A Sanguine Gem by Dawn Brower

Author:Dawn Brower
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2015-08-13T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Gemma walked alongside Liam as they strolled towards the opening of the ballroom. They waited until they were announced and made their entrance for the first time as husband and wife. Gemma found the moment incredibly ironic. At one time, she would have given anything for them to enter on each other's arms as a married couple.

Now all she wanted to do was cringe when the announcement was made.

Small gasps and whispers filled the room. Heads turned to stare at them as they walked into the ballroom. Gemma held back tears from falling. She knew her marriage to Liam would be a shock to the ton—but she'd hoped that it wouldn't cause too much of a stir. A futile endeavor it seemed as eyes followed them throughout the room. Gemma didn't doubt they were all gossiping about them. Instead of letting them see how much it bothered her she held her head high and pasted a smile on her face. Outward appearances would go a long way into making them think they had no power over her.

Pain stabbed her chest as she sucked in a breath of discontentment. No, she would not think of things she couldn't change. Liam may be her husband, but she refused to allow him access to her innermost feelings. He gave up that right and Gemma rejected any possibility of allowing him to know how much she still loved him. Even though a tiny part of herself realized she still hoped for him to love her in return. That forthcoming collision of dueling emotions threatened to surface, and she needed to escape him if she had any chance of getting it under control.

She looked over and spotted Pearla and found the excuse she desperately sought to leave Liam's side. Pearla looked over at her anxiously, and Gemma knew she must have questions. She probably already received her invitation to the schedule dinner party. The time had come for her to explain her newly married state to her second best friend. Lily would always be her first and the one person she told everything to, but Pearla had filled up a hole in her life with Lily's absence.

"If you will excuse me I see a friend I've desperately wanted to talk to for some time," Gemma told Liam.

"I will escort you there."

Why couldn't he just let her go off on her own? She didn't need him to watch over her every move. Gemma needed some space, and Liam’s hovering made her feel closed in.

"You don't need to. I can find my own way."

"I insist. I would like to meet your friend."

Gemma opened her mouth and closed it into a pursed, straight line. Her gaze skirted over the crown and the prying eyes. They all seemed to wait for something to erupt between her and Liam. Did they know her marriage was a farce? Gemma refused to give them the show they appeared to be expecting. She didn't want to provide the ton with anything else to gossip about.

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