Wasn’t he the one who said I wouldn’t tell Aiden anything? He should be surprised that I did talk. Or was that entire speech a manipulation plot to push me to speak?

Whatever it is, the expression on Jonathan’s face encourages me to keep talking.

“I was sixteen at the time, a minor. Since I had no relatives, aside from my father and Alicia, I was taken to a safe house. I couldn’t attend Alicia’s funeral, even if I wanted to.”

“I’m sorry.” Astrid’s eyes fill with deep sympathy. “Mum died when I was fifteen. It would’ve killed me if I hadn’t attended her funeral.”

My lips tremble, but I rein in the tears. All I think about is the nights I spent in that safe house. The fear. The guilt for ratting my dad out. The thoughts of what if I made a mistake. But most of all, I was hit by the grief of losing Alicia and the inability to even say goodbye.

In a way, I still haven’t.

“What happened afterwards?” Levi is the first who goes back to eating.

“Statements and trials.” I release a breath. “Lots of trials.”

“How long did that take?” Aiden asks. “Weeks? Months? It couldn’t have possibly been eleven years, right?”

Elsa pins him down with a glare again, but his attention stays firmly on me.

“Due to the nature of the crimes my father committed, I had to be admitted into the Witness Protection Program.”

This time, Jonathan is the one who narrows his eyes on me. He couldn’t possibly know that I escaped the program the moment I could. After that, I didn’t let them write my story for me. I went back to the cottage and wrote my new beginning with my own bare hands.

“You have an answer for everything. Brilliant.” Aiden goes back to eating.

“Aiden,” Jonathan warns.

“You can’t bring her here, to the place Mum called home, and expect me to act all acceptant of her. That woman is not Alicia. Why can’t you see it?”

“She does look like her, though,” Levi mutters.

“Silence,” Jonathan orders, and just like that, everyone turns quiet.

He has the power to make anyone listen, even if they don’t like him or his decisions.

“Aiden.” His attention falls on his son. “When I told you to stay away from Elsa, what did you do?”

“That’s different —”

“Answer my question,” he cuts him off. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“I married her.”

Levi laughs under his breath but stops when Jonathan’s deadly attention shifts to him. “And you. Did you hear a word I said about staying away from Lord Clifford’s daughter?”

“Nope.” Levi takes Astrid’s hand in his and kisses her knuckles. “I made her my world.”

“Fascinating.” The tone Jonathan speaks with suggests he finds this anything but ‘fascinating’. “Now, you two expect me to listen to you. Do you know what I call that? Hypocrisy.”

Aiden releases a mocking sound, but he doesn’t say anything, and I’m guessing it’s due to the way Elsa is discretely holding his hand on her lap.

After that, the meal goes peacefully — mostly. I keep to my space as Levi goes on about his upcoming game, and then he gets into a teasing argument with Aiden, who quit football after school.

Aiden merely tells him that he’s the one wasting his time, considering a career playing football is short-lived.

I focus on my plate and only answer when either Astrid or Elsa asks me a question, which I guess is their polite way to include me in the conversation.

Jonathan rarely speaks, if ever. He just listens. Like the first days I came to live here.

After that, I made it a habit that we talk. Whether it’s about the business column he loves too much, or politics. It doesn’t matter that we clash a lot and it ends up in an argument. I don’t like eating my food in silence. It’s a habit I’ve been trying to get out of at any cost.

Jonathan motions at my plate across the table. My cheeks heat. God, I can’t believe he caught on that I wasn’t actually eating.

I force down a few spoonfuls, then pretend I’m not affected by the way Aiden avoids me all night. Levi does throw some remarks my way, but soon retreats with a scold from Jonathan or a touch from Astrid.

By the time dinner is over, I excuse myself, pretending I spilt water on my suit trousers.

A huge breath heaves out of me when I’m inside my room. I slump on the bed and hold my head between my hands.

It wasn’t as disastrous as I expected it to be, so that says something.

I think.

No idea how many family dinners I can handle in the future, though. The girls are kind and welcoming, but I can’t say the same about their husbands. Especially Aiden. He’s out for my life

A knock sounds on the door and I straighten up. “Who is it?”

Elsa opens the door, followed by Astrid, who asks, “Can we come in?”

“Yeah, sure.” I stand and lead them to the small sitting area in my room. The few times Layla came here, she said I have a princess’s room fit for ‘daddy kink’, at which I proceeded to hit her with a pillow.

The three of us sit down, Elsa and Astrid next to each other while I’m on the chair opposite them.

When neither of them speak, I slice through the silence, “Is everything all right?”

“Absolutely.” Elsa clears her throat. “We just wanted to see if you’re okay.”

“I am.”

“Levi doesn’t hate you, you know,” Astrid blurts. “He’s merely curious about you.”

“As for Aiden…” Elsa trails off. “When he was younger, he was taken by my parents as a ‘fuck you’ to Jonathan, and when he returned, his mother was dead. He was wounded deeply by that, and seeing you brings that wound to the surface. Give him time and I promise he’ll get used to you.”

Aiden was taken by Ethan and his wife? That must be why Alicia called me and told me her son was missing.

Hold on. Is this why Jonathan can’t stand Ethan? Because he kidnapped Aiden?

Instead of voicing those questions out loud, potentially making me look like a creep, I plaster on a smile. “Time is all I have.”

“Thank you.” Elsa relaxes in her seat. “I knew you’d understand.”

“So different from Jonathan,” Astrid mutters.