Married to my suspect

DANIELLE'S POV

I took a deep breath and made to open the door when Jonathan tapped me. We were presently packed in front of his parents' home, where his father was celebrating his birthday, and I was already feeling overwhelmed. The make-up artists had tried their best, but I couldn't miss their complaints about how tense I was throughout the process and if I was preparing to go for my funeral. I knew my reaction was a bit overstated, but the last time I'd met Jonathan's mother, it had been obvious she didn't like me, and that had been when we were alone. Was I going to be treated like dirt in front of her high society friends today? As confident as I felt in myself, I also was a proud woman and I had a hard limit to being humiliated. I wasn't really scared because of whatever she may decide to say or, but what my reaction was going to be. I didn't want to do anything stupid.

I turned to him and his lips lifted. I guess I could refer to it as a smile. "There will be some people you are to pay no mind. If anyone tries to pry, just let them know we would prefer to keep our relationship private."

I nodded. "Sure."

"I'll get the door for you. There are too many eyes watching us now." He added and came down from the car.

I looked around the large premise in surprise, there was nobody watching us, and even the people milling around with glasses of wine weren't paying us any attention.

Jonathan opened my door and I forced a smile. "Let's do this." I muttered as I held his arms, and we walked together into the house.

We entered the well decorated garden together and all heads turned to us, I'm really not exaggerating. I put on my best smile as we walked towards the celebrant of the day.

Richard, Jonathan's father was sitting with his wife, Margaret on a chaise that had about ten people, I'd eventually had to ask Jonathan for their names as I couldn't keep on referring to them as his parents in my mind. It had gotten tiring.

Jonathan hugged his father, who had stood up when we had come in, and he returned the hug. "Happy birthday."

Richard smiled. "I didn't think you would be able to meet it. It's nice to see you."

Jonathan smiled. "Of course. We wouldn't miss it."

By now, the people Richard had been in conversation with were just staring at us as if we were lab rats. Margaret, though, hadn't spared me a glance. I ignored her and smiled at Richard.

"Happy birthday. Thank you so much for inviting us."

A woman I was choosing to call Beatrice clapped loudly, making us all turn towards her. She levelled a stare at Jonathan. "Look at you. It's been so long. I was just telling Richard that. I saw in the news that you were married but doubted it for a minute."

Margaret sniffed. "Why would you doubt it? It's not like he's a pathological liar like you are."

The woman reddened and stomped off, and I resisted the urge to snicker. Margaret didn't calm down even in her husband's birthday party. I didn't know wealthy people could also be that direct and straight to the point. Richard left with a look to his wife and went back to his group, leaving just me and Jonathan with Margaret.

Margaret moved closer to me and whispered. "You could have gotten here a lot earlier, you know? It's not like this event will ever repeat itself." With that, she walked off and I shook my head. It's not like we were that late, only ten minutes, and she hadn't even considered that her son might have been the reason we had been late.

Jonathan glanced at me. "What did she say?"

I shook my head. "Nothing you should concern yourself about. Your mother doesn't scare me."

He looked me up and down. "Thank God for that. It had gotten quite old."

Huh??

"Come on. Let's get a table and something to eat. Is there something you want to eat? I'm sure everything has been made available for here." There were chaises and lounges around, along with tables and chairs, but they all held guests. A waiter was also going round serving champagne, I could guess.

I shrugged and walked with Jonathan, perusing the filled tables. "Is there no designated space for you? I would think that would be made available with so many people available to celebrate your father's birthday." I remarked absently.

"I intentionally didn't make one. We'll find a seat and won't have to deal with the extra pressure." He responded and I glanced at him. Even the brief times I'd been able to gather the few friends my mother had to celebrate any special occasion she always insisted I go with her so she could boast about me and I actually enjoyed walking around with her and being introduced and making conversations with her friends, minus the boasting though. It wasn't like I had anything that was boast worthy.

I realized Jonathan had said something while I'd been in my reverie, and he was now staring at me curiously.

"I'm sorry. I missed that. What did you say?"

He shook his head, but it was obvious he wasn't angry. Thank goodness for that. "You get lost in thoughts very often. A penny for your thought?"

I stared at him surprised. Was the mighty and aloof Jonathan asking to know about me? Willingly?

He didn't look amused at my jaw drop. "What did I say that warranted this reaction? We're meant to be playing a part here."

I narrowed my eyes. Obviously, it had been an act. I had been about to respond and say something along the lines of me being flattered simply by his asking, but I changed it. Why did I forget we were supposed to be acting and from everything I'd seen from him, he would have made an A list actor if he had ventured into that field,

"I was just surprised because that's a question Lucas often asked me when we were in college." I widened my eyes. Why was I talking about Lucas to him? After knowing how possessive he was from his actions and how much he disliked him. I'd just been thinking of something else rather than focusing on his interest, and I'd had a word vomit situation where my brain wasn't fully braining. Not one of my brightest moments, I feared.

He nodded without a word, and we continued walking, and I could feel my chest getting lighter. I'd unintentionally been preparing myself for a battle.

We got to the catering section and Lucas glanced at me. "Have you chosen what you want to eat?" He asked with a loving tone, and I angled my body more towards him, trying to sell our act better.

I looked at the assortment of dishes and snacks and put my index finger on my lips, thinking about it. "Maybe just some quiches and sausages. And a glass of juice. How about you?" I asked and batted my eyelash.

