Chapter 179 TWENTY ONE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
He did not even glance at his father. He had this weird, still energy about him, too.
Silas’s eyebrows rose a fraction in clear surprise. Morgana bit her lip, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge of the table.
“W-w-well…anyone could have guessed that,” Morgan said, clearly defensive. She scoffed. “It’s nothing special.”
“Not with my son, Miss De la Vista. Nothing is common for a Mercer.” Silas turned to her, and she started playing with the ends of her hair. The action made me chuckle…. She was nervous.
Silas turned back to me now, his eyes shining with challenge. “You seem to take me by surprise, young lady. But it is nothing I cannot handle…..I have two final questions to ask you. I am a man of very little time to spend with other human beings….business always calls.”
I was ready for it. No matter the bullet he shot, I knew everything in that darned textbook by heart.
TWENTY ONE ANSWERS.
AURORA’S POINT OF VIEW.
“Correct,” Silas murmured. “Question two. Kai has a scar on his left shoulder. A jagged, faint little thing. How did he get it, and more importantly, how old was he?”
I felt Kai’s posture shift quickly… as did mine. I could not remember this information in the file…. nor had I seen Kai naked to even know there was a scar. I swallowed, placed a confident smile on my lips so I appeared not too flustered, before thinking as hard as possible with the glass of water to my lips so I could buy time.
Fuck….I’m so dead…..I do not know what to say. I could feel the air closing in, the walls shrinking, the thought of doom impending on me with each second that ticked by. Silas did not appear in a hurry, and I could only sip water for so long.
Kai and I could not communicate…. it would seem suspicious. I was about to blurt out any random things, especially since even Morgan has not uttered a word. However, just then, I could see a quick flash in my mind… it was a footnote; the very thing I swore would not matter.
Shit…please, oh dear lord, if I remember this I’ll never make fun of Mr Bainz's plump ass again…I know he’s a middle-aged man with a fat belly, and a weird neck beard, but you would laugh too….okay…you would not.
But you’re holy, and I am not….please…I whispered internally, desperation gnawing at me. Just then, I saw the flash again, this time, it was clearer; a tiny, handwritten scribble on the margin of page forty-two. ‘The Incident of 2017.’
“He was twelve,” I said, looking Silas dead in the eye. “It happened at your estate in the Hamptons. He tried to jump the stone fence on a horse you told him was too wild to break. He didn't do it to be reckless; he did it because you told him he couldn't.”
A low, dark chuckle vibrated in Kai’s chest at once. I turned to him to see he’d been staring at me, his eyes shining again. He rubbed his lower lip with his index finger, the action simple but so….hot. Silas’s smile didn’t change, but his eyes darkened. He turned his head slowly toward Morgana.
“And you, Morgana? Since you are the rightful girl as you claim… tell me, what is Kai’s greatest fear?”
Morgana puffed out her chest, a triumphant look crossing her face with a glare at me. “That’s easy! He’s a Mercer. He fears failure. He fears losing his position in the company.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Silas looked at her with such profound boredom that it was almost a physical blow.
“Wrong,” Kai drawled, his voice dripping with icy contempt. “I don't fear losing a company I can rebuild from the ground up, Morgan. Try again.”
“Wait! I meant…”
“Too late,” Silas interrupted, his voice utterly sharp and dismissive. He did not glance at her anymore. He turned back to me, his expression sharpening. “Last question for the girl my son is in love with… if you know the answer to this, I will get the company to organize your engagement dinner next month, and announce your union, as well as the merging of our companies.
Every Mercer man is defined by the woman who stands beside him. I, like every Mercer man, am defined by one woman……My late wife… she was the soul of this family. Tell me, Aurora… what was her name?”
My heart stopped yet again. I searched my mind again, but I came up blank. There was nothing in the file about her…not even in the footnotes. Nothing about what she even looked like. Everyone knows Kai’s mother is practically a ghost.
It was what brought about the rumor that he was only born out of a surrogate….or adopted, because not one living soul had information about her out there.
I tried to think of the best thing to say. Could this be a trick question? Does Silas want me to tell him I knew Kai was adopted, or came from a Surrogate?
Or was I supposed to search for any name to drop? What name could be classy enough to use? Catherine? Caroline? My mind was a void.
Morgana saw my hesitation, and without a thought, she smirked and lunged.
“Her name was Catherine!” Morgana blurted out, her face flushed with the same hope as on Denise’s face. “I am sure she was so classy….the queen of the Mercer line! My mother-in-law would be so awesome…it is so sad she is no longer with us, sir.” She started with her fake sobs again. However, Silas didn't even blink at her. He didn't shift his gaze from me either.
“Quiet, you weird girl,” Silas snapped at her, and Morgana flinched, her lower lip trembling as she glanced at her mother and me.
“Well, Aurora?” Silas pressed, leaning into my space. “Does your great love not tell you the name of my wife, the woman who birthed him? Are you two truly in love?”