Heirs Of Deception

CHAPTER 3

~Talia~

It had already been 30 minutes since my parents and I arrived at The Bennett mansion. The drive from the gate to the house took about 10 minutes. There were different types of amazing flowers planted on both sides of the road leading to the house.

There was a waterfall at the center of the compound which was aesthetically pleasing to me. A gaintic house as though as a castle stood in front of me, so many lights were up, over shadowing the darkness of the evening.

I was in awe when my eyes caught the fleets of cars lined at the left corner. I have always had a thing for cars.

We were given a warm welcome into the house by Mr Adrian. Every detail in the house was just perfect. The chairs in the sitting room were made of its finest leather. The tufted settees sat at right angles to a carved gold glass table.

The air smelled cold like generically expensive air freshener. Indeed some people had homes, but The Bennetts had a showpiece. The mansion was a definition of old money.

We went straight to the dinner table. The long table was filled with different dishes and wine. We took a seat and immediately dug into the food. Halfway into the meal, my father finally broke the silence.

“Nice place, I must say, Mr Adrian”, he admitted as he nodded his head.

“Thanks, I'm sure yours must be a lot better”, Mr Adrian said with a little grin.

“Nothing compared to this,” my dad added. “You’ve really put in a lot of work into this place compared to the last time I came.”

“It's the handiwork of my late wife. You know she was an interior designer and was always particular about her space.” He said with a bright smile.

“Ah— I’m sorry for your loss Sir. What happened to her ?” I said in sheer surprise.

“Thanks, my dear. It's been years already.”

“Sorry, I couldn't make it to the funeral. At the time I heard the news about her passing, I was in Germany for a business trip” my dad said.

“It's fine, you already explained that to me.” Mr Adrian said.

“I’m sorry for your loss once again Mr Bennet.” My mum sympathized.

“Thanks.” Mr Adrian gave a forced smile.

“So tell me, what are your plans towards the wedding, Mrs Sophia ?” Mr Adrian quickly changed the subject.

“The wedding will take place in the next 6 months.” My dad cut in.

My steak was halfway into my mouth but froze in mid-air. 6 months—- really! Is that how fast you want to get rid of me?

“Why the rush ?” Mr Adrian asked as he widened his eyes.

My mother sipped her cocktail and narrowed her eyes at me with a bright smile.

“The timing is perfect, that's enough time for Damian and Talia to get acquainted. Enough time for us to plan a proper wedding without dragging things out for too long”.

My father nodded in agreement. “Public announcement of the engagement should go out right away as we have limited time”.

My stomach lurched, and the possibility of me expelling its content inched closer to reality. In a few seconds, Damian walked in and pulled me out of my outbreak when he noisy pulled a chair beside me.

“Sorry I'm late” Damian said as he sat down and drew a plate to dish some food.

“It's fine—- ” my parents chorused with a forced smile on their faces. If they smiled any harder, their faces would have split in half.

Mr Adrian gave Damian a stinging look.

“Sorry, Dad,” Damian whispered as if he was compelled to apologize again.

My spine iced at his cold steel baritone voice. I nearly cleaved my outward composure in half as I quickly gazed at his well-built muscles. I took a long bite from my food, avoiding any eye contact from him.

“Damian, we were just discussing your wedding with Talia here.”

I could sense fury reigniting in Damian's chest but he maintained his cool by not saying a word. He chewed his food vigorously as if he were crashing the bones of an enemy who had come to test him.

“Why don't you show Talia around?” Mr Adrian suggested.

Damian reluctantly gave his father a displeasing look for a second. “Okay, Dad”.

He drew his chair backwards to stand and threw a fake grin at me “May we ?”

“Sure” I stuttered.

We proceeded through a hallway and walked past another sitting room and a gaming room. I could see a glimpse of a room with lots of expensive artworks displayed on the wall. I got so engrossed and focused on seeing the other part of the room that I tripped.

Luckily for me, Damian saved me from the sheer embarrassment of landing on the floor. He caught me in mid-air. His ocean-blue eyes dazzled as he stared directly into mine. I felt the warmth of his hands surge through my spine.

My blood iced and my throat ran dry as my eyes ran around his lips. We held and stared until he turned to look the other way. He cleared his throat and made an effort to release me from his arm, which brought me back from my unexpected 5 minutes of daydreaming.

“Thank you,” I said in a low tone, feeling a bit of embarrassment cloud my face.

He uttered no word to me as we walked to the garden in silence. The air outside was a bit cosy. The moon shined so bright in the night sky and a wind whistled past me and tucked my dress into my tights.

“I heard you’re an Architect”. He slanted a glance at me.

“Yes, I work with Blueprint Nexus in LA” I responded.

“Impressive”. He commended.

“So why did you agree to marry me ?” I asked out of nowhere.

“I thought you must have been aware by now ?” he responded with a sinister smile on his face.

I held back a dire sigh. I directed my gaze at him and didn’t say a word. He slowly looked away.

“Your dad would be in a better position to tell you that”. He added, feeling compelled to do so.

“It's obvious you're not happy with the engagement; you don't need the money or connection with my family as we do. Moreover, you can have any woman you want at the snap of your finger”. I rolled my eyes.

His eyes ran through my body and settled on my eyes. I ignored his glare and wrapped my hands around my body. My hand tingled with warmth, but everywhere else, coolness touched.

His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “What if it’s you I want ?”

Damian slowly walked close to me. My heart thudded at the scent of perfume running through my nostrils. We jerked our gaze at each other for a second. Heat slipped beneath my skin as he traced my lower lips with the tip of his fingers.

His bright eyes flushed my cheeks. In a few seconds, his lips were locked in mine. I felt his warm hands run underneath my dress.

He caressed my breasts down to my thighs. In no time, I was giving some light moaning. The hairs on my body stood and I felt a cold sensation run down my spine. My body felt like the indifference of god faced with a mortal.

He suddenly drew his lips from mine and shrugged “I thought as much”.

A strangely triumphant gleam in his eyes as he walked away. I became static. It was as if my world was intertwining. Restless anger churned beneath my skin, and I almost lost my balance.

My head spun around those 3 words he had just said. I tried gasping for air.

What the hell did he mean by “I thought as much ?”