Chapter 6

William pulls up to an enormous white house as “My House” by Flo Rida plays. The green grass in the front accentuates the whiteness of the house. It looks like a house from one of those rich movies.

Lianna’s jaw drops as she stares at all the fancy cars parked near the house. She wanted to ask William who will be there, but she forgot about it.

“Woah, this is insane,” she mutters. William looks over at her and smiles at her reaction. He searches for a parking spot and finds one next to the Rolls Royce. As the car stops, he realizes he needs to prepare Lianna for his family.

“Lianna, eyes on me,” he says while he tugs her sleeve. She bops her head to the beat of the song. He turns the song down and she groans, letting her head fall against the headrest.

“I’m not a child,” she tilts her head to him. “But I’m listening.” She leans closer to him.

“My parents are going to be here. You know them. Then, I have a younger brother, Isaac.”

“You have a younger brother?” William nods. “Were you planning to inform me about it someday? How can I not know that? It feels like I don’t know anything about you. Sheesh, okay. Isaac. Got it,” she nods and indicates for him to continue.

“Did you do an ounce of research before you agreed to get married to me?” Lianna laughs.

“No,” she laughs again. “I will g****e you later tonight.” William shakes his head before he continues.

“Well, Isaac has a girlfriend, Bianca. Stay close to them if you can. They are the most normal of everyone here. Then my mother’s side of the family is just her brother and his wife. They lived for a few years in England. Now they have this fake British accent. Just go with it.” Lianna chuckles and nods.

“Then we have a few close family friends, like Merlin and Laura. They are lovely people, but their children are nightmares. You’re not allowed to scold them at all. Greet them, but try to stay out of their way.” William lifts a brow to see whether she got everyone. He waits for her to answer. Lianna closes her eyes and her mouth moves as she recalls all the names.

“Okay, I think I will remember. But you’ll be there with me, so I will be fine.”

“I’ll try my best to stay by your side, but we might go play golf, so you will be left alone with the other woman. Make friends with Bianca, okay?” Lianna smiles at William’s protective side.

“You know, you’re adorable when you are like this.” William’s hand rests on the door handle.

“Like what?” he asks, turning his head to Lianna.

“Looking out for me. It’s cute,” she says and William smirks.

“Was that a compliment? You just called me cute,” William chuckles and Lianna throws her hands up.

“Ugh, not anymore,” she says as she rolls her eyes. William takes her face into his hands.

“No takebacks,” he says. Lianna slaps his stomach and he groans, letting go of her face. She opens the door and jumps out. William smiles at her compliment.

He gets out of the car and sees Lianna unloading their bags. He has never seen anyone pack as little as she did for the weekend. He walks to her and gestures for her to leave the bags.

“There are servants who will take care of the bags,” he says and puts his hand on her lower back, leading her to the front door. She eyes him up and down before she turns to the front.

Lianna stops abruptly which causes William to bump into her. She almost forgot to tell her dad they are here. She lifts her finger to her mouth, stopping William’s protests. She types a message that she sends to her dad.

The time flashes on her screen, and it’s already half past six. They are late. William said they should be here at five, but the traffic was a pain. She walks in front of William, his hand moving up from her lower back. He is being very considerate of her. Is his family that bad?

“Where is everyone?” she whispers. There were many cars, but the house is quiet. She looks at William and he shrugs.

“They are probably in the backyard.” Lianna nods. William steps in front of Lianna and walks to the door. Lianna follows him and she has a bad feeling about this. She did not prepare mentally for this. She inhales shakily, trying to calm her heartbeat.

William turns the doorknob to feel whether it is unlocked. The knob turns and the door swings open. Lianna grabs his hand, hating this already. William looks back at her, his eyes trailing down her arm to where their hands are intertwined.

It has been a while since he held someone’s hand. He smirks and gives her an exaggerated wink. Lianna clicks her tongue and tries to remove her hand from his, but he locks her hand in his.

“Are you okay?” he asks with a sincere look. Lianna’s eyes shoot past him to the empty hall and back to his.

“Yeah, nerves,” she says with a smile. He squeezes her hand before he leads her into the house. She closes the door with her free hand. Lianna holds his hand tighter as they walk further into the house. The beautiful white wooden walls surround them, and the laminated floors squeak as they walk on them.

This house is stunning. There are portraits on the walls next to paintings. They walk through the hall to a living room. Through the large glass sliding door, Lianna can see about ten people. She recognizes William’s parents.

William slides the door open, and they exit onto the massive stone patio. The people turn their heads to look at them. William lets go of her hand, walking to his father and mother.

“William, you made it. We started to think you might not come.” his mother says and hugs him. He shakes his father’s hand and turns to Lianna. He gestures for her to come closer. She plasters on a smile and walks to them.

“Good evening,” she greets them. Rose has the same tight smile and bows her head slightly to greet Lianna. Lianna mimics her movement and turns to William’s father. She also bows her head, and he smiles. Rose walks closer to Lianna and lifts her hand to Lianna’s head. She runs her fingers over Lianna’s pink highlights. Shit, she forgot to take them out after they left her apartment.

