Meeting his Grandmother
My breath caught as she stepped closer. She reached out a weathered hand, her touch surprisingly gentle as she cupped my cheek. “Such beauty,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“So graceful, like a jewel the heavens dropped into our family’s path.”
Heat rushed to my face. I barely managed a bow of my head, but she lifted my chin with one finger, refusing to let me lower myself.
“No, child,” she said firmly. “You hold your head high. You are not here to be less than anyone.”
The words struck me like a wave, filling the hollow spaces inside me I hadn’t realized were aching. Around us, I felt the discomfort prickling like thorns.
Anna’s smile faltered, the corners of her lips trembling with resentment as she lowered her gaze, unable to hide her clenched jaw. Athena, seated stiffly at the side, shifted in her chair, her nails digging into her palms. Their jealousy was a living thing, hissing quietly in the silence that followed.
The grandmother, Vannessa took my hands into her own, her grip surprisingly strong. “You’re welcome into this home,” she declared, her voice steady and unyielding. Then she turned her head, fixing Isabel and her husband with a look that brooked no refusal. “And I expect the wedding to be nothing less than worthy of her.”
Luca’s lips curved faintly, his eyes watching me with something I couldn’t read, while my father’s chest swelled as though he had just secured a priceless crown.
Vanessa still held my hands when her gaze hardened again, practical and probing.
“Tell me, child,” she said, her tone shifting, “where did you drop your things? Your belongings. Your suitcases.”
For a moment, I blinked, utterly caught off guard. My heart gave a startled jolt. Belongings? What belongings?
“My… things?” I repeated faintly, as though the words themselves were foreign.
Her brow furrowed, impatient yet not unkind. “Yes.”
I froze, but before I could stumble over an answer, my father gave a forced laugh. “Ah, my mistake.” He rubbed the back of his neck as though the oversight was minor, though I could see the flash of irritation in his eyes. “I forgot to mention it to her. We’ll have the driver bring Lana’s things over immediately.”
My stomach tightened, but I quickly smoothened my face, refusing to let any suspicion show. I turned my head toward my father, my voice light though my chest hammered.
“That’s… thoughtful of you, Father,” I said softly. “I’ll be fine for tonight, of course.”
But when my eyes caught his, the unspoken question hung heavy between us: What exactly was happening here? Why hadn’t I been told?
The grandmother, however, seemed satisfied with his reply. She gave my hand another squeeze and then gestured for me to sit close to her, as though sealing her approval with that small act.
Very soon, my father and stepmother began to rise. Chairs scraped softly against the polished floor as they prepared to leave. My father adjusted his shirt with unhurried precision before turning to me.
“Come, Lana,” he said, his voice carrying that same commanding calm that always left no room for refusal. “Come and see us off.”
I nodded automatically. “Alright… Dad.”
Before I could take a step, Luca rose as well. “I’ll escort,” he offered.
Together we all walked through the corridors until the night air touched us, cool and sharp. The car waited at the entrance, its sleek body gleaming beneath the lantern light. My stepmother and Athena lingered nearby, both visibly impatient, both watching me far too closely.
As we approached the limousine, I slowed. “Could I have a moment alone with my father?” I asked softly.
Luca hesitated. His gaze searched mine for a beat before he gave the smallest nod. “I’ll wait here.”
I slipped into the limousine, the door shutting behind me with a muffled thud. For a moment, it was just the two of us, me and my father, the silence between us far heavier than I wanted to bear.
“You didn’t tell me I would have to move in today?” My voice trembled more than I intended, but I steadied it with effort.
He waved a hand dismissively. “I forgot. But it’s no matter. Adjust as soon as you can, because you’ll need to win their trust completely to begin what’s expected of you.”
I blinked at him, disbelief flooding me, but I kept my face carefully neutral. You forgot? The words screamed inside me. Even now, even to the very end of this moment, he was still so inconsiderate of me. His daughter, yet nothing more than a piece to move across his board.
But I swallowed it all down. My lips curved in a tight smile, my voice controlled, almost cold. “Noted, Mr. Vincent.”
I reached for the door handle, ready to leave, when his voice cut through the air.
“Wait, Lana.”
I turned back, my heart giving a small leap despite myself, some foolish part of me hoping he would finally offer something, maybe comfort, affection, even a fragment of fatherly warmth.
But he only said, “Don’t disappoint me. This is important for the empire.”
The hollow inside me deepened. I smiled faintly, said nothing, and pushed open the door.
Outside, my stepmother and Athena were waiting, their expressions soured, their bodies rigid with irritation at being made to stand.
“Come inside,” my father’s voice rang sharply from behind me.
My stepmother pressed her lips together, swallowing back whatever poisonous words she had been preparing, and stepped inside the car with Athena close at her side.