Chapter 22 The Family Dinner
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The dining hall of the Valmere mansion glittered with gold-tinted chandeliers and an elegance that screamed old money. Crystal glasses reflected the warm light, the long mahogany table dressed in ivory linens and polished silverware.
It was supposed to be a peaceful evening, Aston’s idea of a “family dinner” to celebrate Selene officially staying with them.
It was anything but.
Deborah sat near the end of the table, her posture perfect but her patience thin. Across from her, Selene smiled sweetly, her hand resting lightly over Aston’s arm like she owned him, and the entire house.
“So,” Selene began, swirling her wine as though she’d been dining with them for years, “I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me so kindly. Especially you, Deborah.”
Deborah didn’t even glance up. “I didn’t welcome you.”
The silence that followed was sharp enough to slice through bone.
Lysander cleared his throat. “Deborah—”
“What?” Deborah said flatly, eyes still on her plate. “I’m just telling the truth.”
Selene gave a practiced laugh, the kind that carried no warmth. “Oh, Deborah, always so… direct. It’s refreshing. Most women hide what they think, but not you. You wear your thorns so proudly.”
Deborah’s gaze lifted, slow and deliberate. “Better thorns than fake petals.”
Caelum leaned back in his chair, hiding the faint curve of a smirk. Casper exchanged a knowing look with Lucio. Aston, however, frowned, his hand tightening around Selene’s.
“Let’s keep this civil,” he muttered.
“Oh, it’s perfectly civil,” Selene said smoothly, eyes still on Deborah. “I just think it’s important for women to support each other, especially in families like this. Don’t you agree?”
Deborah’s lips curved into a thin smile. “I agree. That’s why I don’t trust women who say things like that.”
Selene’s smile faltered for the first time.
Caelum’s eyes flicked toward her, sharp, assessing, like he was one breath away from intervening.
But Selene recovered quickly, her laugh light and polished. “You know, Aston told me you can be a bit… territorial. I get it now.”
Deborah tilted her head. “Territorial? About what, exactly?”
“Oh, nothing,” Selene said, feigning innocence. “Just… your brothers. You guard them like you’re afraid someone might take them away.”
That did it.
Deborah’s eyes turned cold, her voice low but steady. “The difference between me and you, Selene, is that I protect what’s mine. I protect my brothers like how they protect me. You? You just take what doesn’t belong to you.”
Lysander’s fork paused mid-air. Casper muttered something under his breath that sounded like “Oh, hell.”
Aston’s expression darkened. “Enough, Deborah.”
“No, let her speak, love,” Selene said softly, eyes gleaming. “I’d rather she be honest. I mean, she clearly doesn’t think I belong here.”
“You don’t,” Deborah said without hesitation.
The room went still again. Even the faint clinking of cutlery stopped.
Selene forced a small laugh, but her grip on Aston’s arm tightened. “That’s your opinion. But I’m marrying your brother soon, so you might want to get used to seeing me. Maybe even help me with the wedding?”
Deborah looked at her, unamused. “You’re joking.”
“I’m serious,” Selene said brightly, feigning sweetness. “I was actually thinking… I want you to be my maid of honor right? I already told you before.”
The table erupted in quiet disbelief. Lysander blinked. Casper nearly choked on his drink.
Deborah’s jaw tightened. “No.”
Selene tilted her head, mock-offended. “No?”
“Not in this lifetime,” Deborah said coolly, leaning back in her chair. “I’d rather walk barefoot through glass than stand beside you in white.”
A stunned silence followed, until Lucio muttered, “Damn.”
Selene’s smile finally cracked, her perfect facade slipping for a fraction of a second before she looked away, pretending to fix her napkin.
Aston looked between the two women, visibly frustrated. “Can we just eat without all this?”
But the tension had already set in like smoke after fire. The brothers exchanged uneasy glances, Lysander and Casper quietly amused, Caelum unreadable, Lucio barely hiding his irritation to selene.
Selene, however, wasn’t done. She turned back to Deborah with a deceptively sweet smile. “You’ll change your mind. Eventually.”
Deborah’s lips curved faintly. “Only if you disappear.”
Before anyone could respond, Caelum stood from his seat, his chair scraping against the marble floor. His shirt clung to his frame, still slightly damp from his earlier gym session. The dim light caught the hard lines of his arms and the defined cut of his abs beneath the thin fabric.
Deborah noticed Selene’s gaze drop, not subtly, not respectfully.
It was fleeting but obvious. Her lips parted slightly, just for a second, before she quickly looked away.
Deborah’s brows twitched upward, her tone razor-sharp. “Careful, Selene. That’s my brother you’re drooling at. Try not to start collecting men or....my brothers, before you even marry one.”
Selene’s cheeks flushed, but she forced a brittle laugh. “You misunderstand. I was just—”
“Admiring,” Deborah finished for her. “Yeah. I noticed.”
The room fell into uneasy silence again, filled only by the faint clinking of glass and restrained tension.
Aston exhaled deeply, running a hand over his face. “Enough for tonight.”
But Deborah’s smirk lingered as she picked up her wine glass, eyes never leaving Selene’s. “Dinner was lovely. The company, however, could use improvement.”
And with that, she stood and left the room, her heels echoing sharply across the marble floor, her presence leaving a storm in her wake.
Selene sat frozen, her mask cracking ever so slightly, before forcing a small, controlled smile.
“She’ll regret that,” she whispered under her breath.
Caelum heard her. And his expression turned to stone.
Caelum’s cold voice cut through the air, low and dangerous.
“You’d better pray she does."