corner, accompanied by sparse light bulbs were not a fair welcome to Sirena's sight, leaving nothing but a sour impression. Not to mention the discordant music overflowing off-key together with the misuse of notes between the violinists and accordionists, seemingly caught in a musical tug-of-war, added a jarring abuse to the atmosphere, as the clashes of their strings and instruments strained her ears, whilst, trying to find a comforting semblance to melody.

She keenly gazed down at the comical atmosphere amongst the self-styled guests and their tart taste for music, pondering whether they were allergic to a good melody. 

One of the few men, who had been attentively watching the stairs finally stepped forward, exclaiming gracefully, "Lady Daria, it is an honor to be invited to such a magnificent and immaculate affair." He was dressed in a deep blue suit, holding a half-filled glass of whiskey with poise. He bowed his head slightly at the idea of winning the older woman's points of etiquette - a prize added to suitable grooms in the Calantha family.

"You look absolutely ethereal tonight, Miss Calantha. If it's not troublesome, might I have the pleasure of the first dance with you?" his eyes shifted from the cold-hearted matriarch to the daughter beside her, looking so ever beautiful that his lips quickly pulled upward to a cat-like smile. However, not only his greedy eyes were set on Sirena, but that of other men, married ones included. Being single and ridiculously gorgeous was like a privilege to these men.

At first, Sirena didn't bother interfering in the conversation between the matriarch and her guest. Her eyes were brooding while she interpreted the room, roaming them aimlessly through the corners of every wall until they came to a stop, settling on a certain figure. Instantaneously, her blocked chest was freed causing her to sigh in relief. 

'Lady Chloe hadn't disappeared'

"Miss Calantha..." the man cried for her attention feeling restless, in fear of another taking her hand when he was the first in line. Sweats broke out of his forehead, trickling down to the nape of his neck as he put his hand forward to be joined in by the woman's petite ones, and his eyes fixated on her eyes.

"Mr. Fredward, I am sorry to inform you but there will be no first dance. You arrived rather too late. You do not stand a chance. Another has taken her hand. Scram!!" Lady Daria spoke strictly, her eyes glaring at the young man fiercely as if she couldn't stand his presence. She pulled away from him, her eyes shifting to the crowds of men eye-f**king her daughter with a low scowl. The look of displeasure didn't go unnoticed by them, and without being told, they immediately turned their heads to the other side.

Sirena on the other hand was stupefied, her tongue tied. She hadn't expected the matriarch to refuse the man, concluding he was a very powerful asset to the family's business. 

Mr. Fredward withdrew backward in shock, his eyes looking everywhere but at the judging faces of other men laughing at his cursed fate. He was embarrassed and annoyed but kept the emotion to himself. If anything, it was the sad truth of superiority, which in his case, the matriarch was far more powerful and to keep the benefit of their collaboration, he foolishly vanished from there.

"A pest is always a pest," Lady Daria cleared her throat to say. Sirena rolled her eyes not helping to sigh the third time that night. 

"It's my choice whether I insist on taking his hand or not. Isn't this what you want anyway? Why are you trying to control my life? I'm no longer the puppet you groomed back then. I am a human being." Sirena mumbled, avoiding the stares from a few single ladies in the room.

"Shut your lousy mouth and come with me." the matriarch hissed, dragging Sirena along with her. They walked silently through the excited crowd that continued to take turns with partners on the dance floor. Sirena's eyes were sharp and alert when following the older woman. She was pushed, pulled, and swayed, yet the matriarch didn't bother to turn around and ask about her condition but continued to drag her along.

Sadly enough, surrounded by a hundred people, the only light inside the bizarre darkness was that star pulling her along. The hands she had yearned to hold and to be held by.

---

A few minutes went by.

Lady Daria stood on the stage, with a microphone in one of the hands, and her staff in the other. Her visuals were strong and cold. The night continued to soar in as her breath hitched. She began to speak,

"I thank all of you for taking up your time to be present to rejoice with our achievements. Although it took a decade and a half to rebuild the standards of my family. I completed all of this with no pin to hold, and so can every fit lady inside this hall."

While she spoke of her achievements, at the farther side of the main hall, a group of women were gossiping amongst themselves.

"Expected from her conceited lordship." one of the seven women in flashy dress remarked bitterly, the corners of her brows furrowing.

"It's no news that she built her empire by herself, so why rub it in as though we are not capable of standing on our own? What an egoistic woman!" another commented.

"I heard she comes and goes as she likes into the inn room in the north. Such a farce to portray a point of etiquette when she's disgusting herself." 

"Lady Tatiana, keep your voice low, there are people beside us. Miss Calantha is just a few feet away." a blonde-haired woman muttered softly into the ears of Lady Tatiana. Lady Tatiana was the third wife of the lieutenant who served the second generation of the Calantha family. She was known to be a troublemaker in the whole of Spain, and even those who lived under the rock weren't spared of the news.

"Show some respect to the woman. She's old enough to take you as a child." someone from the corner whispered to them which irked Lady Tatiana, resulting in her rolling her eyes in disdain. She cried in a high-pitched voice,

"I pray not such a wicked prayer! Did you not see Mr. Fredward try to court Miss Calantha, and what transpired? That old hag refused the man a single dance. She must want her eldest daughter to rot with that beauty of hers I tell you! We should be grateful the youngest daughter has been married into a well-polished family." 

"I'm also glad. That poor child has gone through life worse than hell. Thankfully, she's been freed from that."

Back on the stage, Lady Daria remained aloof until it came to the end of her speech. Her features softened a bit and a little smile settled on her lips. She tapped the staff to the ground and announced evenly.

"Please, let's welcome the Cushings into our midst for the collaboration of a lifetime. An engagement of the year. A marriage between the first son, the baron, Mr. Leander Cushings, and my virgin eldest daughter, Sirena Calantha."

"What?"

"Really? The rival families!!"

"War is over, then?"

The guests' reactions to the unexpected announcement differed from one to another, but the most shocked was Sirena, who stood rooted by the side in utter amazement. 

The so-called proposal was a marriage after all? To the family that murdered her father and brother?

The matriarch has finally lost all senses of reasoning.