“I wasn’t planning to join at first,” I admit. “But… your mom was so excited. She said she wanted me to meet her sister and the rest of your family.”
I pause, chewing on my lip.
“And I’d like to know at least some of them. If… if you don’t mind.”
He studies me carefully, like he’s reading everything I didn’t say aloud. Then he nods.
“Alright,” Alex says, his tone soft but firm, the way he always speaks when he’s trying to soothe the panic I haven’t even voiced yet. “But don’t push yourself. You don’t have to talk if you’re not up for it. No one’s going to force you.”
I nod, even though I don’t know if I believe that.
I was supposed to meet his grandfather at breakfast this morning— But I never got the chance. Apparently, he had an urgent meeting to attend. Alex had brought me fresh clothes instead, folded neatly and left on the bed before I even woke up, and told me I’d be meeting his grandfather at the family lunch gathering instead.
I spent breakfast with Davika, Alex, Maksim, and Ivana.
Maksim, of course, didn’t stop giving me those ridiculous, teasing grins, the kind that practically screamed “I know what you two did in the car last night.” I swear, he’s lucky he’s charming or I would’ve smacked that smile off his face with a bread.
Ivana gave me the warmest hug when I came down, telling me she missed me even though we often talk on Instagram almost every day. She followed me after that first dinner party, and I still don’t know how she even found my handle… But I like her. She’s loud in a good way. She’s obsessed with boys’ lovedramas and keeps flooding my DMs with the latest reels—not that I’m complaining. Because of her, I’ve actually managed to keep up with what’s trending.
But I didn’t see Alex’s brother Anton or his father. Or Igor, Ivana’s twin.
To be honest, I’m not sure I want to meet Alex’s father.
Alex doesn’t talk about him much. Hardly at all, actually. When he mentions family, it’s almost always his grandfather. There’s a kind of distance in his voice whenever the topic of his dad comes up—if it ever does.
Are they not close?
Does his father even know about me?
I mean… he has to, right?
But knowing about me is different from liking me. I don’t know if I can handle being looked at like I don’t belong here. Like, I’m just some poor, Deaf boy Alex brought home on a whim.
I open my mouth to ask, just to get it out, even if the answer terrifies me, but a knock interrupts the thought. Alex leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead before walking to the door.
When he opens it, a warm, professional voice immediately fills the room.
“Mr. Alexander,” a woman says politely, “the family has started arriving. Your mother asked that you and Mr. Lucas come downstairs now.”
I swallow.
This is it.
***
Alex guides me down the wide stairs, his hand steady around mine. My heart’s beating so hard it feels like it’s knocking against my ribs, loud enough for him to hear. We walk the long hallway that leads to the outdoor courtyard where lunch is being hosted, and I already know the place is full—laughter andconversations leak through the air like music meant for someone else’s world, not mine.
Just as we’re about to round the final corner that leads outside, a door to our left opens.
A man steps out first, he’s dressed in the sleek black uniform all the mansion’s bodyguards wear, built like a wall and moving with precision. He holds the door open like he’s waiting for someone, and something in me tenses immediately. Then, two men step out.
I stop walking.
Alex does too.
They don’t say a word, but they don’t have to. Their presence alone is enough to make the air shift.
I know them.
