My life had taken an unpredictable turn the day I came to the city. From an ordinary town girl, I had become the granddaughter of the billionaire mafia. The DNA test reports had already ascertained my legitimacy.
"Am I really going to play Cinderella here?" I asked myself, lying on the luxurious, king-sized bed in my bed chamber provided by my grandfather. It was still hard to get accustomed to the sudden change.
Van Gogh\'s "Starry Night" was painted on the ceiling with fluorescent colors. The darkness of the room had created an ethereal ambiance in the room.
"Who will play the cruel stepmother, I wonder," I mumbled.
I turned to my side, hugging my carrot-shaped body pillow. I wondered how grandpa managed to turn this room into an extravagant rich teenage girl\'s room within an hour.
Indeed, I had never even fantasized about such luxuries before, not to mention I had turned into an adult. Before my uncle fell chronically sick, he had tried his best to provide me with everything.
However, I couldn\'t finish my final year in high school since I had to take over multiple part-time jobs to support my uncle. My uncle would never allow me to skip my studies if he realized I had already quit school.
The next day when I woke up, the maids entered my room, hastily opened the massive windows, and began cleaning the entire room. A few of them helped me to wash up and change into an elegant white lace shirt with bishop sleeves and skinny black bow ties. I applied a little peachy lip tint and came downstairs.
My grandfather had already been waiting for me at the breakfast table. His face brightened up, noticing me.
"Good morning, My Child," My grandpa said, smiling. "Did you sleep well last night? Was there anything uncomfortable, or perhaps you would like to add more things to your room?" My grandfather asked excitedly.
I found Caspian in his casual clothes, sitting by my grandfather, staring at the table pad blankly as if a new dimension had opened through its designs. Undoubtedly, Caspian was disappointed with the test reports.
"It\'s already more than enough, Grandpa," I said calmly. "Thank you," I said in a tiny voice.
Caspian raked his fingers through his soft blond hair as the veins were prominent under the pale skin on his forearms. Even in a plain black oversized T-shirt and beige sweatpants, Caspian looked gorgeous as a movie star.
As I took my assigned chair opposite my grandfather, my eyes met Caspian\'s. His intense gaze pierced through my soul.
The maids served breakfast and freshly brewed tea. The aroma of the honey-lemon tea was intoxicating.
"So, Bailey, tell me about your earlier life. Where have you been living?" My grandfather asked.
"As I have told you, my uncle took care of me. But he is now terminally ill and staying in the hospital," I said, clenching the utensils by my plate.
I had promised myself that I would return to him once I found my family. But will my grandpa let me do that? I wondered.
"Your uncle? I had never heard of my daughter\'s mate having a younger brother. However, it makes sense that his brother is a human since their father had a human mate," My grandpa said. "After my daughter left the pack to live with your father, I barely held ties with them. To think that your uncle risked his life to save you makes me grateful to him," My grandfather said, looking gloomy. As if he was gravely regretting not finding me earlier.
"However, you should not worry about your uncle anymore. I will ask my men to bring him back. I will take care of his treatment," My grandfather said, suddenly cheering up.
"Really!" I got up from my chair, getting excited. Everyone was startled by my sudden yelling.
I sat back to my place, turning red as a tomato as I felt Caspian\'s gaze at me. However, I had never been so happy in a long time.
My eyes widened, glancing at the appetizing brownies and the expensive piece of roasted beef in butter with asparagus and mushrooms.
Had I not ridiculed the poor girls turning into princess movies? I thought, shoving the desserts in my mouth. It tasted so good that I melted. My grandfather broke into laughter as I stared at him confusedly with the giant bites shoved on my cheeks like a chipmunk.
"You need to work on your etiquettes. Don\'t just shove things into your mouth. The food won\'t run away," Caspian said as our eyes met again.
"Don\'t get so rough on her already," My grandfather said lightly, scolding Caspian.
I swallowed the food, getting embarrassed. I looked down as my cheeks turned red. Indeed, I had never tried such an expensive breakfast before. After serving at a local restaurant from six in the morning to eight, I would barely make it to my school with the leftover fries in my bag.
Hence, Caspian\'s simple remark about my table manners made me lose my appetite. Caspian seemed unprepared for my gloomy expression as I was unable to eat anything further. I noticed Caspian had also stopped eating. The atmosphere had suddenly turned heavy.
"Tell me about your friends, how was your school? What did you do?" My grandfather asked to lighten the mood.
"I didn\'t finish school," I said in a tiny voice. "My uncle fell sick suddenly, and it was getting hard for him to continue his job.\'\'
"My grandpa\'s eyes widened hearing that. "You didn\'t finish your studies? Were you working to earn?" He asked.
"Isn\'t it apprehensive?" I questioned back.
"Only if you had found me earlier," he said. I could see regret in my grandfather\'s eyes.
"Don\'t worry about it," I said, smiling brightly again.
"My life wasn\'t that bad or something. My uncle tried his best to provide me with everything. And I have found my family after all these years. That\'s what matters to me now the most, Grandpa," I said.
I could see tears appearing in my grandpa\'s eyes as he attempted to act tough in front of the maids. Caspian stared at him skeptically. Perhaps, my grandfather had never expressed much emotion before.
One of my grandpa\'s securities appeared, informing my grandfather of something urgent. My grandfather whispered something to Caspian and patted my head gently.
"I will leave you in Caspian\'s care. He might sound rude sometimes, but he doesn\'t mean them," My grandpa said, smiling at me affectionately.
Not him again, I cried out in my mind. It was hard to deal with someone having strong resentment toward you.
After my grandpa left, the atmosphere got more uncomfortable. I didn\'t know if I should have left the table or waited for Caspian to finish his breakfast.
Caspian leaned back on his chair as my grandfather left, crossing his arms over his chest and revealing the dragon tattoo on one of his forearms.
"I apologize," Caspian said calmly.
I was startled by his sudden apology. Caspian didn\'t look like he had ever used those words in his life before.
"You don\'t have to. It was impolite of me to act like that on the table," I said.
"It was," Caspian said, putting on a straight face. "I\'m apologizing for presuming you as an impostor."
Caspian got up from his assigned place, placing his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
Caspian leaned close to the table in the most seductive manner. He said, "Though it\'s proved that you are the granddaughter of the alpha lord, don\'t get illusions thinking you will obtain everything without proving your worth."
Unquestionably the man was incapable of apologizing. I stared at him flatly as he raked his fingers through his hair in the most seductive manner.
"Ah, and you should start school tomorrow. It would be a shame if it gets leaked that the granddaughter of the most successful businessman has not finished her graduation," Caspian said. "I will ask Catherine to help you work on your etiquette, and that cheeky doctor will be here today to check on you. Make sure you don\'t go around creating trouble for the maids," he said coldly.
Caspian left, ignoring anything I had to say.
"Devil," I mumbled, sulking.