Ch 13: Her in-laws

Ramsey walked her into the cinema room. They sat down on the sofa, each facing the other. In the first few moments, he was silent. His gaze was stuck in another direction, away from her. Sarah sat in discomfort. After seeing how he reacted, the very thought that she would've signed the agreement if he hadn't shown, ate at her.

"I'm sorry." Sarah apologised. Ramsey shifted his view onto her.

"I should've insisted on waiting for you."

His lips paused into a thin line. The look in his eyes softened. But he struggled to play out a smile.

"No, it's fine."

He stared at her. Sarah lowered her eyes from him.

"I've gotten to know you a bit. I understand it was hard for you to ignore her order but..." Ramsey gently carried her hand from her lap and sandwiched it between his.

Sarah looked from their hands and unto his face.

"... we're going to be partners soon. You'll have to learn to say no to her and others. You'll also need to remember that you should never sign anything you don't understand. Okay?"

She blinked several times.

"Okay."

Ramsey smiled and casually patted her cheek. Sarah tried not to show that even that light touch affected her. They were more than strangers, rather friends. Sarah understood that touch or brush of skin here and there, a few times shouldn't be overanalyzed. It was obvious he wasn't and the last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

"Shall we join the rest?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Ramsey helped her to her feet. He opened the door for her and followed behind, out of the room.

* * *

"It's getting late. We understand you're all busy, and we don't want to keep you any longer." Jerome told Dominique, who was the only Blackwell in the living room. He stood up with the help of his son, Saint.

"Thank you for the dinner, Mr. Blackwell." He put out a hand for a handshake.

Dominic stood on his feet and accepted the handshake. "You're welcome, Mr..."

They could see Dominic was lost.

"Jerome is fine."

Dominic put up a smile. Ramsey and Sarah walked into the room.

"Please take care of my daughter. She's precious to us."

"Sure."

They separated from the handshake. Jerome and his sons turned to leave the room.

Sarah met her father by the entrance. "Dad."

"Oh, Sarah, it's fine. You can stay longer if you want. Your brothers have school the next day so we have to leave early."

"No. Dad, we'll leave together."

"But..."

"I'll drive you home." Ramsey intervened.

"No, no, no. Please don't." He chuckled dryly without looking up at Ramsey's face. "I can't let you chauffeur us."

Sarah and Ramsey exchanged glances.

"Okay, the driver will take you all instead. Is that okay?"

Jerome hesitated.

"Okay. Thank you."

Ramsey smiled. He walked them to the door and closed it after they left.

"Happy?" Dominic queried his son who walked back into the living room.

Ramsey stared at his father who sat with crossed legs.

"What?" Adrian walked into the room. "They're gone? I thought they would live here seeing as Ramsey has started to run his little charity." He sat on the sofa, an expression of mockery on his face.

Speechless, Ramsey stared at the people whom he called family.

Freya strolled in, and their attention shifted to her.

"Did she sign it?" Dominic asked his wife as she sat on the sofa opposite his.

Ramsey shifted his view to his father, a light furrow between his brows.

"Your son tore it up."

Dominic looked at Ramsey. His brows squeezed together with a tenacious intensity in his gaze.

"You tore it? So, this dinner was a waste."

Ramsey's eyes moved from his mother to his father and back to his mother. His lips curved up into a wide smile. Then laughter followed.

"I should've known. I should've suspected when mum proposed the family dinner meeting. I mean..."

Ramsey sighed.

"Listen, I will marry Sarah no matter what you say or do." He walked away.

"I know you're stupid, but I didn't think it ran this extreme," Adrian called out.

Ramsey turned. "What?"

Adrian stood on his feet and went up to his brother. They faced each other. Their height and build were very similar.

"For years, I've listened to you whine about feeling trapped by this family and the wealth. Yet, you haven't taken any action to leave. Please, Ramsey, do me a favour and do just that. Run away with your gold-digging maid. After all, you've done it before."

Ramsey's hands by his sides folded into tight fists.

Adrian maintained his stance. His look even more daring by the second. Ramsey recognised this act. Several times, his older brother had tried to manipulate or rile him into doing something different.

A smile appeared on Ramsey's face. He released his hands.

"You would like that very much, wouldn't you?"

Adrian kept staring at him.

