I held up my hands in front of me. "I didn't to anythin'. This wanker," I said as I looked to the man who hurt Alec, glared at him, then looked back to my uncle, "punched me fella for no reason!"

"Your fella had his hand on you!" my uncle snarled.

When he was close enough to do so, he took me by the hand. "Let's do this in private."

"But what about Ale-"

"Timmy, bring him too."

My uncle smiled then and looked to the many guests who were staring at us.

"Shouldn't you all be drinkin' and dancin'?"

Everyone laughed and went back to their conversations as if they didn't just witness my boyfriend getting assaulted.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" I snapped.

My uncle glared down at me. "Watch your mouth or I'll smack it."

I looked down, fully aware he would follow through with his threat if I cursed again.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

My uncle didn't say anything, he simply walked towards the double doors on the far side of the room and pulled me along with him. I looked over my shoulder to see where Alec was and found him also being pulled along by the prick who had hurt him.

I let go of my uncle’s hand when we entered a large empty room with a huge table at the centre of it.

I guess it was a conference room.

"Take a seat, sweetheart," my uncle said to me.

I huffed but did as I was told and sat down.

I looked at Alec when he stumbled then fell into the seat next to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'll let you know," he murmured, his face twisted in pain.

I frowned then snapped by head in my uncle's direction when he sat three seats up from me at the head of the table.

"Care to explain why a strange man assaulted me boyfriend in front of the entire family?"

Uncle Brandon bared his teeth and snapped, "Because he was hurtin' you!"

I rolled my eyes. "If he was hurtin' me that bad I would have hit 'em meself... I'm not a child, I am an adult and I know how to take care of meself."

Uncle Brandon laughed and rubbed his chin. "You know how to take of yourself? Is that why you're datin' a whore?"

I bristled. "I don't know what you're talkin' about-"

"Oh I think you do, baby girl."

I tried to keep eye contact but failed and looked down to the table's surface.

"You couldn't have brought a decent man to my daughter's weddin', Keela? You wish to disrespect me that much after I have done nothing but love and care for you all your life."

Excuse me?

"Disrespect you? Are fuckin' serious right now? The only thing disrespectful about this sham of a weddin' is that you're allowin' your slutty child to marry a wanker who fucked me over!"

I jumped when my uncle slammed his hands down onto the table.

"You listen to me, Keela Daley. I will smack that attitude right out of you if you speak like that to me again. Do you understand me?"

I narrowed my eyes at my uncle and snarled, "Yes, I understand."

My uncle shook his head and laughed, "Dammit, baby girl you have me temper that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest.

My uncle smiled at me but dropped any trace of amusement when he switched his gaze to Alec.

"Slater? You're aware she is my niece? That's a bold move, boy."

Alec cleared his throat and rasped, "I didn't know she was your niece, Brandy. I swear it."

Brandy?

What the hell?

"You know me uncle?" I asked Alec, shocked laced throughout my tone.

"Yes," Alec replied without looking at me.

I stared at him in disbelief. "You lied to me, you told me less than five minutes ago that you didn't know who he was!"

"You said your uncle name was Brandon Daley... I only know him by Brandy."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't understand any of this... Uncle, what the hell is goin' on?"

My uncle clasped his hands together and said, "Alec is goin' home. Tonight."

"What? No he isn't! He is stayin' right here with me."

My uncle's eye twitched in irritation.

"You're goin' to defy me?" he asked, giving me time to change my mind.

I quickly thought it over and I knew I shouldn't go against him but I was too mad to care.

"Yeah, I am. You can't just poke your nose into me life and try to change things. I'm twenty-three, not thirteen!"

My uncle let out a loud belly rumbling laugh, the sound almost drowned out the noise of the door behind me opening and closing, but I heard it.

"You can hear the arguing from outside... I'm glad I don’t have any kids."

I looked over my shoulder and glared. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Keela," my uncle said in warning tone, but had a smile on his face, "be nice to Mr. Miles."

"Ha! Fat chance of that."

Marco chuckled as he took up the seat next to my uncle.

"No it's fine, I think I deserve it."

I scoffed. "You think? I thought you were a nice man."

Marco smiled. "I know you did, which is a worry for your uncle."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why is it a worry?"

"Because you take people at face value and that's dangerous, it doesn't take much for someone to charm you."

"Are you tryin' to say I'm easy?"

Marco burst out laughing and even my uncle shook his head while smiling.

"No, I'm saying you’re gullible and you trust people too easily."

I opened my mouth to snap off a snarky reply, but when I happened to glance to my left to Alec, I seen he was sitting upright now and he shook his head at me.

"You don't want me to speak to him?" I murmured.

Alec shook his head again.

Okay.

He knew Marco better than I did.

I ignored Marco and refocused on my uncle. "If Alec goes home, so do I."

My uncle narrowed his eyes at me. "You're purposively bein' difficult, Keela."

"Yes uncle, I am."

My uncle didn't break eye contact with me for a few moments and I made a point not to blink to show him how serious I was. It got a little hard to keep my eyes open so when my uncle sighed and looked down, I blinked so many times in ten seconds that I might have set a new world record.

"Keela, I don't want you mixed up with anyone in my world."

I swallowed. "Alec isn't in your world anymore."

Marco laughed and rubbed his right shoulder. "Yeah, him, his brothers, and a certain bitch made damn sure of that."

I didn't know what he was talking about so I looked at Alec and said, "What is he wafflin' on about?"

Alec's hand suddenly touched my thigh and his thumb gently rotated in a circle as he said, "I'll tell you everything later, I promise."

I nodded my head to him, then looked back to my uncle. "He is stayin' with me."

My uncle's jaw set as he watched me. After a moment he flicked his eyes to Alec and said, "I want to speak to you without her present."

Her?

"Her can hear perfectly fine," I snarled.

My uncle grinned when Marco chuckled and said, "Are you sure she is not your daughter?"

My uncle cut his eyes to Marco then softened them when he looked back at me.

"She is my niece by blood, but my daughter by every other means... I can't be angry when she acts like me, can I?"

Marco chuckled and shook his head.