Mia sucked in a breath as Allegra, Jamie, and Henry turned to look at her like a bunch of wolverines. She had done nothing to let this family down, but their gazes made her uncomfortable.
"What does he mean? Why is he talking to you in such a familiar manner?" When Henry asked this question, he, himself, didn't detect that there was a touch of possessiveness and anger in his tone.
"I don't know—"
"Why are you getting angry, Henry?" Before Mia could say anything to defend herself, Lucas stepped forward with a calm look on his face. "I was just being polite, nothing else. So why are you glaring at a woman? I don't think it's something nice to do. No matter how angry you are, you cannot just forgo your manners."
After speaking, he turned to look at Benjamin and asked, "Aren't I right, Dad?"
"Right, you are, Lucas." Benjamin nodded appreciatively, which made Henry scoff.
"Show off."
Benjamin looked at his disappointing son and sneered, "Even if he is showing off, at least he is smart enough to act proactively when he needs to."
He then turned to look at Lucas and Mia before saying to the two of them, "I already asked the chef to prepare lunch for us, and I think he is just about done. So why don't we head over to the dining table?"
After he finished speaking, he turned around on his feet and headed in the direction of the dining room. While Lucas glanced at Mia once again, his gaze was similar to a beast that was about to pounce on its prey. And just as Mia was worried that he was going to make another comment, the man turned on his feet and walked away.
Seeing this, Mia heaved a sigh of relief.
Things were complicated enough to begin with; she didn't want them to become even more of a mess.
Mia thought that things would turn for the better once everyone was settled in the dining room. Unfortunately, as soon as she took her seat, she found Lucas sliding right next to her.
While Mia had not anticipated this man to turn out to be Henry's half-brother, she did expect him to leave her alone. After all, what happened in the pub was no one's fault. She was drugged, and the man was happy to comply.
She could not understand why Lucas was still hovering around her.
Of course, she could be thinking too much.
'Calm down,' she told herself as she picked up the cutlery and started to serve herself some baby ribs and mashed potatoes.
"So, Lucas," She heard Allegra say from the far end of the table. She was holding the fork as if she wished to shove it down Lucas's throat and questioned in a less than pleasant voice, "How far have you been educated? I mean, no offence, but Henry graduated from the finest school of business management. The King's Academy, you see?"
She paused as she took a bite of her chicken salad and then continued, "It would be a tad bit problematic if you are not on par with him."
"That wouldn't be a problem, Mrs. Holman," Lucas replied with a pleasing smile. "My mother, though she suffered a lot, made sure that I would receive the necessary education. I graduated from New Day Academy. I believe you might have heard about it?"
"Of course I have," stated Allegra with a clipped tone.
It would have been a surprise if she hadn't, thought Mia. After all, New Day and the King's Academy have always been on par.
One couldn't be called worse than the other.
Maybe Allegra sensed it too because her next question wasn't related to Lucas and his qualifications but rather —
"Then what about a girlfriend? Do you have one?" She asked with a mock-teasing smile.
"Allegra," Benjamin, who sat at the head of the table, warned her in a low voice.
"What?" Allegra asked with an innocent expression. She blinked her eyes as if she couldn't understand what the problem was before shrugging her shoulders and speaking in a casual voice, "I don't want a woman with a big belly standing outside our house and demanding her rights be acknowledged."
"Allegra—"
"You don't have to worry about this, Mrs. Holman," Lucas spoke before Benjamin could tell Allegra off. He was still smiling even though he had been ridiculed, and that only made Mia even more wary of him. "Because of her experience, my mom taught me better than sleeping with a woman before marrying her. I assure you that I never had a girlfriend before, and my past is crystal clear."
"Pff!" Mia choked on the sip of water that she had taken and coughed loudly. She brought the tissue to her mouth and wiped the water from the corner of her lips before apologising, "I am sorry."
She pretended to be calm on the surface but inwardly she was filled with panic. Never had a girlfriend? Suddenly, Mia was worried that she might have fallen into a much bigger pit than she had expected.
At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder how someone could be this perfect.
Not only was Lucas well-educated, but he was also a refined gentleman.
But that didn't impress Mia; if anything, it scared her. A man so perfect without a flaw could be really dangerous. And she somehow provoked him.
Nervous out of her mind, Mia picked up the glass of water and drank another mouthful of water.
Ignoring the small disturbance, Allegra smiled at Lucas. However, anyone with eyes could see that she was anything but happy with the answers that Lucas gave her. Of course, it also meant that she was going to do her own investigation.
But seeing how calm Lucas looked, Mia was certain that this man was prepared to deal with everything that Allegra might throw his way.
"You have something here."
Before Allegra could come up with another question to provoke Lucas, the man tapped on the side of his mouth while speaking to Mia, who sat next to him.
**
please support the book with golden tickets and power stones, my fairies! It will motivate me to work harder.