“Getting into the holiday feeling?” Rose asks, and Lianna lets out a nervous chuckle.

“Yes.”

“Everyone, this is Lianna. Please give her a warm welcome,” Rose says with her smile and turns to William while everyone claps. “How was the trip? I still don’t know why you did not fly. It’s so much faster,” she says with a shake of her head.

“It was fine. The traffic was hectic, but it was not too bad. You know how flying can be.” Rose motions for the servants to bring them champagne. Lianna thanks the servant and takes a glass from the tray.

“Why don’t you go and introduce yourself to everyone?” Rose asks and takes William’s arm to lead him away. Lianna turns to the small group of people. They are standing in their circles and talking softly. She starts to a nearby group, but a hand grabs her.

She looks back and sees William holding her hand. She glances at his mother who does not look happy. They walk to the nearest circle and a guy with dyed silver hair pulls William into a tight hug.

“So good to see you here, Will.” William hugs the guy back. He looks young enough to be his younger brother. Wow, he has to be like eight years younger than William. “And you must be Lianna. Nice to finally have a face behind the name,” he says, pulling her into a hug. She laughs and hugs him back.

“Yes, nice to meet you. You must be Isaac,” she says in the embrace and the guy lets her go.

“Looks like someone did their homework. Yes, and this is my girlfriend, Bianca.” He gestures to the girl next to him. She also hugs Lianna. Bianca is quite short and Lianna has to bend down slightly to give her a proper hug. She seems like a kind person.

“Nice to meet you too,” Lianna says and Bianca hugs her again.

“Finally, someone I can talk to at this stuff. Isaac said you were chill. Look at that pink hair.” Bianca laughs.

William watches them and feels a bit more at ease. At least he knows she will be relatively safe with them.

“Let’s get to the others. We’ll come back to you,” William excuses them and walks to couples standing not too far from Isaac and Bianca. Children are running around them and they are loud. William steps into the circle with Lianna next to him.

“Merlin, Laura. Nice to see you again. Henry, Todd. It’s been a while,” William greets everyone, and they all greet him in unison. One of the children stops behind Lianna and taps her back. She turns to the boy with a smile.

“Is that your real hair?” he asks and points to the pink highlights.

“No, it is clip-ins,” she says with a small smile. The boy runs away and joins the rest of the children.

“Everyone, this is Lianna. Lianna, this is Merlin and Laura.” She shakes both their hands and greets them. “This is Todd and his fiancée, Jasmine.” They shake her hand and Jasmine smiles at Lianna.

“You can call me Jas,” she says with a soft voice. She is stunning, especially with those large blue eyes.

“This is Henry,” he gestures to the guy with reddish hair. He shakes Lianna’s hand, and she smiles at him. William’s eyes linger on Henry and Lianna frowns. What was that about?

They walk to a group of older people. So, this must be all the older family members.

“Uncle Larry and Aunt Gina, this is Lianna,” William introduces her to them. She greets them by shaking their hand. They are your typical old rich people. Full of themselves to say the least. They ask William about his firm, and he gives them short answers. Lianna can tell William hates these interactions and she has to hide her laughter.

This is different from what she is used to. She gets along with most of her family. Plus, her dad is the first to be rich, so everyone is down to earth. Everyone has that annoying aunt or uncle who thinks they are better, but this is next level. These people are self-obsessed.

William tries to steer the conversation so that they can talk about Lianna as well, but they seem to dislike Lianna. She is aware that she might be different from the girls he bought to the house, but they are not even giving her a chance.

“Everyone, please. Can I get your attention,” Rose calls everyone from the living room. Everyone walks closer, some staying on the patio while others stand in the living room. “Thank you all for coming. The dinner is ready. You can take a seat at the dining table. This way,” she says and walks to the large dining room. This looks like those dining rooms in the Mafia movies.

“Wow, look at this room,” Lianna whispers to William. He nods as he looks at the room. He has never looked at the house like this. Even though he has many memories of growing up here, the house still feels empty.

Lianna rushes to sit next to Bianca. William smiles as he shakes his head, and follows her to the table. Bianca laughs when Lianna almost tackles the chair to sit next to her. Isaac chuckles as he sits down. His brother was right. She is on her own mission.

The servants put the plates in front of them and everyone starts to eat. William turns his head to see what Lianna is going to do. Her eyes are closed while she mouths her prayer. She opens her eyes and sees William looking at her. She then closes her eyes again and it looks like she is praying again. When she opens her eyes again, she leans toward William.

“I also prayed for you,” she whispers, and the corner of his mouth turns up. She takes the knife and fork, poking the food to see what she should start with. William eats while he looks at everyone around the table. Everyone sits in silence as they eat their food.

He admits that he enjoyed it more when he was eating at Lianna’s apartment. Even when they would sit in silence, there was a comfortable silence between them. He never knew how constricting it was to eat this way until he received some freedom while he was at her apartment. How is he going to be able to return to his parents’ house? Maybe they should keep the apartment as a backup home.

