Alaric's jaw clenched as he watched his mother's eyes glint with anger. "Where are your manners, Mother?" he said, his tone cold as ice.
Clara flinched but quickly recovered, seeming to notice the ice in his voice. "She… is not welcome here," she said defiantly.
Alaric narrowed his eyes and pulled Nicolette close to him. Nicolette gasped, her cheeks turning red. Was it his unexpected touch or from his mother's venom?
"She is now," he said, keeping his voice low yet firm. "And you will welcome her."
Before his mother could say anything, he tilted his head and signaled to a maid behind her. "Take my wife to the dining room," he said, then he turned to Nicolette, who was making a poor attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Follow her. I'll be right there."
Nicolette nodded slowly, her lips pressed tightly as she followed the maid. This was the first time he was seeing her so defeated.
When she left, he turned his attention to his mother again. "What was that?" he demanded.
"Don't give me that crap, Alaric!" Clara snapped. "She is a Voss, and you know you shouldn't have brought her here."
He tapped his temple, his jaw tightening. "Well, like I said earlier, she is my wife. And as long as she wears my name, you'll treat her with respect."
"No I won't!" Clara spat, crossing her hand across her chest. "Of all the women in the world, you had to bring… her?"
"And what's wrong with her?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Her father destroys your father's hard work, Alaric. You can't marry her. End it."
Why did he think it was going to be easy introducing Nicolette to his family?
His mother wouldn't understand if he told her his real reason, besides, she would tell whoever cared to listen about his contract marriage.
And he didn't need that right now. The less people knew, the better.
"Well, it's too late, Mother," he said, stepping away from the door. "I love her and I've married her," he added, avoiding her eyes.
Clara's anger expression suddenly changed and she threw her head back in laughter. "Love?"
His jaw locked. His mother's laughter cut deep. "Yes, love. Mother."
Clara didn't stop laughing as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You forget that I know you, Alaric. Love is never in your dictionary. You… can't… you're too… hard for love." She was dying from laughter.
He looked away, trying not to show how offended he was by her statement. "Then why did I marry her?" he asked, attempting to gain back control of the conversation.
His mother dropped her hand, a remnant of laughter still on her lips. "I have no idea, but I know it's definitely not love, Son."
Annoyance raced in his veins, but he clenched his fist, determined not to show it. "Well, you're wrong, mother," he said softly. "Things changed. I'm in love now."
As he said those words out loud, he tried not to show his lie on his face. Nicolette was a gorgeous woman no doubt, but love? He wanted to laugh at himself too.
"She is using you, Alaric," Clara blurted out, all the laughter drained from her eyes. "She's here to ruin our business—all your father's hard work. She's working for her father."
If he hadn't read the police's report where Nicolette had accused her father for being responsible for the fire at her gallery, he might have believed his mother's word.
But he had, and he knew a vengeful woman when he saw one.
A beautiful vengeful woman who looked stunning in her green gown, nicely-made hair, her brown eyes that made—
Damn it. He shouldn't be thinking about her like this.
Alaric shifted, fiddling with his suit jacket button trying to shake off those thoughts. "I am not going to argue with you mother, but please keep your opinions to yourself, and join us for dinner."
Clara's forehead creased. "I can't seem—"
"Please?" he interrupted with a sigh. "Just dinner."
He saw the hesitation in her eyes before she gave in to it. "Fine," she said, dropping her hand.
He moved closer and kissed her on the forehead. "Always ready to tear down everything."
"For you, yes."
He chuckled and took her hand. "Now, be on your best behavior and apologize to your daughter-in-law."
Clara wanted to protest, he could tell by the way her shoulders raised, but before she could, he quickly added. "Please."
When they got to their grand dining room, he opened the door for her. The room smelled like food and had been arranged as usual.
It was a family tradition. There was always food at home and the grand dining room was always decorated.
Nicolette was seated on one of the chairs, and she lifted her head when she saw them. She didn't stand up as his mother approached her, a gesture he found daring and interesting.
"I… apologize for my manners," Clara said, standing close to Nicolette. "It was in the heat of the moment."
"Apology accepted," Nicolette said flatly.
Alaric wanted to laugh at the shock on his mother's face but he swallowed.
This was going to be fun.
"Sweetheart," he said, taking the seat beside Nicolette. "I apologize for my mother's behavior. She's really a good one, most of the time."
Nicolette's eyes softened and she nodded.
"Well, then," Clara said, recovering from the shock. "Let's bring your father to join us."
Alaric's brow furrowed as he fought the urge to act out. His mother knew what she was doing, mentioning his father like that.
Apparently, Clara wasn't really sorry.
Dinner hadn't been set and there she was, so eager to bring Julius in.
Clara stood up and their eyes met. For a brief second, Alaric saw the delight in her face. "I'll be right back."
Once Clara left, Nicolette turned to him, a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. "What's your mother's deal?"
He sighed, turning to face her. "She's just surprised, is all."
"Surprise?" Her frown deepened. "Didn't you tell her about the marriage?"
"No," he admitted. "She doesn't know. She thinks it's a regular marriage where we fell in love and decided to spend our lives together."
"Ew," Nicolette replied, her face wrinkling up with disgust.
"What was that?" he demanded, a mixture of anger and sadness racing through him.
She chuckled. "I mean of all the men—"
"Choose your words wisely," he warned.