The waiter, a young, handsome man that looked very close to my age and adorable with his gray suit, the uniform they were all wearing, and obviously having heard my order, started packing it for me as we both waited for Jonathan to make his choice. What was taking him so long though?

"I'll have the same." The waiter smiled and packed his order as well and gave it to us, obviously looking like he wanted to say something with his earnest stare and soft eyes, all aimed at Jonathan. Feeling the urge to rescue him, I asked. "Do you have something to say?"

He nodded excitedly, and I threw Jonathan a knowing glance. "Congratulations. You two look very good together."

I smiled at him. "Thank you so much."

Jonathan also smiled, and we continued looking for somewhere to seat when a group of people approached us. "We're going inside to relax and look around. Richard gave us permission. Can you take us around?"

Jonathan glanced at me and I nodded. "Sure. Let's do that. It will be a shame if they pass up on seeing this beautiful house." I received nods and smiles of affirmation, and we headed inside. I was actually glad for the opportunity without having had to bring it up myself. The house was gorgeous from the inside, so I could only guess what the inside looked like. Don't blame me, I loved beautifully and well created sights.

I took Jonathan's hands, and we walked through the garage where the party was holding into the living room and Jonathan started his home tour. We went through the gigantic living room, moved into a large hallway and passed a sauna and movie theater before getting to the room he referred to as the family room.

"Wow." I said quietly as we stepped into the room. Aside from the massive floor to window ceilings that held a breathtaking view of the mountain, I hadn't realized we had been so close to the mountain, the luxurious decor in the room also threatened to take my attention from what had truly grabbed it upon entering the room. There were three shelves filled with trophies, plaques and framed certificates.

I absently removed myself from Jonathan and walked towards the shelf, noting that for others, the view had been more important. While the view was also important, I was someone that had wished to have participated in so many activities when I was younger, mainly so I could escape my house but had been unable to due to shortage of funds, every time, so I really respected the time and effort it took to build an impressive amount of this.

"Are these all yours?" I asked Jonathan and when there was no response, I turned back to see he had left me there. Maybe he had something important that couldn't wait. I turned back to the plaques, seeing that they were from different sports. There were awards and plaques from swimming, taekwondo, soccer, track and field, I shuddered at that. I didn't understand why people would intentionally torture themselves with that sport. It had been tedious enough for me when I was in high school.

A cough sounded beside me and I turned to see Margaret also staring at the shelf of award and achievement. I couldn't imagine how satisfied I would feel at that moment if I was in her position, seeing something that showed how active my son had lived and how much he had been able to achieve in his life. No wonder he was so higher in position than most people his age could imagine.

"This is amazing. Is this all for Jonathan? It's so impressive." I asked her in a bid to make up the bad blood we had between us.

She moved closer to the shelf and picked up a plaque that had been shifted to the back and studied it. "No. It's for my son."

My forehead creased in confusion. "What?"

She turned as if just seeing I was the one she was talking to and left without another word, leaving me confused. I checked the plaques, just seeing something I hadn't paid attention to since I had assumed. The name was different.

I looked up and moved to the pictures I had ignored when I had come in, and squinted as I tried to remember where I had seen the person in the picture. The picture was that of a man that looked a little younger than Jonathan, a full-blown smile on his lips and his eyes were bright as if the picture had been taken while he had been teasing someone.

I remembered seeing that picture, but I couldn't remember where. I saw Jonathan come into the room and start towards me, but for some reason, I was unable to take a step from where I was. Jonathan moved closer to me.

"The party is fully underway and the charity auction will soon begin." Just as he said this, an announcement started from the numerous speakers that had been placed round the house, asking people to return to the garden so that they could participate in the auction.

"Alright. I'll just be one minute. I need to use the restroom."

He pointed it to me and I entered the private bathroom that felt like one in a public facility. There were twelve cubicles and the bathroom looked like something that would be found in a very fancy hotel. What were two people going to do with a space this big? Maybe it was my poverty mindset speaking, but I couldn't help but imagine how tedious the cleaning would be.

I did my business and washed my hand and started towards the garden, passing the family room when I saw Margaret standing in front of the picture I'd left and rubbing her eyes. I moved closer to her and realized she was also sniffing, a clear sign she was either crying, had cried earlier or was going to cry. I opened my purse and brought out a tissue paper and gave it to her.

She collected it with a closed look and wiped her eyes. I started leaving for the auction when her voice stopped me.

"What has Jonathan told you about himself?"

I looked back at her, my brows furrowed in confusion. "Like what?"

She sniffed. "Maybe about his childhood or his sibling."

I looked at the picture again and recognized where I had seen it. This was the same picture that had been in Jonathan's room.

"A lot, actually." I lied. "Is there something else I should know?"

She shook her head. "No, I misspoke. The auction will soon start, let's go."

I nodded and followed her out of the house, my mind fragmented into different pieces. What had she meant by that question? Was the person in the picture the brother she had mentioned when we had gotten married, and why did she ask me that?

I spotted Jonathan and waved to him, walking faster as placeholders were being distributed to everyone. He smiled at me when I got to him and handed me my placeholder with the number 46. I collected it even though I doubted I would be able to afford anything that was being auctioned. The best part was the fact that there were lots of people, over eighty people, so I doubted I would be noticed even if I kept quiet the entire time. I turned the placeholder and gasped.