"Unfortunately, Adrian, not this time. You..." Ramsey turned to his parents. "... both of you will watch me marry her, congratulate us, and live with the knowledge that she's here to stay, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

While Ramsey was on his way out, he nearly ran into Astrid. She stood her ground, and he went the other way.

Astrid watched the rest of her family. They exuded an agitated and uncomfortable aura, especially Adrian.

"This is your fault, Freya. If you hadn't accepted that woman, this wouldn't be happening."

"I'm sorry, what are you still doing in my house?"

Adrian's smile was ingenuine. "Your house?" He scoffed and then faced Dominic.

"Dad, you know what this means, right?"

Dominic stared at him.

"You should strip Ramsey of any attachment to the family business."

"That's Absurd," Freya commented.

"That's the best option. Trust me." Adrian's gaze remained on his father.

Everyone waited. Yet, Dominic's silence lasted.

Irritated, Freya stood on her feet. "That's never going to happen. My family is the only reason this family can still hold its head up in society."

On her way out, she stopped beside Adrian. She directed her piercing gaze against him.

"As long as I'm alive, that seat can never be yours."

Adrian gritted his teeth as the older woman left the living room. He looked at his father with a subtle plea in his eyes. Yet, Dominic said nothing.

"I'm leaving." Astrid picked up her purse where she left it on the sofa.

On her way out, she stopped and slightly turned to her brother. "Are you coming, Adrian?"

He adjusted his stance as he contemplated, and then he took one more look at his father.

"Yes."

They left together, leaving Dominic by himself and to his thoughts.

* * *

One early afternoon, as Sarah neared the entrance to a luxury clothing store, she stopped to draw in a deep breath and calm her nerves. After receiving an unexpected call from Freya Blackwell, she hurried down to where she told her to meet her. It took her a while to ask for permission from work. Her boss's response was vague. Sarah wasn't sure she might have a job to return to. But... this was important. So, she had to make it happen.

Sarah pushed open the tall, transparent glass door and stepped inside. A saleswoman with a warm, dark chocolate undertone approached her. She was wearing a black English dress with a small gold belt, similar to the one the woman behind the counter wore.

"Can I help you, miss?" Her smile was warm and welcoming.

"I—I'm here to meet Mrs. Blackwell."

"Oh, you're Miss Miller?"

"Yes." Sarah nodded.

"Please, come this way."

As Sarah followed her, her gaze roamed around the large store, taking in the beautiful interior, the designer clothes on the racks, and the heels and handbags on display. They walked past a long curtain and entered another section devoid of the previous displays—a VIP lounge area. Sarah spotted Freya seated on the sofa, holding a teacup, bringing it closer to her lips for a sip.

"Thank you, Clarice."

The saleswoman nodded with a simple smile before excusing herself.

Sarah stood, waiting for Freya to say something, especially after the other woman had left them. Yet, the older woman stalled as she sipped her tea again.

"You wanted to see me," Sarah spoke up. The earlier they got this over with, the earlier she could return to work.

Freya stood on her feet and then walked around the marble coffee table to stop in front of Sarah.

It was the first time the older woman stood this close to her, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I will never accept that you're right for my son. But I cannot allow my enemies to use you as an excuse to ruin him. So, we're going to do something about..." She took a step back and looked at her from bottom to top. "... everything."

"Do you understand?"

Sarah shifted her eyes from her and nodded. Although, her mind loathed the belittling tone behind this entire arrangement. But it was also a sign that Freya would let this wedding happen.

"Yes. I understand."

Soon, Sarah had several dresses draped on a hanger pressed against her front by the saleswoman to see which would fit her best. She tried them on in the changing room. After each time, she was presented to Freya to decide the one that suited her better.

In the changing room, Sarah went down in a squat, her face buried in her palms. She was exhausted from trying on too many of them. During her first fitting, she made the mistake of looking at the tag. After that, she has been careful enough while trying on anything handed to her.

When Sarah lifted her face from her palms, she felt the tears welling up, so she thrust her head back and fanned her eyes with her hands to push back the tears. This wasn't the time to cry. Sarah knew that if she were to survive in this new world, she would need to become a lot stronger than she was.

An image of Ramsey's smiling face popped into her head. Sarah let herself dwell on that memory. Somehow, that was enough to make her feel better, to give her the strength to push on.

Hi guys! I'm hope you enjoyed the chapter. Pls vote or share your thoughts in the comment section. See you soon.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top