Bedding My Vampire Mate

"Actually, it wasn\'t our intention to arrive at the party late so please will you not be so hard on her?" Audrey pleaded on Joanna\'s behalf.

Audrey quickly signalled Joanna to say something but she turned her face away and acted as if she didn\'t see anything.

[I can see that silly girl is dying to get herself into big trouble and unluckily for her I am here to stop that]

Audrey grinned and turned to Anthony for help since Joanna won\'t budge.

"Dad, please don\'t be mad at Big Sis, ok?" Anthony interfered.

Mr Anderson stared at his second daughter. Her nonchalance irked him and he so much wanted to hit her hard but he knew without being told that this was not the right place for that.

He would surely discipline her at home.

"Go on with what you were doing. Call me if you need anything," Mr Anderson said to the boy who was eagerly waiting for his reply.

"Sure, Dad," Anthony replied, his face lit up almost instantly.

Even as her father left their table Joanna didn\'t spare him a glance, she kept her eyes glued on the plate of food in front of her as if there was something interesting about the food.

"Hey Girl, I know you are not in your best mood right now but did you have to provoke him?" Joanna scolded fiercely.

"What would you have done if he had lost his cool and hits you...,"

"Does it look as if I am scared of him?" Joanna scoffed, her bloodshot eyes glued on her father\'s back where he sat.

"Also, I am used to getting bullied all my life. Getting hit by him won\'t change anything...,"

"Anna, what the hell is wrong with...,"

"Let\'s eat. I am afraid we are gonna spend the rest of the night arguing if we don\'t put an end to it now," Joanna cut in abruptly.

Anthony stared at his sister\'s face in confusion. He tried to read her expression but he couldn\'t.

"Big Sis, are you angry with Dad? Did he upset you...,"

"I am not angry at anyone," Joanna replied carefreely. She picked a churn of meat and put it in her mouth so she won\'t have to talk.

"Big Sis...,"

"If she said she is fine then that means she is stating the truth. There is no need to worry about her, Tony," Audrey came to Anthony\'s aide when she noticed that he couldn\'t read between the lines.

"Let\'s eat hmm," Audrey urged the boy as she brought the glass of wine to her lips.

Anthony gazed at Joanna\'s face. He reluctantly picked up his spoon and cutlery when she didn\'t look back at him.

As she ate Joanna kept her eyes fixed on the guy standing in a corner who looked like he would die if he took his eyes off Laura\'s body.

[I have been looking for a way to punish her for what she did to her little brother and I think that lover of hers will serve the purpose]

An evil smirk spread across Joanna\'s face as she kept her gaze fixed on the lovers who kept throwing each other flirtatious glances.

Some minutes later Joanna stood up from where she sat.

"Where are you going?" Audrey, who has been keeping an eye on Joanna, asked the instant she saw her stand up.

"To greet someone," Joanna replied. She tried to leave but Audrey grabbed her hands.

"But who...,"

"Drey, can you stop treating me like someone who is insane?... It kinda gets on my nerves when you do it repeatedly," Joanna retorted. She brushed off Audrey\'s hand and strolled away.

"Sister Audrey, are you really sure that Big Sis is ok? Also, why isn\'t Brother Amos here...," Audrey stretched forward and covered Anthony\'s mouth.

She tilted her head and peered at Joanna\'s current position.

Audrey was so relieved when she saw that Joanna had not paused in her tracks.

She retracted her attention back to the face of the boy by her side afterwards.

"Tony, you can mention any name but don\'t you ever say the name of Amos whenever your sister is around...," Audrey trailed as she stared into space.

"She is trying very hard to show that she is fine but I am certain she will completely lose her mind if that happens," Audrey added in a sad tone.

"You said she is fine so what do you mean...,"

"It will be better if you don\'t ask questions. Let\'s be positive that she will come around soon," Audrey interrupted softly.

Because Audrey was afraid that her best friend would get herself into trouble, she kept an eye on the lady who was currently roaming around the enormous hall.

"Hey, getting bored?" Joanna said to the lady standing at a corner of the hall alone with a glass of wine dangling in between her fingers. 

"What are you doing here?" Laura retorted, her fierce glares shot at Joanna. 

Laura scrutinized the hall trying to know her friends\' exact location in the hall in case her stepsister decided to attack her.

"I am just here to talk, there is no need to overreact. As you can see I am not holding a dagger or a gun," Joanna mumbled, her hands spread in the air.

The doubts in Laura\'s eyes didn\'t dissipate even after Joanna assured her that she meant no harm.

Anyways, how could she let down her guard in the presence of her enemy?

Only a foolish man who has a death wish would do such a stupid thing. Luckily she was not foolish.

Even though it was obvious that Laura didn\'t believe her, Joanna still went ahead to stand beside her.

"You have looked forward to this day for a year and now it is here you don\'t look happy, why?" Joanna asked in a low tone.

"Whoever told you that I am not happy...,"

"It shows all over your face. On your birthdays, the Laura I know is always smiling. In fact, you always have trouble stopping yourself from smiling but that is not the case today...," Joanna trailed. 

She tilted her head and gazed at the face of the lady standing by her side.