Auctioned heart

Chapter5

Dinner begins at the same time as the chatter. Damian and his parents get into a conversation, leaving Lucas and me in an odd, yet comfortable silence. I take a spoonful of the soup in front of me, and my face instantly contorts into a grimace.

What the hell was that?

Lucas catches the look on my face, and he chokes out an amused scoff. His hands move slowly, just like his brother, as if time is always going to stop for them. Pushing the bowl out of the way, he slides the plate of lasagne instead to me.

“Mom’s favorite recipe,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low. “No matter the number of times I have told her it tastes horrible, she still keeps adding it to the menu.”

I look up at his eyes, searching for the amusement I am sure will be etched in them. But I see nothing. No depth.

“Damian liked it when we were much younger,” he continues, that fake smile on his face. “I guess she has no clue that he has outgrown it. He barely even touches it when he’s around.”

“You and Damian do not exactly get along well, do you?”

Lucas smiles. “It depends on what get along really means,” he answers, shrugging. “We are seated on the same table, aren’t we?”

I find Damian watching me from the other side of the table, and Lucas sees it too. He moves in that instant, whipping out a napkin and dapping at a spot at the corner of my lips.

My head jerks backwards as I try to grab the napkin. “Thank you,” I whisper, an awkward chuckle finding its way to my lips.

Mr and Mrs. Blackwood look up at me, that reserved gaze still in their eyes.

Great.

The door swings open, saving me from whatever excuse would have toppled from my lips in that instant, and every one of us turns back to see who just walked in.

I don’t recognize her, but from the look in Damian’s eyes, he does. Her hair is glossy, like she just stepped out of a salon, and every inch of her frame is covered in a dress that looks like it was made for her skin.

The smell in the air changes as she weaves closer, lavender floating in her wake. She looks straight at Damian, then at me, a mischievous glint in her eyes and a smile on her lips that looks more like venom.

“Sorry I’m late,” she says, sitting gingerly into the empty chair next to Damian like it has always been waiting for her. “I had to run some errands before coming here.”

Damian’s eyes flash red as his hand lets go of the cutlery, “What are you doing here, Veronica?” There is no ounce of warmth in his tone, and it is more than enough to send anyone into a frenzy. Yet, she just keeps smiling, her shoulders raising in a shrug.

“That is no way to treat your guest, Damian,” his mother mutters, shaking her head subtly. “I raised you better.”

“Mom…”

“I invited her over,” she continues, answering the unsaid question in his eyes, just as Lucas leans closer, whispering,

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

I want to disappear.

“Bella,” Damian calls. My head whips around to face him. “Dinner is over. Let's go.”

“You are going nowhere until we are done,” Mr. Blackwood snaps, a stern expression on his face. “Your mother thought it a good idea to call Veronica over because we need to talk about your marriage. It has been almost a year since you called off your engagement. You both should have sorted out your issues by now.’

“It is nothing to be sorted out, Mom.”

I feel weird staying put in the middle of all this. But it will even be weirder if I decide to stand up. Right?

“Veronica is from a respectable home, and that is exactly what this family needs. God knows I need one thing going my way before the end of the year.”

Damian’s voice is oddly calm the next time he speaks. “If you were that badly interested in a marriage, why don’t you make Lucas get married to Veronica? After all, he seemed to have no problems sleeping with her while we were still together.”

I try not to show my surprise. So, I pull my gaze down, searching for nothing in particular.

“Damian!” Mrs Blackwood calls sharply. “There is a stranger here. How dare you bring up something like that right now?”

A stranger, that is who I am.

“I need to use the restroom, please,” I mutter in a tiny voice, not waiting for their response as I scurry out of the dining area, heading wherever my feet take me.

Back down the hallway, I take the stairs where I saw Lucas come from the other time, my hands grazing the golden railing as I move up slowly. On the walls are pictures of Lucas and Damian in their teenage years.

They seem pretty close here, their contrasting eyes staring up at the camera with frozen giggles on their faces. Whatever happened to them?

When I get to the landing, a long hallway stretches out before me. I look sideways at the numerous doors lining each wall, wondering how hard it is to find a bathroom.

A part of me considers heading back downstairs to find one of the housekeepers. But instead, I let my feet take me down the hall, pushing the doors one after the other until one opens.

My eyes fall on a perfectly made bed first, and I eye the empty hallway again. There should be an adjoining bathroom inside, but what if I’m not allowed in there?

Just as I turn around to leave, my eyes catch a single folder sitting on the table, seemingly harmless. But something urges me to take a step closer.

The lettering across the front of the folder becomes visible when the door closes behind me, and my feet come to an abrupt halt.

It is a name. One I know too well, because I am bearing it as well.

Carter.

My hand shakes as I reach for it, and just as my fingers brush the edge, the door creaks behind me and someone pushes it open.

“Bella.”