"So Bonnie."

Bonnie looked up from the soup and into the blue eyes of Lord Maddox Asher.

Her and Zion arrived at the dinner a few minutes ago. They were late and Zion had no issue pointing out that it was indeed Bonnie's fault. She blushed in embarrassment, which turned into a blush of modesty when Sheryl and Lord Asher complimented her dress.

She thanked them and followed everybody into the dining room. It looked magnificent, like in those princess movies. Oh what would she give to have grown up in a place like this.

Then the dinner started with a fair choice of soups. She was almost done with hers and only when Maddox called her name, did she realize she was the last to finish.

"Tell me something about you." He continued with a warm smile. Bonnie gulped before smiling back and clearing her throat. She wouldn't mind telling Lord Asher about her, but she was very aware of the other two pairs of eyes watching her in that moment. And especially one of them was not supposed to know a lot about her. But she could not lie to the Lord, he probably already knew about her past.

"Well, I grew up in Rian, a small city in Nonan." She said.
"Was your father Michael Stewart?" Bonnie was surprised to hear about her father.
"Yes." She nodded.

"He was a good man. It's a shame those mine explosions cost him his life. I only met him once when I had business with the company he worked for. My condolences." He told her, making Bonnie nod before taking a sip of her water. What a way to start a conversation.

"And your mother, dear. What does she work as?" Sheryl's question seemed innocent enough. But truth was, Bonnie had no idea what her biological mother was doing. If she was even alive. So she decided to talk about the only mother figure she ever had.

"She worked at an orphanage back in Nonan." Bonnie said, making Sheryl smile.
"I once had a friend who worked at an orphanage. Nice people they are." She smiled at Bonnie, who nodded in agreement. Rosie was a nice person, she silently thought. A very nice person.

Zion couldn't quite comprehend the new information he just received about the woman across from him. She told him she had a big family. Now he knew her father died. He wouldn't expect her to tell him that, but he was still pretty surprised she never did. And he thought people who worked at orphanages also lived in orphanages. But surely that wasn't the case if Ebony had four sisters. Someone had to take care of them, right? Man, what did he know.

"I bet she's very proud of your accomplishments." Lord Asher said right before a maid walked in, pushing an empty tray. Yes, a maid. Bonnie figured a big palace like this needs many maids. But it was still interesting whenever she saw one. So far, she counted seven.

"Thank you, Lucy." Lord Asher said when she finished clearing the table. The young maid nodded before pushing the now full tray out of the room. A few minutes later, she reappeared with the second dish of the evening.

"I hope you like salmon. I hadn't had it in a while, but my cook fished them himself this morning." Lord Asher smiled at Bonnie before digging in. Bonnie started to get more comfortable with each smile he threw her way. This man seemed truly pure.

"Yes, I love salmon actually. Have you ever had grilled salmon with barbeque?" She responded, taking a bite of her food. The fish was just perfect. It practically melted on her tongue. She actually hated every other fish. Salmon was the only fish she really enjoyed.

"No, never. But I'll make sure to have it in the future. It sounds delicious. How do you like this one?" He asked her.
"It's amazing. I'll have to compliment your cook." She said with a smile.

"I'll make sure to tell him. How about you, son? You like it?" Maddox looked at Zion, who nodded as well.
"It's good." Was all he said.

"How is the business going for both of you? Rumours have it you're collaborating with Gomez?" Sheryl asked the pair.
"It's going good for my part." Zion answered, making his mother nod.

"I can't complain either." Bonnie said, not wanting to discuss her difficulties at the moment.

"No surprise. You both are machines. Especially you, young lady. I have never seen anyone reach the top this far. You'll even pass Dawsey Enterprises if you keep up the pace. A true inspiration to everybody, especially the women in this country. Watch out, Zion." Maddox added the last part as a joke.

"Oh, I am." Was all he said.
"Thank you, Lord Asher. It means a lot to me to hear that." Bonnie told the man, who shook his head with another smile.
"Call me Maddox, dear." He insisted.

