Gigi:
Of course, after everything that had happened, I expected them to ignore their grandmother completely and stand by me.
But no.
Even after the way she had treated me last night, they were still gathered around her.
I took a deep breath and walked toward her room.
I had only made it partway down the hallway when I noticed the sitting area.
It looked like the whole family had gathered there.
By "whole family," I meant Jenna, Mr. and Mrs. Bundy, Theodore, Jaguar, and their grandmother.
They were having breakfast together, while no one had invited me or even spoken to me.
As soon as I arrived, everyone fell silent, as if I had interrupted an important conversation.
"Gigi, come on. Have a seat with us."
Now that they had noticed me, they were inviting me to join them.
It was Theodore who spoke.
"Good morning. When did you wake up?" Jaguar asked, looking confused but also a little embarrassed because, let’s be honest, they realized they had made a mistake.
"I’ve been awake since six this morning," I replied, folding my arms across my chest.
I watched Theodore’s and Jaguar’s eyes shift to Mrs. Bundy, who immediately took a long sip of her coffee before answering.
"Oh, I knocked on her door to ask her to come have breakfast with us. I guess she was in the bathroom or somewhere because she didn’t answer, so I thought she was still sleeping."
As soon as Mrs. Bundy offered her explanation, I realized the brothers had actually sent for me.
She was the one who had lied.
I simply stared at her in silence.
"Well then, sit down if you want to have breakfast. You don’t have to stand there and ruin the atmosphere," Lady Lucille remarked, accepting the toast Jenna had buttered for her.
"Grandma," Theodore protested.
"Actually, I came here to tell you that the secretary you hired has arrived."
I turned away from the rest of the family, the ones who meant nothing to me, and addressed Theodore directly.
Theodore’s eyes widened. Jaguar looked down and clenched his jaw, biting his tongue.
Of course, they were supposed to tell me about all this.
"Actually, we were going to tell you," Theodore began, but before he could continue, a maid walked in, drawing everyone’s attention.
"Your Highness, the secretary you asked us to bring has arrived," the maid announced.
My eyebrows knitted together.
I had fucking told Verity to stay where she was. I was going to send her away before she walked in here.
But now she was coming anyway, even after I had told her not to?
The maid stepped aside, and Verity walked into the room.
I quickly moved out of the way, my gaze sweeping over everyone’s expressions.
When I say I was stunned, I mean it.
Mrs. Bundy wore an expression that made it look like she wanted to gouge her husband’s eyes out.
She immediately turned to look at him, and he lowered his gaze. I could tell he had gotten a full glimpse of Verity.
Then there was Jenna.
Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open.
I ignored him.
I acted as though nothing mattered, as though I wasn’t hurt.
"Ah, we’ll see."
After shaking Verity’s hand, Lady Lucille looked away.
"Why don’t you go wait in the guest room? I’ll finish my breakfast, and then I’ll interview you."
As expected, no one escaped Lady Lucille’s harshness.
After her initial reaction to Verity, she was now acting as though she were personally competing with her.
At that moment, I felt like I should have been happy that she was giving Verity the same cold shoulder she had given me.
But I was upset because the reasons were different.
With me, Lady Lucille had treated me coldly because she didn’t like me.
With Verity, it was possibly because everyone seemed to see her as someone exceptionally beautiful, almost like a goddess, which she definitely was not.
"Okay," Verity responded.
She didn’t look like she cared about any of it. In fact, she didn’t even seem particularly happy about the praise.
She kept her professional expression.
Once she walked away, I shot Theodore and Jaguar a harsh glance before walking out of the room.
"Gigi, wait," Jaguar called, and the two of them hurried after me.
"Gigi, please listen to us. We were going to tell you."
As they spoke, I stopped mid-step in the living room and turned to face them.
It felt as though I had to do something, or I would lose them completely.

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