Chapter 130 CHAPTER 130
High school lovers
Lila sat at the table, poised, a calm smile on her face as if she had every right to be there. Her hair caught the morning sunlight through the large windows, cascading lightly over her shoulders. She sipped her tea delicately, eyes moving over the family.
Lady Bianca’s sharp gaze followed her every movement. She smiled slow, a calculating curve of lips. “You know, it’s funny,” she began, her voice deliberately loud and musical, “Lila and Ares were quite the pair back in high school. I remember the dances, the rumors. Everyone thought they’d end up together.”
Tessa stiffened, spoon hovering over her plate. She forced herself not to look at Lila directly, focusing instead on the children, who were quietly eating under Dorcas’ watchful eye. Ares frowned, but he remained silent, not yet wanting to escalate what was clearly shaping into one of Bianca’s careful manipulations.
Julian, sensing Tessa’s discomfort and the slight provocation in Bianca’s voice, intervened calmly but firmly. “Mom, they never dated. They were…friends. That’s it.”
Bianca’s smile didn’t falter. In fact, it widened just slightly, her eyes gleaming with unspoken amusement. “Oh Julian, you always like to protect the truth, don’t you? But young hearts were young hearts. It’s natural for girls and boys to get close. Lila was always beautiful…full of charm. And Ares, well, he always had that…magnetic pull.”
Tessa’s chest constricted. Each word felt like a tiny needle, poking at a bruise she hadn’t realized was still tender. Her hands shook slightly as she set down her fork. Lila, for her part, remained composed, polite, almost unreadable, though the faintest lift of her brow suggested she was fully aware of the effect she had caused.
The children continued to eat, oblivious to the storm brewing around the table, but Tessa could feel it in every glance, every carefully placed comment from Bianca. She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself, but the tears were already prickling at the corner of her eyes.
Bianca leaned back, satisfied with the disruption she was causing. “Ah, Tessa, dear,” she said softly, her voice dripping with a sweetness that was anything but kind. “Don’t take it personally. You see, history has a way of sneaking up on us. And sometimes…reminding us of what could have been or what might have been.”
Tessa felt her composure snap. She couldn’t sit there anymore, pretending nothing was happening. She pushed her chair back with a sharp scrape, rose to her feet, and fled from the room, ignoring the shocked voices calling after her.
Ares remained frozen for a moment, the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. “Tessa!” he called, but she was already gone. He glanced at Lila, whose expression hadn’t changed. Calm, collected, and entirely untouchable.
Dorcas whispered something to the children to keep them seated, while Julian shot Bianca a sharp, disapproving look. “Mom,” he said quietly, “enough.”
Bianca’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction. “Patience, Julian,” she said smoothly. “It’s all part of the lesson.”
Outside, Tessa ran down the stone path into the garden, the morning air cold against her tear streaked face. She sank onto a wooden bench beneath the cherry blossom tree, the petals falling slowly around her like tiny, silent witnesses. Her body shook as she tried to catch her breath, to quiet the storm of emotions inside her.
Ares found her moments later, walking quickly across the lawn, worry etched deeply into his face. “Tessa,” he said softly, kneeling in front of her. “I didn’t know Lila was coming. I swear. I didn’t. I am sorry my mom was being disrespectful.”
Tessa looked up at him, eyes wet and wide. Her voice broke as she spoke. “When will it ever end, Ares? Why does it feel like every time we try to live, something comes to tear us apart?”
He reached for her hands, taking them in his. His own hands were firm but gentle, trembling slightly as he tried to anchor her. “I… I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have let it happen,” he said, his voice low, full of remorse. “I swear, I just… I wanted today to be normal. For all of us.”
Tessa’s sobs grew heavier, the pent-up frustration, fear, and helplessness spilling over. She cried uncontrollably, hiding her face in her hands, shaking with the intensity of her emotions. Ares’ heart ached at the sight of her like this. He had never seen her so completely vulnerable, and it ignited something deep inside him. A desperate need to protect, to promise, to fix what could be fixed.
He took a deep breath, letting the words fall from his lips before he could second-guess them. “Tessa…we can’t keep letting life just happen to us. I can’t lose you like this, not again. I don’t want to live in a world where you feel this helpless. Will…will you marry me?”
Tessa froze. Her hands fell to her lap. Her mind tried to process the shock, the suddenness, the sincerity in his eyes. She could hear the pounding of her own heart as if it were echoing against the walls of the garden. “Marry…you?” she whispered, disbelief heavy in her voice.
Ares nodded, his hands still holding hers, his gaze unwavering. “Yes, Tessa. Let’s get married. As soon as possible. I don’t want to waste another moment. You…you’re my family, my heart…everything. I don’t want to live another day where you’re in tears because of misunderstandings, or because of anyone else. You just had a miscarriage…I want you to feel safe.”
Tessa felt something inside her. The hurt and frustration of the morning, the jealousy, the uncertainty, the fear, all softened under the weight of his sincerity. Her lips trembled, and she nodded, unable to speak at first. Finally, she whispered, “Yes…yes, Ares. We…we should do it. Now. Soon. I…yes.”
Ares leaned in without hesitation, capturing her lips in a kiss that was fierce and tender all at once. The warmth of the kiss, the intensity of his hands holding her close, seemed to fuse the shattered pieces of the morning into something whole. Tessa clung to him as if letting go would undo the fragile security of the moment.
The garden around them was quiet, the world reduced to only the two of them and the cherry blossom petals drifting softly to the ground. For a few precious minutes, nothing else mattered, the past, the intrusions, the provocations…all of it fell away. All that remained was the promise of their future, sudden but urgent, and the certainty that they would face everything together.
When they finally parted, still holding each other, Ares rested his forehead against hers, breathing slowly. “We’ll figure out everything else later,” he murmured. “But this…this is ours. And nothing else can touch it.”
Tessa nodded, tears still streaking her face, but a smile breaking through the remnants of her sobs. “Nothing…nothing at all,” she whispered back.
“We have a wedding to plan.” Ares said, smiling.