CHAPTER TWO
1308 Words
AVA‘S POV
The fork slipped from my fingers and clattered softly against the plate.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly.
The dining room had fallen into a silence so thick that even the ticking clock on the wall sounded loud.
My eyes slowly lifted from the table to Grandfather Nicholas.
He looked calm as if he had just commented on the weather instead of turning my entire world upside down.
Across the table, Lucas Carter had gone completely still.
His hand hovered mid-air, the piece of toast he had been about to eat forgotten between his fingers.
Our eyes met briefly.
His expression mirrored exactly how I felt.
Confused, shocked and completely blindsided.
Did he know about this?
No.
The stiffness in his shoulders told me he didn’t.
Neither of us had expected this.
Grandfather took another slow sip of his coffee, like the bomb he had just dropped in the middle of the table was nothing important.
My heart was pounding violently.
Marriage?
To Lucas?
I barely even knew him.
Yes, I had seen his pictures.
Yes, I had heard stories about him.
But that didn’t mean I knew him.
And judging by the stunned look on his face, he was thinking the exact same thing.
“Grandfather…”
Lucas started.
But before he could continue,
The doorbell rang.
The sound cut through the tension like a blade.
Grandfather didn’t even look surprised.
One of the maids hurried through the hallway to answer the door.
I sat frozen in my chair.
My pulse still racing.
Lucas slowly placed the toast back onto his plate.
He leaned back in his chair slightly, his gaze drifting toward his grandfather again, like he was waiting for him to say something else.
But Grandfather Nicholas only calmly wiped his mouth with his napkin.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Then female voices.
A few seconds later, two figures appeared at the entrance of the dining room.
The first woman walked in confidently, her heels clicking neatly against the polished floor.
She was elegant and poised.
She carried herself like someone who was used to being respected.
The moment she saw Lucas, her face lit up.
“Lucas!”
Lucas immediately stood up from his chair.
“Margaret.”
His voice was polite, respectful, but distant.
The woman walked straight to him and wrapped her arms around him in a quick embrace.
“Oh my goodness,” she said warmly. “Look at you! It’s been ages.”
Lucas gave a faint smile as he stepped back.
“It has.”
I watched them quietly.
Margaret Carter, Lucas’s stepmother.
I had never met her personally before, but I had heard enough about her over the years to recognize her immediately.
Lucas’s mother had died when he was very young.
Only five years old.
Grandfather once told me that it had been a very difficult time for the entire family.
Lucas’s father had eventually remarried Margaret.
Not because he stopped loving his first wife, but because Lucas needed a mother figure in his life since his grandmother had also passed.
Surprisingly, from everything I had heard, Margaret had treated Lucas well.
There had never been stories of cruelty or abuse.
In fact, they had gotten along fairly well.
But tragedy had followed the family again.
Margaret had never been able to have a child with Lucas’s father.
And then not long after…
Lucas’s father died too.
Leaving Margaret a widow.
Lucas had already left the country by then to continue his studies overseas.
Which meant Grandfather Nicholas had ended up living here alone.
Until I arrived.
My thoughts were interrupted when another figure stepped forward from behind Margaret.
My stomach tightened slightly.
It was Sonia.
I recognized her immediately.
Not from pictures in the house, but from the whispers I had heard from the staff over the years.
She was beautiful and tall.
Elegant in a perfectly styled way.
Her long dark hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and her eyes immediately found Lucas.
Her lips curved into a soft smile.
“Hi, Lucas.”
Lucas looked surprised.
“Sonia?”
His eyebrows drew together slightly.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
Of course he didn’t.
I could already see that from the confusion in his expression.
Margaret clapped her hands together happily.
“Well, it was meant to be a surprise.”
Something about the way she said it made my chest tighten.
Because suddenly it became obvious why Sonia was here.
Lucas and Sonia had dated years ago.
Back when Lucas still lived in this country.
Before he left to study abroad.
Before everything changed.
From what I had heard, Margaret had always adored Sonia because she was her best friend‘s daughter.
She had been very open about wanting Sonia to become Lucas’s wife one day.
But their relationship had ended not long before Lucas moved overseas.
No one ever seemed to know exactly why.
Sonia’s eyes moved past Lucas then, and landed on me just for a moment.
Her expression flickered with curiosity.
Margaret followed her gaze and finally noticed me sitting there.
“Oh.”
Her voice changed slightly.
“And who is this?”
Grandfather Nicholas answered calmly before anyone else could.
“This is Ava.”
Margaret studied me for a brief moment.
Recognition dawned in her eyes.
“Oh.”
Her lips formed a polite smile.
“The girl you’ve been taking care of.”
Something about the way she said it made it sound less like kindness… and more like an inconvenience.
I forced a small polite nod.
“Good morning ma’am.”
Margaret didn’t respond.
Instead, she turned back toward Lucas.
“Well,” she said cheerfully, “this is perfect timing. Sonia and I were hoping you two could talk. It’s been so long, and I thought maybe you could…”
Grandfather suddenly cleared his throat.
The small sound instantly drew everyone’s attention.
He set his coffee cup down gently on the table.
Then leaned back slightly in his chair.
“Well,” he said slowly, “this truly is perfect timing.”
Margaret looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Grandfather folded his hands calmly in front of him.
“I was just discussing something very important with Lucas and Ava.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Margaret looked curious.
Sonia looked mildly confused.
Grandfather smiled faintly.
“As my last wish,” he said calmly, “I asked Lucas to marry Ava.”
The room exploded into silence.
Margaret blinked.
Once, then twice.
Then her face completely changed.
“Excuse me?”
Sonia’s expression turned rigid.
Her eyes snapped toward Lucas.
Lucas himself looked just as stunned as he had been minutes ago.
And I…
I felt like the ground had just disappeared beneath my feet again.
Margaret slowly turned to stare at me.
Her expression now filled with disbelief.
“You want Lucas,” she said slowly, “to marry… her?”
Grandfather didn’t look the least bit shaken.
“Yes.”
Sonia let out a short, sharp laugh of disbelief.
Lucas finally spoke.
“Grandfather…”
But Margaret cut him off immediately.
“No.”
Her voice was sharp now.
“That is absolutely ridiculous.”
Grandfather’s gaze remained steady.
“It is my wish.”
Sonia’s eyes burned with anger as they moved between Lucas and me.
Lucas ran a hand slowly through his hair.
His expression was tense.
Frustrated and conflicted.
“Grandfather,” he said quietly, “we need to talk about this.”
Grandfather simply smiled.
“Yes.”
He looked around the table calmly.
“We certainly do.”
And sitting there between them all…
I realized one terrifying thing.
My life had just been dragged into a battle I wasn’t prepared for.
- Writer
