Jacob sat with his hands clenched together in a corner of the giant sitting room. Different artworks, probably from the eighteenth century, hung on the wall: angry-looking paintings and heavily bearded sculptors of philosophers. But of all the paintings and sculptors, there was one that he could not get his eyes off. It hung slightly at a height of roughly three feet. The painted man had a fierce look that was not so different from the rest of them in the room, except this one was not from the eighteenth century. He looked different, except for the windpipe he held in his mouth. And the face looked like... “That is my father,” Christine said. Jacob turned. She was standing by the door frame. “I did not realize you were there.” “He looks scary, doesn’t he?” Christine said as she stretched a document to him before getting seated. “You know,” she continued, “sometimes I think it’s his fault I never found love. I mean, look at his face.” She laughed, then looked at the portrait.
“It’s your wedding,” Bob said, “not mine?”“Just answer me, goddamn it!” Jacob shouted. “Red or brown tie?” He went to the mirror and placed each on his neck to see which went the best.“That’s not even red, Jacob; that’s like oxblood or something,” Bob said, biting his hot dog.“Really, but Franklin said it's red.” Jacob said as he turned to him, “Are you serious? The best time to eat is now.”“What?” He said with a huge chunk in his mouth, “I am the best man , not the best woman.” The ketchup from the hotdog dropped on his white shirt. “Aagh, fuck.”Jacob turned back to the mirror and sai
“Mrs. Prescott,” she said as she approached her.Mrs. Prescott, holding a glass of red wine between her fingers, helped close up the gap between them. She also had a smile on her face, one that seemed to have been plastered on it for a while. “Where is your mother?” Mrs. Prescott asked.“I am right here, Lady Prescott,” a voice teased from behind her.Just perfect—a lovely reunion, Madi thought. “I didn’t quite see you there, Lady King,” Mrs. Prescott teased back.The three women soon started to talk about random things from old times. Mostly two women. Madi was more or less just there because she had to; she laughed when she had to and spoke only when she had to. After all, she could not relate honestly to what they were saying. It's always about them talking about knowing each other's kid when the kids were still young, perhaps when the kids grew their first tooth, and when one came to the other's house and something totally not funny—yet they'd laugh- happened. "So, Madi,” the at
“Madi” Alex tapped her from behind. She slowly turned to face him. Her face has gone pale from what she just saw. It was one thing to hear about it and it was another to see it. “We are leaving,” Mrs. King said, looking at Both Madi and Alex, “And…”“Lady King?” Mrs. Prescott called, walking up to her.Mrs. King turned slowly, pretending to have a smile on her face. “Lady Prescott?”“I’d love for you to meet Christine and her husband.” Mrs. Prescott looked to where the couples were and they were already swamped by another family. She turned to Mrs. King “Well, when they are a little less occupied.” “And we’d love to,” Mrs. King said, “but sadly, we have to be on our way already.” “Oh, so soon?” Mrs. Prescott frowned. “Yeah, something came up,” Mrs. King forced a smile, “But, hey, I promise I’d come visit you one of these days.”“Are you okay, Madison?” Mrs. Prescott asked. Madi smiled. Mrs. Prescott must have caught her still staring at the couple. At Jacob. “Yes,” she said, "Yes
“You leave,” Victor said. Jacob shook his head with his eyebrows lowered. “What do you mean by leave?”Victor pressed his lips down. “hmm.” He took a step closer to Jacob. “I’d double whatever she has given you,” Victor said. “I’d give you twenty million dollars if you leave now.” Jacob dropped his head. Money…“What do you say, huh?” Victor shook his hands in his pocket. “It could be yours right now.”Jacob raised his head. “Money,” he said. “It’s always about money, isn’t it?” Victor raised his eyebrow and said, “I’d tell you what? Forget about the twenty million dollars. I’d double that. Forty million dollars. It could be wired into your account immediately.” Jacob dropped his head, lifted it, and leaned towards Victor with his eyebrow raised, “If you will excuse me, I have a wedding to finish.” He was about to walk out when Victor called him again. “Everyone has a price.”Jacob nodded, backing Victor, “Well, meet the first person you will know that doesn’t.” He started to walk
"What did you say to him?” Christine attacked him while Victor was having a conversation with another guest. Victor smiled at the guest. “Sorry, if you will excuse me?” The guest nodded and walked away. “What did you say to Jacob?” Christine asked, her voice not as loud as the first time. “I don’t understand what you mean.” Victor looked around, as people were already looking towards them. “But if you haven’t noticed, you are ruining your wedding and ultimately the reputation of the Prescotts.” “You are a full-time asshole, aren’t you?” She shook her head. Victor laughed. He took a step forward. “Listen, Christine. There should be at least sixty people at this wedding. Half of them are investors and, if you must know, nobody cares about gossip more than investors. Funny, I am not even an investor and I already know you argued with Jacob before he left. If I were you, I’d focus on holding on to the little respect this wedding still has left.” “Victor,” Christine poi
Victor smirked, seeing that he had gotten her attention. “You never asked, did you?”“You are telling me that Jacob was married to Madison King?” Mrs. Prescott said, hoping he’d say otherwise.“Well, you are no stranger to the Kings,” said Victor.“ I never attended her wedding. Rebecca never made a deal about it. She never invited anybody.”“I wonder why?” Victor flaunted a victory smirk. Mrs. Prescott's friendship with Rebbeca King has always been complicated. Everything about that friendship was just for pictures and gossip on the blogs. Two wives of billionaires pose for the camera as best friends
Every time he thought of it, his lips curled into a smile. Everything was now set for the first time in a long time, except for... Mary. His smile faded into a look of concern. 'That bitch,' he mouthed, 'she's the only one who can break this.'A knock hit his door, and before Victor could say anything, it opened.Charlie walked in with a folder in his hands.“Sir, the plans for the rail contract are a go,” Charlie said, dropping the files on the table and standing at attention.Victor smirked. “Isn't it funny how many unnecessary people we have working on this project? Someone's job is just to check for grammar errors, and yet we still have to pay him.” He signaled for Charlie to bring the files. “You have a few people in your department whose job it is just to agree with you.”“I am sorry about that, sir.” Charlie handed over the folder to Victor, unsure of what else to say.Victor received the folder and dropped it beside him. "And what about Jacob?" he asked. That's what mattered m