Decision Looming Over Us
934 Words
The dining hall of the Laurent Manor was eerily quiet despite the number of people gathered around the long mahogany table. Glistening chandeliers cast golden light across the polished surfaces, the faint scent of aged wine lingering in the air. The tension, however, overpowered everything else.
I sat stiffly beside Damien, my fingers curled around the edge of my chair as I tried to keep my expression neutral. Across from us, both of our families sat—his mother, Eleanor’s mother, his father, uncles, aunts. People who had always held an intimidating presence but now carried something even heavier.
Judgment.
Expectation.
A storm was coming. I could feel it in the way no one touched their food, in the way the hushed murmurs had stopped the moment we sat down.
Damien, as usual, was unreadable. He leaned back in his chair, dressed in one of his perfectly tailored suits, his dark hair tousled just enough to look effortless. His expression was neutral, his fingers loosely intertwined as he rested his arms on the table. If the weight of the moment affected him, he didn’t show it.
I wished I had his composure.
Instead, my stomach twisted painfully as Eleanor’s mother, Cecilia, folded her hands in front of her and finally spoke.
“This situation has gone on long enough,” she said, her voice firm but not unkind. “It’s been a month since Serena moved in, and people are starting to talk.”
I swallowed hard.
Here it comes.
“What people think is irrelevant,” Damien said smoothly, not even blinking. “Serena is here for the twins. That’s all there is to it.”
Cecilia sighed, shaking her head. “You may think that, Damien, but the world doesn’t see it that way. People are questioning why a young, unmarried woman is living under the same roof as you.”
I felt my stomach drop.
This wasn’t the first time this conversation had been hinted at, but tonight, it felt different.
More final.
Damien’s mother, Genevieve, was the next to speak. “The children need stability,” she said, her voice carrying the same cool elegance she always possessed. “And right now, their lives are anything but stable. Eleanor is gone, and while you’ve both done your best to take care of them, this arrangement is...unconventional. It’s time to consider a real solution.”
I knew what she was going to say before she even said it.
“You should get married.”
The words felt like a slap.
I stiffened, my breath catching in my throat.
Damien’s jaw clenched, his fingers tightening just slightly against each other. “That’s not happening.”
Cecilia frowned. “You haven’t even thought about it.”
“I don’t need to.” His voice was sharp, final.
I found myself nodding, though my heart was hammering against my ribs. “Damien is right. This isn’t a solution. It’s—” I searched for the right words. “It’s forcing something that isn’t meant to happen.”
Genevieve sighed, as if we were two children refusing to see reason. “And what exactly is meant to happen, Serena?”
I faltered.
“We know this isn’t ideal,” Cecilia said gently, her gaze softer when it met mine. “But what other choice is there? If you leave, the twins will suffer. We all see how much they depend on you. And if you stay, the rumors will never stop.”
I swallowed, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “People can think what they want.”
Cecilia’s expression turned sad. “That’s easy to say, but harder to live with.”
Damien exhaled sharply, his patience thinning. “So your answer is to push us into a marriage neither of us wants?”
Genevieve met his gaze steadily. “This isn’t about what you want, Damien. It’s about what’s best for the twins.”
A heavy silence fell over the table.
I hated this.
Hated that they were making this sound so rational, so necessary.
And hated, most of all, that a small part of me feared they were right.
Damien and I were the only constants in Lucas and Lucy’s lives right now. If I left, they would lose yet another person they relied on. If I stayed… the world would twist it into something ugly.
I rubbed my temple, frustration bubbling inside me. “Even if we agreed—hypothetically—it wouldn’t change anything. Marriage wouldn’t magically fix the fact that we’re not… we’re not a real family.”
Cecilia’s lips pressed together. “The twins don’t know the difference.”
Damien exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I won’t trap Serena into something like this just to make things look proper.”
I blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his words.
Something warm flickered in my chest—something I didn’t want to name.
Cecilia, however, was undeterred. “It wouldn’t be a trap, Damien. It would be a choice. A necessary one.”
I looked at Damien then, truly looked at him, and for the first time that night, I saw something flicker behind his usually cold eyes.
Frustration.
Conflict.
And for just a second, something else.
Something unreadable.
Genevieve sighed, breaking the silence. “We’re not asking you to decide tonight. But we are asking you to think about it.”
Damien scoffed but said nothing.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t say a word even if I wanted to.
Because, deep down, I knew.
This wasn’t the last time we’d have this conversation.
- Writer
