Chapter 58 Part Of The Family
Sadie offered a short, humorless chuckle.
Zephyr worked with unsettling speed.
That morning, he had only mentioned formally making her part of the family; by afternoon, he had gathered all their family and relatives inside the Gates Estate’s family hall.
Despair rolled over Sadie–until Eleanor strode in and calmly announced that Sadie wouldn’t be part of the family formally.
Nicolas lifted a cloak and draped it over Eleanor’s shoulders with awkward tenderness. “Why refuse, my dear?”
Eleanor’s voice stayed cool. “Our marriage may not reach the end, Nicolas. We pass each day as it comes: why trouble ourselves with meaningless formalities?”
Eleanor’s skin was fairer than snow, her hair piled high like drifting cloud.
Though she had borne five children, she retained a beauty so otherworldly it seemed borrowed from myth.
Even relatives who disliked her could not resist stealing furtive glances.
Nicolas, broad–shouldered and towering, commanded three hundred thousand troops in the southwestern region.
Yet, beside Eleanor, he seemed to shrink, his swagger drained away by a single raised brow.
He forced a servile grin. “Eleanor, my feelings run deep and unshakable; I intend to be your husband for life. How could our path end halfway? Please grant me at least the chance to dote on our daughter.”
Alexander leaned toward Sadie and murmured, “Father is acting like such a lapdog; at his age, he still speaks so coyly. How cheesy, right?”
Eleanor’s tone did not change. “If you insist on making her part of the family, I will separate from you this very day.”
Nicolas‘ eyes widened. “No! Eleanor, I would rather die than lose you!”
Eleanor kept walking, refusing even a backward glance.
Nicolas stumbled after her, wailing, “Eleanor! Eleanor!” The anguish in his voice eclipsed every other sound as he sprinted past Sadie to give chase.
Once the uproar ended and she remained not part of the family officially, Sadie finally allowed herself a quiet breath of relief.
She looked toward Zephyr, who was already leafing through the paperwork again.
His fingertip halted on Nicolas‘ entry.
Neither Sadie nor Eleanor was recorded there.
Alexander blinked at the blank column, then leaned toward Sadie and murmured, “Didn’t your mother. marry my father? Why is she not officially part of the family? Does she dislike him that much? Father is
Aug
Chapter 58 Part Of The Family
gruff, sloppy, old, and hopelessly unromantic–yes, he skips baths but he cannot be that awful can ha Actually, he can. If I were a woman I would avoid him too, and your mother looks like a fairy
In unspoken accord, Sadie and Zephyr turned their eyes toward the doorway.
Beyond it, they saw Nicolas chasing Eleanor, their forms receding down the corridor.
Eleanor never slowed, as though the wind itself carried her away.
Why would she refuse to have her name etched into the Gates family book? Is it nothing more than a distaste for Nicolas or is some darker secret breathing beneath the surface?
Sadie felt a cool stare land on her face like the shadow of a blade.
She lifted her eyes t
Zephyr. “You’ve excavated every detail of my mother’s past already, Lord Zephyr, so surely you don’t need to put me on trial as well.”
Zephyr slipped the hook back into i
drawer.
Long before his father decided to marry Eleanor, he had thoroughly investigated Sadie.
Yet, the woman seemed to have stepped out of thin air – no kin, no friends, no traceable past. In the southwestern region, his reach was legendary, yet this time, the net came up empty.
He schooled the shadow in his gaze and looked down at her. “You should treat me as your elder brother.”
Sadie knew he had slipped back into that carefully staged performance again.
Ignoring him, she caught Alexander by the hand and headed for the courtyard doors. “Alex, you have to visit General Hawke tomorrow. Let me help you choose a few gifts.”
Lounging against the offering table, Zephyr drawled, “Sades, you really are incorrigible.”
His gaze scoured her back like barbed wire, a night–born specter demanding she follow it into hell, and
every
hair on her arms rose in revolt.
She quickened her pace almost involuntarily.
Across town.
The Francis Estate.
At dawn, Daisy discovered that half of her hair had been shaved clean off.
She wailed until her voice cracked, hoping her brothers would console her, only to find each of them similarly shorn.
Neville thundered, “Which bored lunatic did this? Once I catch him, he’ll wish he’d never been born!”
Adonis slammed his book shut, too agitated to read. “I’ve already sent someone for wigs. Whoever pulled this stunt, we still have to step outside, so we’d better cover the damage first.”
One name flashed across Daisy’s mind–Madison.
Who else in this world is twisted enough–and idle enough–to pull something like this? But why target us? We never provoked him. Could he be taking Sadie’s side?
Chapter 58 Part Of The Family
Daisy shook her head. Madison is far too contrary. He would never accept Sadle as a sinter
One frustration after another piled up until Daisy could feel anxiety chewing at her bones.
She drew a long, deliberate breath, determined to force destiny back onto its proper track
If her father and brothers repeated the steps of their previous lives, she would be able to travel to Jamore and become the crown princess.
