Re: The woods
It became clear that the woman was much more interested in their current topic of conversation than her companion, whose curiosity seemed only to last for so long before it waned. Perhaps, had the women been speaking of business matters or Mister Brandon's financial accomplishment, he would have been an active participant, but now he was all too willing to let his date take over when it came to Brandon's wives. "I've only met this new wife of his a few times," the woman admitted, a hand dripping in gold and diamonds drifting up to rest carelessly against the back of her neck. "The others... they were rather shallow," she explained, which prompted another snort from the man and a glare in response. "As I said, lovely, but not very much substance. To each their own, no? Maybe this one is different. What was her name... Amelia? Anna? Something with an A, I'm sure." Her expression turned thoughtful, lost in the effort of recalling the latest Mrs. Brandon's name, but that vanished entirely when Wren mentioned having known someone close to him once. Oh, her eyes practically lit up with hunger for information, and she smiled, all false sugar and sweetness. There was no avoiding her claws now, that much was obvious. "You did, really?" She all but purred, and from behind her, the man pulled a face as though to say watch out. "No one is close to him, they say. All those who knew him are gone... one of the tabloids ran a story about him having a friend in prison once, but that went nowhere. He's so private, for such a public figure... I'll just bet you have stories," she cooed. As for the women leaving and taking him for everything he was worth, the woman laughed outright at that. "Oh, sweetheart, Brandon may have insatiable appetites, but he's no fool. Iron-clad prenup, every single time, and they all signed," she sniffed, as though the prospect insulted her.
As expected, the bitterness was lost on the pair. The woman found it amusing, but Andrew, well, he didn't seem to enjoy the little barb so much. "Men like Brandon are the reason this world keeps turning," he told her, with more than a little coolness in his tone, but then the woman was swatting at his arm and chastising him for being rude. "Ignore him," she instructed Wren over her shoulder, and then they were out in the midst of the party, wrapped up in the glitz and glamour of being part of the coveted crowd. Luke didn't reach for her hand because he wasn't there, and it would have looked strange, wouldn't it, for her to be holding the hand of someone no one else could see? He watched, expression unreadable, as she accepted the woman's offer, who linked her arm in the blonde's and led her along, while the man led the way through clusters of people, occasionally stopping to say hello or accept a drink from one of the passing waiters.
He followed, lingering ever so slightly behind, and if seeing this side of Wren bothered him, he didn't comment on it. In fact, he said nothing at all. The woman agreed to introduce her, chattering on about who was in attendance while pausing every once in a while to wave to someone in the distance or give a greeting as she passed. But there was no Thomas, and Luke was becoming impatient, shoulders hunched at the prospect of being in the midst of all this pretending. Because they weren't real, these people. Not really. The laughter, the smiles, it was all a facade, one he'd been so good at once; but not anymore. She, however, apparently hadn't forgotten like he had.