Chapter 67
Her eyes darted around the compound, and she had to clamp her lips tightly together to avoid them dropping open from how magnificent the house looked. She always knew that the Larkin family were old money, but she didn’t expect this from them. The house almost looked like a cathedral.
She looked down at her dress and wiped off imaginary dust. This wasn’t what she expected, and now she felt underdressed in her black gown. If she knew this was what she would be coming to, she would have worn a freaking ball gown
“Lily,” she placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath, “you’ve got this! It’s just dinner!” The words however did nothing to placate her because she knew it wasn’t just dinner. She was about to meet a group of people who were supposedly her actual family, and she had no idea what to do.
Initially, she decided that she wasn’t going to come, but in order to prove to herself that she wasn’t a coward, she found herself right here. Shaking, her head, she made up her mind that she wasn’t going to go in. She would cook up a lame excuse later, right now, she was going home.
Unfortunately, as she turned to walk away, the door creaked open and she instantly halted, eyes wide.
“For over 20 minutes, I’ve watched you stand out here, and yet you’re going to leave? I expected better from you.”
Lily turned around immediately with a comeback, but that instantly died down when she came face to face with him. The face that comes to mind the second you hear Larkin. He was just exactly as she imagined he’d be; tall, poise, and intimidating.
“Good, good day Sir.”
“Keep your head up, and speak properly!” Lily’s brows immediately shot up at the reprimand, “that’s a Larkin acts.” Annoyance curled at the pit of her belly at his words, and she sneered.
“And how are you so sure that I’m a Larkin? Because your paper says so? I was born and raised a Morgan, so forgive me for not acting like a Larkin”
Mr Larkin’s face immediately lit up in a big smile, and he chuckled before he opened the door even wider. “Come in, you’re going to fit in perfectly just like a Larkin that you are.” Lily arched her brow and looked around suspiciously, before she forced a smile and made her way in.
She expected to walk into a group of people formally seated across the full table in suits, not smiling, and sitting upright in such a way that it might hurt, but what she walked into was none of that.
Everyone was dressed so casually, and although she got the posture thing and the full table right, the people seated there weren’t as scary as she imagined. They all had softness etched on their faces, and they were all… smiling. Her eyes found that of Cleo Lancaster, and she looked nothing like the media shows. She was as stunning but not as intimidating.
The aura and feel of them all was so different from that of the Morgan household. She was still reeling in the newly found feeling, and fallen expectation, trying to make sense of it all, when her mum walked into the dining from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of food, and her pupils dilated. It wasn’t because of her mum’s presence, she expected her to be here, but the wide and genuine smile on her face.
She couldn’t recall the last time she saw her mother smile so much. It felt like she had been transported to another dimension, another world because it felt so surreal.
“Oh, Lily, you are here” Elle called out, and the smile on her face faltered when she noticed the rigidity of Lily’s posture and the shock on her face. Was she not expecting her to be here?
Lily instantly snapped out of her daze when she realized the room had gone eerily quiet, and everyone’s gazes were now on her. “Um…” She licked her lips and swallowed, “hi everyone?” Silence followed her greeting and she felt like sinking into the floor and disappearing for good.
“Honestly, it’s scary how much you look like Lincoln, yet you look so much better than the bald head” Cleo was the first to break the silence, and Lily didn’t know how or what to respond to that, so she forced out a laugh, but Cleo stood to her feet the nect second and walked over to her with open arms. “Welcome to the family, Lily.” Before Lily could comprehend the situation, she pulled her into a hug, and soon enough, everyone else, Cleo’s husband, Lanny Lancaster, Lincoln, Mr Larkin, and even her mother, all gave her a hug. With each hug she received, the tenseness she walked into the house with all disappeared, and was instead replaced with a warm feeling of homeliness at the pit of her stomach.
“Thank you for the warm welcome…” She managed to say despite how badly her throat burned from all the unshed tears.
“I’ve been wanting a daughter all my life” Cleo said, intertwining their arms as she led them to the dining, ” you’ll sit beside me all night. I want to know all about you.”
Just as they all got seated, they heard something break in the living room and heavy footsteps heading to the dining room followed. “I am so sorry I’m late!”
Lily’s eyes widened once she saw who it was. How could she have forgotten that he was also a relation.
“You are always late, Christopher. Take a seat and stop being a nuisance” Cleo scolded and his face fell.
1/2
