As Tristen stepped inside the mansion, he heard numerous voices chattering in the living hall.
His eyes wandered to his family members who kept talking with each other or, in other words arguing at some point.
Walking towards them, he saw his mother Grace arguing about something while his father Trevor was trying to coax her with his sweet words. Then on the other side were his younger sister Gwen and brother Gavin who kept arguing about something.
"I am telling you he won't agree.." Gwen, the leader in the argument, voiced against her twin Gavin.
"As if you can read his mind..." Gavin oppose making her dash towards him and pull his hair in anger
The ones who were decent between them all were his grandparents, grandpa Herd and grandma Snow... There were only two people who were talking civilly.
"Everyone... what is that you all are talking about?" he asked with a voice as low as mice, but the entire family could hear him...
As soon as they turned to look at him, standing a few distances away from them with his hand tucked in his pocket Gwen the carefree one, ran towards him and dragged him towards the crowd.
Tristen walked along and took the seat next to his mother, who immediately showed off her dazzling sweet smile, warning him that something was about to happen.
He knew his mother Grace was a sweet and kind lady, but sometimes even her cheeky smile would bother him.
"Tristen, my lovely son... I know you won't reject your mother's decision, right" she asked with her ever-so-sweet smile and cupped his cheeks.
Tristen gulped at the sight of his mother's sweet gesture and turned his eyes towards his father, who signed him by shaking his head.
Understanding the meaning behind his father's gesture, Tristen looked back at his mother and waited for her to speak.
Gavin and Gwen sat there looking at how their mother's behavior changed from a fierce tigress to a sweet pup.
"Don't you think mom is very good at covering up her facial expression" Gavin poked at Gwen, who immediately agreed with him.
"No doubt dad immediately gives in to her every word" Gwen knew their father was a wife enslaved person, and he didn't mind if anyone shouted it in his face.
Snow and Herd looked at the mother and son duo when Snow finally broke the ice and said," Tristen, we have found a potential match for you."
Tristen's shining eyes suddenly dimmed when he heard his grandmother. He immediately let go of his mother's hold and turned to face the head of the house.
"But Grandma, I said I don't want to get settled yet. There are still many things I haven't achieved, and marriage is still not on my mind," he said, avoiding the discussion, standing up and ready to leave.
Tristen couldn't just tell them he had someone in his mind; it was a little complicated between them. His mind was stuck on a specific person he had set his eyes on, and no one would take his wife's place apart from Ashley.
"How long do you plan to stay single, Tristen" Grace, the sweet one, changed her voice from kind to serious.
It had been two years since they tried to get him hitched, but their elder son wasn't interested.
It wasn't that they didn't ask him if he liked someone, but the answer they got in return was no...
Then why was he declining them when he couldn't find a perfect partner for himself?
Tristen sighed and looked at his mother, whose sweet dripping face and long gone, and now she was damn serious about knowing his answer this time.
"I said, mom, I need some time. There are many things I have to take care of, and I can't divert my mind from it," Tristen repeated the same old story.
"See, I told you" Gwen smacked her brother's head when she won the debate catching everyone's serious glare.
Pursing her lips, she lowered her head from the deadpan eyes.
"I think you should check to meet the girl first before plainly rejecting her. What if your personalities match" Grandpa Herd said this time.
"Yes, dad is right, and what if you like the girl? It's not like we are asking you to get married to her but meeting her isn't a bad idea," Trevor agreed.
Tristen was already in his late twenties, and it was the right time for him to settle down. They didn't want to force him but wanted him to give them a chance to bring a girl who matched his taste.
Every eye looked at Tristen, who went silent listening to them. Tristen was not someone who let people easily into his life and liked to keep his personal.
Everyone in the knight family likes to keep their personal lives lowkey from the media. They knew how it worked when everything was wrapped around people's eyes and didn't like their life exposed publicly.
Tristen thought it when he recalled how Ashley had rejected him right on his face, which was her very bold move. He knew how stubborn she was when it came to her words.
Nodding his head, he agreed to them, making the eager face break into a smile.
"I knew he wouldn't reject this time" Grace, who was back with her sweet gesture, stood up and walked towards him, caressing his face with love.
"You will love the girl we have selected for you" Grace was confident in her choice, and she knew Tristen would too like the girl.
Tristen pursed his lips and nodded his head, but deep down in his heart, he wanted Ashley to be the girl for him. She was a perfect match for him; he had known it two years back when he had set his eyes on her.
But that one wish of his wasn't going to get fulfilled because she rejected him. He had one principle that everyone in the Knight family followed never force anyone for your benefit.
Walking away from there, he headed towards his room. The suite-like room, which had one big bedroom, was personally designed according to Tristen's taste. He liked light colors, and then the entire room was painted blue because he liked it that way.
Loosening, he walked towards the closet, pulling out a fresh pair of night clothes. He couldn't even reject them because he knew the one he was trying to court had given him a red flag.
Tristen was about to enter the bathroom when he heard a knock on his door and saw his younger sister Gwen walk in...
"Why did you agree to meet the girl brother" Gwen, who didn't expect him to give in to his mother's demand, felt bad for him.
"I had nothing to give us an excuse this time, and how long do you think I can keep on rejecting them," he said, looking at his sister, who jumped on the couch and folded her legs, looking at him with her widened, round eyes.
"Then are you going to let her go just like that..." she said and watched him shrug his shoulder.
" W-who are you talking about," Tristen said, averting her narrow gaze.
Gwen was the smartest among the twins and knew exactly when any of her family members acted weird.
"Do you read I AM A FOOL written on my face, brother?" she said, pointing at herself and standing up and walking to where Tristen stood.
Tristen understood it was a waste of time to act dumb in front of his spy sister when he knew she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted.
"Okay, fine, just don't around tell everyone" Tristen gave up and slumped his shoulder in defeat.
"I can't force someone to be with me, Gwen. Even her thoughts are important."
Gwen knew how madly in love her elder brother was with a lady named Ashley, and she also knew how heartbroken he was when he found she already had someone she loved.
He wasn't confident enough to express his feeling and kept them to himself until one day she stumbled on her photo's inside his drawer.
That was the day she finally found out her elder brother, who never bothered to spare a glance at women, had a girl whom he adored.
"But the brother she already broke up with her boyfriend what's his name that.." she thought when Tristen said," Greg."
"Yes, that Greg guy, then why are you suddenly giving up when your path is already clear" Gwen knew her brother was hopeless when it came to courting women because Tristen Knight, who was perfect in everything, unfortunately, lacked this ability.
Tristen didn't want to keep his hopes high on Ashley because the way she rejected him even after he dominated her told him how decided she was, and there wasn't a single chance for him.
Gwen stood with her hands on her hip and waited to see any reaction from her brother, but even after one minute, the man seemed stuck in the same thought.
"How stupid brothers I have got one over here is giving up on his crush for two years just like that while the other one is so dumb even to have a girlfriend in the first place" Gwen heaved a sigh out and patted Tristen's shoulder.
"Let me clearly warn you, brother, if you give up on her, then somebody else would find her" pursing her lips into a thin line, she turned and walked out of his room.
Gwen was very smart when it came to planting a seed in anyone's mind, and right now, she was proud of herself for throwing the arrow right on the spot.