Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 338

Chapter 338: 338-The Awkward Ceremony

Helanie:

“That is creepy. Why does she want to come to the ceremony?” The horrified look remained on my mother’s face throughout breakfast until she finally spoke up while leaving the room with Lord McQuoid.

I caught the gist of it, and it confused me a little. She was actually right. It was weird for an ex-mate to invite herself to her ex-mate’s engagement ceremony.

“Helanie!” Charlotte cleared her throat, her fork hitting the plate hard. “You should start preparing for my engagement ceremony too. It will happen very soon.” There was a strange mockery in her voice, though a smile remained on her lips.

“Of course, I will be preparing it myself since I will be the happiest to watch you go,” I rolled my eyes before getting up from the chair. Emmet and the others had already left.

Charlotte grunted but didn’t argue since there were many people around today. The mansion was being decorated for the beautiful ceremony, and the venue was the mansion’s royal garden.

I stayed in my room for the rest of the day. I would occasionally check my phone to see if Maximus had responded. Nope! He had not.

And then, after hours of not hearing from him, I heard his laughter from outside my room and couldn’t help but peek out. He was now standing on the porch with Norman, holding a cup of coffee and sharing a good laugh with him.

It was a clear reminder to me that he wasn’t affected by my rejection. I just wished he had shown some resentment. But I guess it was true—he didn’t care at all.

So every word he had ever said to me was a lie.

I was so upset that I went to my bed and didn’t wake up for any meals. When I woke up, I found Lamar had left me so many texts.

He told me that Gavin and he were invited to the ceremony and that they wanted to ask if they should come.

I told them they should because I would be attending the ceremony too. The academy students had all been sent invitations.

The next two days were kind of a blur, as everyone was only focused on the preparations. The brothers were barely around.

While everyone was preparing for the ceremony, I was focusing on my training. Norman would manage to find some time to meet me in the woods, and after he left, I would practice with his guard. I was getting much better at the moves. And so far, my wolf strength hadn’t left me, so I was very hopeful.

My mother’s engagement ceremony was on the last day of the lunar eclipse. And two days later, the academy was reopening too.

Of course, I knew I would finally have a talk with Maximus. I was just curious how it would go. Would he threaten me for ruining his plan and reveal his true intentions to me, or would he simply discard me as a failed mission?

Now, the day had arrived. My heart was pounding in my chest as I got ready in my pink gown.

Lord McQuoid had hired makeup artists and hairstylists for all the women in his mansion, including me.

With my hair styled like a princess, two braids reaching the back of my head and meeting there while the rest of my blonde curls were left loose, I was ready.

“May I say you are the prettiest person I have ever done makeup on?” The makeup artist had said that quite a few times throughout the process.

I gave her a shy smile, not knowing why she was claiming that. Lately, I had been getting such compliments a lot.

I walked out of the room and noticed someone leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

“Oh, Emmet!” Placing a hand on my chest, I gestured that he had scared me. I had heard that everyone was already at the venue, so I thought I would be alone in the mansion.

He looked so devilishly handsome that it took me a minute to blink myself out of his gorgeous sight.

His black suit fit perfectly over his muscles. Half of his hair was tied in a man bun while the other half was left open, with a few damp strands styled over his forehead and face.

“Wow!” He was a man of few words, so when he examined me and uttered that one word, I felt my cheeks turn red.

They got so warm as I looked down and blushed.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Why are you still in the mansion?” I asked after gathering myself to not act like a hopeless romantic.

“Remember I told you,” he pushed himself off the wall and strolled toward me, “you will be my girl for the day? I didn’t want you to feel left out.”

That was so nice of him. But every time he called me his girl, I just felt so odd. I knew he meant he would accompany me, but it just sounded wrong in my ears.

Something a mate would expect from her mate.

“Shall we?” He held out his arm for me, and without giving it a second thought, I wrapped my arm around his and walked out of the mansion.

The minute we left the mansion and hadn’t even stepped off the front porch, we bumped into Maximus. He seemed to have been rushing back into the mansion when we got in his way.

A frown appeared on his forehead, and a look of shock and confusion covered his face. It was a bit strange because why would he care now?

He hadn’t cared for three days after receiving my texts.

Emmet continued walking past him, and so did I, with my arm still wrapped around Emmet’s.

Maximus wore a royal blue suit and watched us move away from him. The way he had paused in his steps and then followed us made me feel like he had been heading inside for me.

Was he going to argue with me? Bully me when he found me alone?

I couldn’t tell.

We were now at the venue, where many people were waiting for Lord McQuoid and my mother to arrive.

In the meantime, Emmet and I parted ways so that he could go stand with his brothers and I could be with my friends.