But instead of Nicolette to curl up in fear—like everybody else would—she just laughed, and that got him more annoyed.
"Are you always like this?"
He arched his brow. "Like what?"
But before she could respond, the dining door opened and his father, wheeled in by his mother, entered.
This time Nicolette stood up, her shoulders raised as she released a tight smile. "Hello sir."
Julius waved a weak hand as Clara pushed him to the seat space always reserved for him. Julius observed Nicolette, and Alaric could tell he was impressed.
Who wouldn't be? Her aura was commanding, and she intrigued him in more ways than he was willing to admit.
Except, of course, until she opened that sharp mouth of hers.
"It's lovely to meet you," Julius said as Nicolette lowered herself back in her chair. "I must say, I was quite shocked when I was told Alaric brought home a wife. But seeing this beauty, I am not surprised he couldn't wait to marry you. I would have done the same!" Then he burst into laughter.
Alaric watched as Nicolette eased up as she laughed. "That's very kind of you sir, thank you."
Alaric frowned at his father's joke. "Hands off, old man, she's mine."
"Haha, so funny," Clara chimed in, but she wasn't laughing either.
"It's just a joke," Julius said, but he was still laughing.
"I hope you'll still be laughing when you find out she's a Voss," Clara uttered, her lips curved in a sneer as she leaned into the chair.
Julius's amusement faded away, and his brow furrowed with confusion.
Alaric quickly chimed in. "She's on our side."
But Julius wasn't having it. He turned sharply, his blue eyes hard as they moved from Nicolette before settling on Alaric.
"Care to explain?" Julius's voice was as hard as his stare.
"No," Alaric replied firmly, and he felt Nicolette stiffened beside him. "There's nothing to say."
"Well, I have something to say," Clara said, raising to her feet, her eyes gleaming with disdain. "I think it is despicable of you to bring in… a…"
"A what?" Alaric asked, turning his glare to his mother.
"You have no right to speak to your mother like that!" Julius snapped, his teeth gritted.
"Neither does she have to speak to my wife this way!" Alaric shot back.
He was shocked at his parent's behavior. They have never been this hostile to anyone, and he was beginning to think it had more to do than Nicolette being a Voss.
Nicolette sprang to her feet, her eyes glinting with emotions she tried too hard to hide. "I will just… be on my way."
"You go nowhere," Alaric said, holding her hand and standing up as well. "I'm disappointed by your attitude. Even if you're mad at her father, you didn't have to take it on her. I wouldn't tolerate this attitude from strangers, and I definitely wouldn't tolerate it from you people."
He saw his father's eyes flicker with remorse, but his mother remained adamant, her shoulders still raised in defiance.
"At this point, I would prefer Violet over her," Clara said, gesturing at Nicolette.
Alaric groaned. Violet was the weird girl who stalked him throughout high school. He couldn't believe his mother would say that.
He arched his brow. "What does Violet have to do with this?"
"She just got back too," Clara said, her eyes gleaming with mischief, "and she's looking prettier than ever."
"And your mother invited her for dinner because you told us you were coming," Julius added regretfully.
Alaric chuckled bitterly. "So you'd rather accept an unhinged woman in my life than accept Nicolette because she's a Voss?" He shook his head. "You're both unbelievable."
"That was years ago," Clara countered. "She's different now. She's a business woman, mature and beautiful. You should—"
"Absolutely not," Alaric said, interrupting her. "I don't want to be close to a woman who broke her neck jumping fences to come see me."
"Well, I call that determination," Julius coughed.
"I call that love," Clara added, pouting her mouth.
"Well, I call that insanity!" Alaric snapped then he tightened his grip on Nicolette's hand. "We're leaving. Thank you for ruining dinner."
And then he pulled Nicolette gently towards the door. "Goodnight parents."
He heard them call him, but he ignored them and walked out the door. When they got to the corridor, Nicolette yanked her hand away from his.
Her lips parted in frustration, but something burned in her eyes.
Angry? Hurt? It was almost… tempting.
"I can't believe you brought me over to embarrass me!" she snapped.
"I'm so sorry," he muttered, utterly embarrassed. "I… I'm as shocked as you are."
"I want to go home, Mr Allens," she said, already turning towards the main door.
He arched his brow. "You already signed the contract, it's official. You're coming home with me."
Nicolette's eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. "I didn't… think I'll be going… I…"
"Well, after all that happened," he chuckled dryly, gesturing towards the dining room. "I don't think I want to waste any more time."
She bit her lip. "I… I'm not ready just yet, Mr Allens. Maybe tomorrow?"
Alaric tried not to show his annoyance. The day had already messed up, and he didn't want to ruin it further. He exhaled slowly, tapping his feet against the marble floor to calm himself.
"I don't know why we're arguing about this," he said softly.
"I'm not arguing," Nicolette said, her shoulders tensing. "But—"
She was interrupted when the main door opened and Violet stormed in.
"Alaric! Alaric!" Violet yelled, her voice echoed in the hallway like a deranged woman.
Alaric stiffened, panic building in his chest.
He couldn't deal with her—not now. He needed to act fast. He needed a distraction.
His eyes shifted to Nicolette and he watched as her brow creased with confusion.
There was only one thing to do.
He knew it was reckless. He knew he was going to regret it. But before he could overthink it, Alaric pulled Nicolette closer and claimed her lips.