"You know what this dish reminds me of? When Zion's father and I took him and his brother camping for the first time. Do you remember that, honey?" Sheryl asked her son, who again just nodded. Sheryl seemed used to his behaviour as she turned to look at Bonnie, who was surprised to hear about his older brother. She knew he had one but according to the internet, he died many years ago.

"He has always been a playful and energetic child, you know. Yes, the exact opposite of how he is today. Anyways, he was around six when we went camping and I remember we watched a few fishing videos, because the boys wanted to try it with their father." Sheryl shook her head, glancing back at her son with a small smile.

"Hours passed and they didn't fish one thing. It was night time and everybody gave up, but not Zion. Once he put something in his mind, it was hard to get rid of it. So he was determined to catch a fish." Bonnie glanced at Zion. Why didn't that surprise her?

"So when everybody went to bed that day, Zion sneaked out of the cabin and went fishing. In his pyjamas. And he didn't use a fishing pole, no. He went to stand in the water, still in his pyjamas and waited for a fish to come by. He wanted to catch it with his hands." Sheryl shook her head, smiling at the memory. Bonnie was smiling too and Maddox was laughing.

"Oh, now I remember. David told me about that." He shook his head im amusement.
"Mother, you don't have to continue. I think she gets the picture." Zion said, not sounding the least bit bemused or happy.
"But she hasn't heard the best part yet." Sheryl turned back to Bonnie.

"So after a few hours, he peed into the pond, because he read somewhere that fish get attracted by the warmth. So he stood there with his-"
"Mother." Zion groaned, embarrassed. Sheryl and Maddox laughed at his discomfort.

"With his pants down, peeing in the pond. Didn't realize that fish were already surrounding him. So when he pulled his pants up, one fish was too slow to swim out of them. And all we heard was a high pitched scream. A horrendous one, as if he was being chased by a murderer." Sheryl finished, making Bonnie and Maddox laugh.

"Seriously?" Bonnie looked at Zion and almost missed the twitch of his lips. He was bemused, she thought as she slowly sobered down.
"I was six, can you blame me? I couldn't eat fish for the next few years." He shook his head.

"But the screaming part." Lord Asher laughed out loud again. Bonnie giggled, catching Zion's attention. She never giggled before. At least not around him, he thought before shaking his head again and glaring at his godfather.

"You think that's funny? Miss Stewart, let me tell you a few things about our Lord." Zion said, placing his forearms on the table. Maddox stopped laughing, but smiled upon hearing Zion's words.

"Bring it on, boy." He challenged Zion, who rolled his eyes.
"Where do I start? Okay, so. You wanna know what he told me after I had my first kiss?" Zion asked her. Bonnie was too shocked that he was talking to her without anger in his voice, to answer.

"Oh, come on. That's not fair." Maddox groaned, covering his face. Bonnie smiled at the upcoming story.
"First of all, he had his first kiss with eighteen. Lame, huh?" Zion asked her. Did he not remember that he was her first kiss a few months ago? Or has she never told him?

"Not really. I had my first kiss pretty late too." She said, jumping to Maddox's defence.
"Thank you." Lord Asher sighed. Zion on the other hand, tilted his head to the right with a slight frown. This man was truly sexy. Especially when he looked at her the way he did now.

"How late?" He asked her, causing her to panic. No way was she going to tell him now. Actually, never. So she shrugged.
"Can't remember." She answered, making Zion narrow his eyes at her.

When he kept quiet for a few more seconds, just looking at her, observing her silently, Sheryl and Maddox exchanged a look. Then their eyes shifted from Bonnie to Zion and back to Bonnie. Something was up, they both thought.

Bonnie realized he was quiet for a second too long, so she lifted her leg and nudged him under the table. Zion finally seemed to snap out of it as he cleared his throat and looked back at the Lord.

"Anyways. I guess you kissed the guy on the lips. Whereas this man, right here. He aimed, but that didn't go too well. Or did it, uncle Maddox?" Zion smirked when Maddox groaned loudly.

"You'll pay for this." Lord Asher warned before Zion resumed telling the story.