Chapter 74: No Time For This!

Chapter 74: No Time For This!
Nadine Black's POV:

I knew something wasn't right from the way my mother had placed the phone down in her lap just now. She tried to act as if I didn't see her reaction, but it was far too late for that. Our table was practically full of people here at the wedding reception, as well as all the tables set close to ours. There was just enough room to walk between them, but that was about it.

Whether everybody was having their own conversations or not, my attention was drawn to the fact that my mother saw something that didn't seem quite right. Something that seemed to upset her in that moment, and that is one thing that I was not going to willingly stand for.

I may not have wanted this wedding day to come, but I was damn certain that nothing was going to cause a problem. And if that meant for my mother, then so be it.

"Mother, who is it?" I asked as I leaned over closer to her. "Who sent you something that upset you?"

Just then, as if Damian realized that something was amiss, he turned to look at me, but realized my focus was solely placed on my mother. It wasn't my intention not to pay any attention to my husband, as I should refer to him now, but I really wanted to know what was going on with my mother.

That is precisely when Damian stood up on his feet, walking around the back of where she was seated and stood there as if nothing in this world could be wrong in that moment, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

He leaned forward in that moment and asked, "Clarisse, what's wrong?"

"Oh... Don't you worry about me, dear," she said, reaching up and patting his hand as he had placed it on top of her shoulder right then... "I don't want to take away from..." she started to say as she tried to recompose herself before speaking again. "I don't want to take away from your wonderful day."

"Mother," I called out to her, my tone raised just a bit, which caused her to look directly at me as I could tell tears were starting to swell in her eyes.

My eyes went wide with shock as I looked up at Damian, who knew something was obviously wrong. She didn't react for no reason, but in that, this was a reason she didn't want to say as to what caused it.

I then looked back at her when I added, "You are part of this big day, so don't dismiss it. Please... Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing," she said as she raised her hand to slide her phone back into her purse.

Only, there's one thing that she didn't count on. Damian. Damian was a whole lot faster than her, and that's when he reached down, placing his hand on top of hers, preventing her from moving. He didn't hurt her, and she didn't jump when he touched her hand. However, she did something that I didn't expect.

She turned the phone over to reveal a black screen. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes as Damian took the phone from her. That's when he walked over to stand between us. You could tell a look of reluctance on my mother's face as Damian knelt down between the two of us where we were seated.

That's when he did it. Damian used his thumb and touched the button on the outside of the phone. All three of our eyes went wide as Damian's men started the flock around the back of us, now shielding us from the rest of the room.

There was no mistake. Everybody in the room realized that something was going on now that our table had been completely surrounded by a wall of men. My father, Germaine, who was sitting on the opposite side of my mother. Even his men gathered in this wall of bodies that now shielded us from the expressions of everyone else.

My jaw dropped open. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was a message, a simple... single, text message. It wasn't the fact that it was just any old message. It was the person who it was from.

"Kelly Anne?" I asked in a low, shocked tone as Damian reached up with his other hand, placing it on top of my shoulder, ensuring that I kept my voice set at a lower octave. "Why her? What does she want now? After everything? She chooses now of all times to send a random text?!"

Damian knew me. He knew my attitude, and he knew full well that I had every right to blow this instance out of proportion. I had no problem doing so. I still had that thought in the back of my mind.

"What the Hell did she want?" I asked, turning to look back at my mother.

Damian lifted the phone as he showed me what it said.

"I need a ride home."

It was a simple text. Plain... and to the point

"Oh hell no!" I said as I couldn't help myself.

Suddenly, you could hear hushed conversations coming from outside the wall of bodies that we were now surrounded by.

"Here, Clarisse," Damian asked as he held the phone closer to my mother. "I need you to unlock the phone, if you would please?"

"What are you going to say?" I couldn't help but ask as my father handed my mother a handkerchief from his inner tux pocket.

She began dabbing at her eyes, ensuring she didn't mess up her mascara.

"I am busy right now. You will have to find your own ride. Try Shane."

Damian sent the text message and then showed my mother first before showing me. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at that moment. It took everything I had to try to regain my composure. I was still boiling mad at this point as my mother had started to cry.

"You can't be serious?" I asked, looking back at Damian. "You know full well that he..."

Right in that moment, Damian tightened his grip on my shoulder, reassuring me that he knew precisely what I was going to say.

"Do you think she knows?" I couldn't help but ask him. I then turned to look at my mother, and I asked, "Please don't tell me she thinks she's this foolish. She has to know! Doesn't she?"

"There's no time for this," my father said at that moment.