“No, I shall be fine.” She squeezed Catherine’s fingers gratefully. “It will be nothing .”
Annabelle felt like she was walking to her doom as she made her way towards her father. His arms were already folded across his chest and his blue eyes flashed with annoyance. Against the backdrop of the pink and red flowers decorating the church building, he somehow managed to look even more terrifying. Otto stood away from the rest of the wedding party to ensure that they could speak in private which only terrified Annabelle further .
“Y... yes, Father?” Annabelle asked nervously. “Is everything alright ?”
“I would appreciate it if you take things a bit more seriously,” he snapped back through gritted teeth, his temper shining through. “This is a very big day for Abraham. For your sister as well, I do not think it is right for you and your silly friends to wreck it with your childishness .”
Silly, childish, those were the words that angered Annabelle the most. She did not see herself that way at all, she felt herself to be in control and very adult. It annoyed her that her father did not see her as she wanted to be seen .
But it was not the right time to start an argument about that. She did not want to be yelled at in front of their friends and family, she did not want to upset Beatrice, there were more important things than ensuring her point of view was recognized .
“Yes, Father,” Annabelle eventually replied through pursed lips. “I understand .”
“So, I trust that you will behave at the celebration this afternoon and evening? There will be many people there, a lot of eyes looking at you. You are representing our family and your behaviour affects our reputation .”
The family’s reputation was what Otto put above everything else. His concern about what others thought about the Hathaway family was astounding. Annabelle knew for certain that he put that above his children’s needs, but there was not anything she could do to change him. She had tried over time but had never been successful .
“Yes, I understand. I will behave .”
“And you will ensure that your friends do too .”
“Yes. I will.” Annabelle ducked her head in a sorrowful gesture. “I promise .”
Chapter 2
E ven Annabelle could not keep the grumpy expression on her face as she spotted the wonderful way that the grand hall of her home had been decorated. The house staff had worked tirelessly all through the previous night and morning to create what looked like a magical room filled with mysteries and wonder .
The candles flickered and danced in the light breeze, creating swaying shadows across the walls. Intricate flower designs weaved along the sides of the room as if they were held there by magic; the long table filled with food enough to have the stomach of every guest in the room growling with hunger. Abraham was right when he insisted their wedding go against tradition, having the food after the ceremony was so much better than a wedding breakfast. The high ceilings, the large windows, the wonderful artwork on the walls all added to the wonderful, happy atmosphere. It shifted the black cloud above Annabelle’s head in an instant .
“Oh my goodness, Annabelle, this is wonderful,” Harriett exclaimed gleefully as she walked through the door. “It looks like something from a story. I cannot believe it, it is simply stunning .”
“How can you know what a story looks like?” Catherine interjected with a dramatic eye roll. “That is just words on a piece of paper. I admit that it looks great here, I am sure Beatrice will be very pleased, but do not get carried away .”
Annabelle did not say anything aloud, but she felt just like Harriett as her awestruck eyes drank everything in. It was just how she imagined story books in her mind, back when she was a child and her governess used to read to her. There was a fantasy style atmosphere in the room and it felt a lot like anything could happen. Within the rules, of course. Annabelle did not think that it was a good idea to cross her father today. Especially not having just been warned to keep herself in check .
“Come on, let us get something to eat,” she said instead. “I do not know about you girls, but I am very hungry .”
Annabelle picked up the bottom of her dress to prevent it from dragging along the ground as she made her way across the hall with her three closest friends in tow. As they moved, all of them discretely glanced their eyes over the other guests in the room. It was no longer just people from the wedding, other friends, business associates, and society people had come to join in with the celebration, and curiosity demanded that the girls needed to know who was there .
Knowing her father, Annabelle felt certain that he would have invited everyone within a radius with any sort of power. He loved to turn everything into an opportunity, it was how he had made such a big success of himself. This would not be any different, he would find a way to use everything to his advantage .
Annabelle saw her father as a ruthless man, but she did not know the story behind it. She had never cared to ask, so Otto had never divulged the truth .
Otto Hathaway had come from a long line of very successful men, the Hathaway inheritance was supposed to be a wonderfully huge one. It would have been too, Otto would have been given a very good start in his life, if his father had not gotten himself sucked into the deep, dark world of gambling. It was just one of those things that started off small, but soon consumed his entire existence. Otto’s father kept this side of his life a secret while he was living, but of course it could not continue on that way forevermore .
By the time he passed away, he left the Hathaway family with an almost inconceivable amount of debt that none of them were expecting. To say it almost destroyed the family from the inside out was putting it mildly. Suddenly having to deal with angry creditors thrust Otto into the deep end. He could have floundered, if he hadn’t been a strong man .
The shock killed his mother, Otto felt sure of it. She passed only a few months later, and he was certain it was all through stress. He tried to take control of everything, but it did not matter how hard he tried, he could not keep it away from her completely .
When her heart gave out and she simply stopped breathing, Otto knew that there was only one person he could blame. His father did not act with the best interests of his family, he did not behave in a sensible way. Otto knew with absolute certainty that he would not make the same mistakes with his own life .