“How is the food?” Bianca whispers to Lianna. They are not supposed to speak, but Bianca finds Lianna intriguing. She is happy to have someone who will not conform to all these rules.

“Eh, it is a bit bland. There is just something about rich people’s food,” Lianna whispers back and Bianca holds back her laughter.

“I thought you were rich?” Bianca frowns.

“No, my dad is rich. I am just a teacher,” Lianna says before putting down her knife and fork. She is not much in the mood for salmon. She rests her hands on her lap while she waits for everyone else to finish. She is tired and would not mind going to her room to get away. This is going to be an exhausting weekend.

Everyone is scattered around the living room and patio while drinking their coffee. Lianna was smart enough to bring her tea which William never thought of. So, thanks to her, they can drink tea instead of coffee. William sits on the armrest, watching Lianna talk to Bianca.

He is happy that she is getting along well with them. She would make an excellent employee. He is not used to someone who does not question him and instead actually listens to him. He thought she would be difficult due to her contrarian nature, but she followed his advice.

She laughs at something Bianca said which earns her a few side eyes. William takes the last sip from his tea. It looks like Lianna’s tea is also done. He taps Lianna’s arm and leans closer so that his mouth is near her ear.

“Do you want more tea?” he whispers. Lianna looks into her cup and there is some tea left. She downs the last tea and hands him her cup.

“Please,” she whispers back, and he takes the cup. He gets off the armrest to the kitchen. He passes some people on his way and he smiles at Merlin in the kitchen.

“William, how’s it going?” he asks and refills his mug. William pours water into the kettle and places it on the gas stove.

“Tired, but I am excited for the weekend,” he says with a wide smile and switches the kettle on. “How are things on your side?” Merlin sighs as he leans back against the counter.

“I feel you. I am also exhausted. The kids ain’t helping, you know. I don’t know why we chose to have two children. I mean, I love them both, but they are a handful. And Laura says she thinks she might be pregnant again. I hope it was a bad joke or something.” Merlin laughs half-heartedly and slurps his coffee. William chuckles and walks to Merlin, clapping his shoulder to show his sympathy. Merlin lifts his mug and motions that he is going to leave.

“See you,” he says to Merlin as he exits the kitchen. William stares out of the window while he waits for the kettle to boil. A movement catches his eye and he walks closer to the window. He looks carefully out of the window to see what is going on.

It’s his mother. What is she doing outside in the driveway? He rests his forehead against the window and uses his hands to see what is going on outside in the dark. It looks like someone else is also with his mother.

He cannot think of anyone else who should be here. According to him, everyone who said they will be here is here. Who is that? The kettle boils and he rushes to the stove to turn it off. He then walks back to the window and watches the two figures heading to the front door.

Oh no, is that . . . His breath is stuck in his throat and his chest is tight. What is she doing here? His breathing quickens, and he can hear his heart beating in his ears. His head starts to spin and his vision blurs. He needs to get to his room. Lianna. Lianna does not know about this. Shit!

He runs out of the kitchen to the living room. Lianna is still across from Bianca. He composes himself as he makes his way over to Lianna.

Lianna senses someone behind her and looks back. She sees William walking towards her. His eyes are cold, staring past her. Something is wrong. She stands up and walks to William, worry flickering in her eyes.

“William, what is wrong?” she asks with a quiet voice, her hand moving to his arm. His hand is warm when he grabs her arm and walks to the hallway. She stops and removes her arm from his death grip. “William?” she demands this time. What has gotten into him?

“Just follow me,” he says with a tight jaw. He grabs her arm again, but he hears the door open before he can walk further. He turns to Lianna, his grip on her arm tightening. Lianna mouths an ow and steps closer to him.

“William, what the- “

“I will explain everything. Do not believe her, just listen to me,” he pleads. Lianna lifts an eyebrow. She opens her mouth to ask a question, but something in William’s eyes breaks her heart. She nods. What is going on?

Footsteps come closer to the living room, and William braces himself. Lianna sees the panic on William’s face and places her hand over his on her arm. She leads him to the wall at the back, hoping to hide from whatever it is that is freaking him out. His mother appears in the doorway with an unusually wide smile.

“Everyone, we have another guest for the weekend,” she says and steps to the side. A beautiful, elegant woman walks into the living room. She has long, honey-blonde locks that match her red evening gown. Lianna has to prevent her jaw from dropping to the floor.

William goes numb, his hand releasing Lianna’s arm and falling to his side.

“Hi everyone,” the woman says, her eyes scanning the crowd.

“For those who cannot remember, this is- “

“Evelyn,” she interrupts his mother when her eyes fall on William. A few people whisper among themselves. Lianna is confused when the woman gives her a death stare. What did she do? Someone nudges her from the side, and she turns her head to see Isaac.

“Who is that?” she asks him and looks back at the woman. She is making her way to them, greeting the others as she passes them.

“Evelyn,” he whispers, barely audible.

“I got that. But why does everyone know her?” Lianna glances at William next to her. His face has turned from panic and confusion to a neutral expression.

Evelyn is getting closer with every breath Lianna takes. This woman has a presence. Damn.

“William’s ex-wife.”