*Sir, your grandfather is on the line, should I tell him that you are currently in a meeting?” Emma said, her voice uncertain.
“No need.” Alexander sighed taking the phone. “Grandfather?”
*Family dinner is tonight. No excuses.” The chairman’s voice was stern. “And bring my dea granddaughter Lavina. She is never late. Tell her I have missed her alot for the past year I was absent and have prepared a gift for her.”
Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course. She will be there.”
After hanging up, he turned to his driver. “Go pick up Madam from the hospital. Tell her she needs to be ready in an hour.”
The driver nodded and rushed off.
In Alexander thoughts I was a plain woman who dressed simply but elegantly, obedient and naive. My perfume was subtle just as he liked and that smile on my face was of a perfect homemaker, nothing striking and intense like Stephanie, it was just that it was…too bland… even boring.
But he thought that I knew how to win over his grandfather…even better than he ever could.
But now he was bringing someone else tonight.
Someone who was more lively, stubborn and flashier.
At last Stephanie emerged from the dressing room in a figure–hugging designer gown, her lipstick too red, her heels too high. “Do I look like a Hamilton yet?” she asked.
Alexander forced a smile, slipping his jacket on. “You look… fine.”
Fastening a delicate chain around her neck, she turned to Alexander with a soft, sheepish smile.
‘Alex…I know your family must have loved sister Lavina…” she began, her voice almost a whisper. “And I don’t expect to fill her shoes. Honestly, I am not a housewife like her. I speak to much, laugh too loud, and I still mess up which spoon to use at those formal dinners.”
She looked down, fiddling with the clasp of her bracelet, indicating in a very subtle manner of
how much of a prude I was.
‘But I promise I am not here for status, Alex. I just… I want to love you. Even if they never accept ne…I am still willing to stand by you no matter what.”
Then she added, almost like an afterthought “And if they hate me for loving you too honestly, then I guess I will live with that too. My husband was too abusive and I have never known ove…it is just with you that I feel like I can breathe much better…”
Alexander’s hand stilled on his cufflink.
Something in her tone…unpolished, raw, almost self–deprecating struck a chord.
Too honest for her own good, he thought vaguely. Maybe that was what he needed now.
Someone who didn’t pretend to be perfect.
Someone who didn’t ask for anything except him.
At the Hamilton Estate, the ancestral home brimmed with elegance and quiet power. Stephanie
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clung to his arm like a prized ornament as they entered the dining hall.
Victoria Hamilton, my ex mother–in–law who never really liked me alot leaned back with cool eyes. Across from her sat his father and his grandfather, who sipped wine in his usual silence. “I thought your grandfather specified this to be a ‘family‘ dinner. Alexander.” Alexander’s fathe said with his lips pressed into a straight line. “Where is Lavina?”
“Father, Lavina will be here soon, today I wanted you all to meet someone special.”
Stephanie smiled brightly. “It’s an honor to meet you all.” With that she pulled out a chair and sat down at the table without anyone asking.
Alexander’s body froze as his uncle and aunts watched Stephanie completely disregarding the etiquettes that even the people from common households followed.
Alexander cleared his throat. “Mother… Father… Grandfather… this is Stephanie, a very close person to my heart-”
“A close person? The daughter of å mere nanny close to the heir of Hamiltons? The one swapped at birth with Lavina. How did the old phrase go? Ah, yes..like a magpie occupying a dove’s nest.
We all know who she is, the news on the tabloids…the rumors of your ‘relationship‘ made sure not only we but our high–profile friends are also aware that you are keeping a mistress.”
Stephanie’s smile faltered. “I–I am just a friend of Alex’s.”
The room chilled.
Alexander’s heart thudded once.
“Mother-” he began.
But Victoria only looked in disdain.
“Friend or not.” Alexander’s mother muttered “you shouldn’t wear perfume that strong to dinner It’s causing me a headache.”
With that they settled down as Alexander continued to wait for me to join the dinner, his eyes constantly moving towards the door as the seat right beside his grandfather remained empty for
- me.
With passing time Alexander watched, a little stunned as the room grew colder around Stephanie. She was trying too hard. Laughing at the wrong moments. Bragging about brand deals. Talking about vacations and spa trips.
His father stared at her like she was a stock report gone wrong. His grandfather didn’t speak a
word.
Then, as the courses were being served, Stephanie leaned in and whispered “Alex, now would be a good time to announce our engagement.”
Alexander blinked. “Engagement?”
“Yes” she giggled. “You said you’d make it official soon.”
He gripped his wine glass. “I… I can’t. Not yet.”
Stephanie’s smile faded. “Why not?”
“Because Lavina…” he hesitated. “She will be devastated. She gave me three years of her life. I
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owe her something.”
“Sister needs money the most, doesn’t she?” Stephanie offered casually. “That’s easy. Just pay her off.”
Alexander flinched at her words.
Something stung.
Trying to salvage the moment, Stephanie quickly pulled out a glossy box from her handbag. “I brought a gift for Mr.Hamilton” she said brightly.
She handed it over with a confident wide smile.
Alexander suddenly went still.
The glass box opened to display a silk–tie.
His grandfather’s fingers brushed the material. For a moment, he paused before his jaw clenched hard.
It was a disaster.
