Dawn's Pov

A jolt of nervousness whisked through me the moment David's town car sighed to a stop after rounding another curve in the drive. "Do I look okay?"

He took my hand in his. "You're as beautiful as ever, my love." He brought it to his lips and kissed my fingers softly one by one.

I smiled. "Your mother is going to be furious."

"I'm sure she'll understand."

The driver, Oscar, opened the door for me and I slid out, giving him a warm smile.

David came around the car to take my hand. "Shall we?"

I heaved out a breath, prepping myself for the mental and physical bullocking that was going to come the moment we stepped through those doors. "We shall."

Blinding lights blazed into our eyes as we walked up the red carpet together. David released my hand and touched the small of my back, directing me toward the large double doors that looked like they could house a herd of giraffes.

It was warm and rowdy inside.

"Are you okay, my love?" He asked me, pushing the escaped tendrils of my hair back behind my ear.

I nodded with a smile, just about when a petite beautiful woman, save for that nasty scowl on her aging face, approached us.

"You're late." She scolded, her elegant cocktail dress and flamboyant accessories glittering in the light.

David let me go as he stepped forward with a smile on his face. "We ran into some little difficulties, mother." He explained, kissing her cheek and then pulling her into a hug.

"If I didn't miss you so much, I would've scolded you more." She muttered, basking in his warmth while I stood there, arms knotted, feeling invincible.

"I've missed you too, mother." He purred into her neck, the same way he did mine. I clutched my purse tighter. Maybe I would've appreciated this scene better if Amanda was someone I fancied.

"You don't call, you don't visit, I believe to think that I raised you better than this." She admonished, pulling away lightly and brushing the invisible lint from the shoulder of his belted single-breasted Dolce & Gabbana blazer.

"I've been busy, mother." He told her, and he was; most times at work, other times with the boys, and then at home, inside me.

"Surely not busy enough to get a haircut." She swiped her hand into his hair and pulled it out of his face. "Fix it. It's starting to get messy and some people might think you're not being properly taken care of."

"I'll take care of it." He smiled warily.

God, I'd had enough. Since she had chosen to ignore me, I cleared my throat and stepped forward, a tight smile stamped on my face. "Hi, Mrs. Amanda, it's so nice to see you again."

Her expression went carefully blank as she craned her head to regard me shrewdly. "You came," her words flew out dryly as her sharp eyes accessed my tiny dress and naked limbs. And then her gaze returned to David. "Your father has been expecting you, I advise you don't waste any more of his time."

"Alright, mother." He kissed her right cheek one more time and turned to me. "I'll be back before you know it, my love." He swamped my hand into his and squeezed tight.

"I'll be fine," I assured, looking at him with eyes that said; no I won't. Please save me from your stepmother. I can't stand her presence and she irks me so much that I feel anxious and nauseous.

"I know you will." With a smile on his face, he pulled away and I watched him disappear into the crowd, leaving me in utter awkwardness and though I wasn't looking at her, I could tell she was boring a vicious hole into my head with her distasteful glare.

"Lovely party," I observed, trying to break the rather awkward verbal void.

"It's a charity function." She corrected pointedly.

"Oh," I managed a rueful smile. "Lovely function."

"Don't try too hard, Dawn." She scoffed, eyeing me down before storming away.

I pressed my lips together. I still didn't understand why I was solemnly despised by her but I had honestly lost the zeal to find out long ago.

I shook my head to will all thoughts away and strolled over to the quencher counter where I picked up a glass and looked around.

Although it was not customary for invitations to request special attire, people dressed ostentatiously; women in evening gowns and men in dinner jackets. I couldn't see past the people in front of me. Not that I wanted to see anything in there. I certainly didn't belong in a place like this. It was packed with mainly Manhattan's upper-class businessmen and politicians and I couldn't help but wonder how many lies were being told right this very minute or how many rumors started.

As I poured myself a glass of freshly made punch, the stage lights flicked on, urging everyone to turn their attention to the man standing in front of the microphone.

"Hello everyone," his controlled voice rang across the hall and I held up my glass, watching my husband take control of the crowd.

He began his speech shortly after introducing himself and all the while he talked, his eyes searched the crowd, resting on mine a few times before roaming around.

He was indeed an extraordinary man, his reputation, masculinity, and power preceded him and his ability to make everything look sexy was just out of this world.

"Lovely isn't it." Amanda walked by, teleporting me out of my thoughts.

What did she want now?

"My stepson is so handsome. Isn't he?"

I sipped from my glass. "Yes, he is."

"Say, Dawn," she moved closer to me, her Chanel no. 5 whipping my nose. "Has David been treating you well, are you happy?"

I nodded, not sure where she was going with this. "I've never been happier."

"He must love you so much." The spite in her voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Yes, he does. Very much so."

"How sure are you though?"

I turned, meeting her sharp eyes. "How sure are you that my son loves you?" She repeated, holding my stare.

"I am a hundred percent sure that my husband loves me," I answered, trying to figure out the angle she was coming from.

"Then why hasn't he gotten you pregnant yet?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Excuse me?"

"What part didn't you understand?"

My heartbeat broke into a sprint. I parted my lips but nothing seemed to air itself out.

"Surely you are planning on having children right? or is it that he doesn't love you enough to start a family with you?"

I swallowed a thick lump that scratched the back of my throat. She was trying to get in my head. I just knew it. "David isn't in a rush to have children." I drawled in the same even tone.

"Tell me, does he make you take pills, does he tell you that it's only for a short while but keeps buying them every time it finishes?"

"Yes, but-"

"Don't be stupid. He doesn't love you, Dawn, he just hasn't gotten tired of sleeping with a freebie yet, and trust me, once he finds someone else, he'll leave like he was never there."

My hand tightened around my glass.

"Well, of course, it usually starts with the late nights, fewer calls then he's cheating, smelling of floral perfume whenever he returns home, and then...one day he's gone and you're alone." She chuckled amusedly. "But it's still early, fill a divorce form and leave because David is the only son of his father, he needs children and if he isn't willing to make some with you then you're as useless as a broken vase."

I flinched, her words stung. "Mrs. Amanda, don't you think your words are a little insulting. I have done nothing wrong in loving your stepson. Why don't you just let us be." I intoned grimly.

"Oh my dear, you did everything wrong." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "But you wouldn't understand anyway because you aren't a mother."

A gurgling of emotions bubbled its way up from within. "No. I'm not a mother," I gritted out. "But David loves me regardless."

She laughed in my face. "You can't really be that naive, can you? Believing some ideologic notion that love will conquer all?"

"It can." I managed. "It has."

"It can't. You aren't compatible with my stepson."

I clenched my jaw, holding myself from pouring this drink all over her smug face. "You have no right to decide that."

"That's where you're wrong. I do. My stepson deserves a better family, one with class. If you were to disappear, after a few weeks, he'll get over you be and he would forget you even existed." She came closer, piercing me with her dark gaze. "Never forget that my son married you out of kindness. You are nothing Dawn. By all means, know your place."