Helanie:
"Good morning," I heard my mother greet Lord McQuoid. I was asked to join breakfast so we could sit and eat before I headed off to the academy again.
It was Norman and Emmet, Emma and my mother with Lord McQuoid. I hadn’t seen Charlotte the whole of yesterday, and now she was missing breakfast too.
Of course, she was.
She wouldn’t want to sit and celebrate me. Or anything related to me.
"Helanie! Honestly, it was so nice to have you here with us. We felt like a family. Even when there weren’t many moments for us to celebrate as a family, you being around felt so good," Lord McQuoid gave me a warm smile, my mother uncomfortably shifting in her seat and then looking up just to check others’ reactions.
I did the same before responding to Lord McQuoid, "I am so glad that I got to know you. You are a wonderful man, someone my mother truly deserves. You have given her the happiness that she never got in her past. I think that says a lot about your kindness and how much you appreciate her," I watched his smile grow with pride upon hearing my compliments.
Emma rolled her eyes, silently mimicking me while making faces.
I noticed Norman shaking his leg and staring at me from under his eyebrows. Emmet seemed just like every other day.
He was always this way—unpredictable. I couldn’t really guess what was going through his head all this time.
"By the way, I have prepared a celebratory lunch today," Emma quickly jumped in to have a say and get attention for herself.
The way everyone turned to her made me believe even they didn’t know what she was talking about. It was obviously not for me. So what celebration was she speaking of?
"What is the occasion?" Lord McQuoid asked, proving that even he knew better than to assume it would be for me.
"You’ll see. It’s actually good news," Emma danced with her shoulders, looking so cringy.
"How is Kaye? And where was he last night?" Lord McQuoid now turned to his sons but asked Norman instead because, of course, Emmet wouldn’t be interested in any conversation since he had already started eating his cereal.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates