Ginny could not help but glance at him as they had their meal. He was busy with his phone, sending and receiving messages, and he had even received a call from a girl, whom she found out was his wife.
She immediately retracted her eyes when he caught her staring, and then smiled at the waiter who brought him his third serving of steak, fries, and mashed potatoes.
"How can you eat so much?" She was genuinely curious, and he mischievously smiled at her.
"You drained me, Girl. Now I need to replenish my strength."
She blushed hard at his words, and then focused on her meal, no longer daring to look at him.
"I am an Auror, not a human." He told her, and she confusedly looked at him.
"Auror?"
"I will tell you in the car." He gently said to her, and she nodded to him, guessing that it was not something that he wanted to talk about here.
Was he like those super soldiers? She wondered.
"So, you are married?" She nervously asked.
"Yes, I have two wives."
"Oh." She turned silent and then asked another question. "Do you have another Mistress?"
"Yes. Her name is Min-Jin," He nodded, and she did not know why, but she felt better after the answer.
"Do your wives know about her?"
"Yes, and they think I have more women, but it was just her before, and now I have you."
"And they are okay with it?" She nervously asked.
"They are not," He shook his head. "However, in our circle, it's common for people to keep mistresses and have multiple wives. They are aware of this reality, and they compromise."
"They love you?"
"Yes."
"And do you love them?"
"Yes." He answered her.
"Then why?"
"Lust, vanity, and greed," He bluntly laid the truth before her.
She was clearly displeased with the answer and turned very quiet.
"Do you care about Min-Jin?" She asked after a while.
"Yes. She's my precious." He told her and she weirdly looked at him.
"Do you love her?"
"Not yet. We have only known each other for a few days. However, I would not mind falling in love with her or you." He smiled at her, and his words caused her to blush again. "Where did you plan on going after graduating from high school?"
"I don't know yet," She sighed.
"Imperial?"
"It's not easy to get into IU."
"Are you that bad in studies?" He grinned at her and she pouted.
"I am the best in my class." She told him. "But getting into IU is not easy. The Entrance Exam is very tough, and then there is the interview. Only rich kids can afford the tuition fees and not worry too much about entrance tests and interviews."
"I suppose that's true, but you will be fine. I am confident that you can get into it with your own ability, and if you fail, I will take care of your tuition fees. Don't think about any other University. IU is the best there is."
"You studied there?" She curiously asked.
"Yes."
"Rich kid?" She grinned, and he chuckled.
"Yes, but I topped the Entrance Test and was cleared in the Interview. Didn't pay any tuition fees as I was always at the top of my class."
"I don't believe you. You don't seem the kind of guy who can be good in studies."
"Why?" He laughed.
"You are way too handsome and a rogue..." She stopped what she was saying and lowered her head, blushing hard.
"Is that so?" He smiled and then picked up his phone. A few moments later, he offered it to her, and what she found on it was his student profile of the Imperial University.
Her head felt dizzy at the number of stars he had received over the eight semesters, and he was not lying at all.
He really did ace every exam and was even ranked in the top twenty highest achievers in the University's history of their bachelor programmes.
Since she had the portal open, she went through everything that only the students and Alumni of the University had access to.
She checked the leaderboards, the results of the latest exams, the current students, the faculty, the schools, details of the courses, amenities, clubs, and everything there was.
Ginny did not even realise how much time had passed. She had long finished her meal and felt very embarrassed when she finally handed him his phone back after a message popped up.
"You were not lying."
"Why would I lie about something so insignificant?" He chuckled.
"Such achievements are insignificant to you?" She weirdly looked at him when he nodded his head.
"Yes, these things are not the end of the world. Even if I did not perform well in exams, I would have been fine. The people who did not get these achievements are doing fine in their lives as well."
"Rich kids..."
"Your mother earns an annual income of over 1.6 million draks, Ginny. The small villa you live in is worth 2 million draks. And this is not counting the gifts that Robert Sterling gives to your family. You are a rich kid too."
She felt a little embarrassed at his words, and then her mood dropped.
Ginny had long known about her mother's affair with her Boss. She had even caught them in bed once, but yesterday, she learned that the man whom she called "Uncle" was her real father.
It would be a lie to say that she was not mad at her mother and disappointed in her, but her mother was the only family she had now, and she did not want to lose her.
"Does your father have Mistresses too?"
"Yes. His secretary. He used to sleep around a lot in his Military days, but never kept any Mistresses. She is the only one. My mother was his only wife until seven years ago when my Second Uncle got killed in the plane crash."
"Flight 728?" She asked as she remembered the massive plane crash that happened seven years ago.
"Yes," He nodded. "My aunt was pregnant at that time, and only 31 years old. As per the family tradition, where we don't allow the children to be raised by outsiders, my Aunt needed to marry again, and my father accepted her as his second wife."
"Doesn't that make things weird?"
"No. It doesn't." He smiled.
"And do you have any half-siblings?"
"Not that I know of, but my Aunt is 34 weeks pregnant with a boy. So, I will soon have a baby brother."
Seeing the genuine smile on his face, she was confused.
"Your mother doesn't mind?" She frowned.
"No. She's happy as well. It was my mother who asked my father to marry my aunt. They live in the same house, and they get along just fine. My mother treats Anaiah, my cousin, and step-sister, as her own daughter. It's the same for Anaiah's little brother, Micah."
"How many cousins do you have?" She curiously asked.
"Joseph, Matthew, Dalia, Michael, and Daniel are my first uncle's children. He only has my aunt as his wife, and he does not have any lovers or Mistresses. They live in Skylar City. Joseph is seven years older than me, the same age as my brother, and he's in the Navy, a 1-Star Commodore. Matthew and Dalia are twins, five years older than me, and they do not live in Dragonia. They chose to go to the Kingdom of Anglia when they turned fifteen and never returned."
"Why?" She raised her brow and he smiled at her.
"You promise to keep it a secret?" He playfully asked, and she nodded her head like a chicken.
"Well, Matthew and Dalia were always close. A little too close." He meaningfully said and her eyes widened at his words.
"You mean..."
"Yes. They married each other there and have two children, both sons, 8 and 6. I went to see them last year."
"The children..."
"Are fine." He chuckled. "Aurors and their children don't have the genetic issues that humans suffer from."
"Oh... Your family knows?"
"Yes."
"They don't mind?" She was genuinely confused.
"No. We even attended their wedding." He smiled at her shock.
"I see..."
"Michael lives with Uncle and Aunt. He is four years older than me and got married last year. He has a newborn daughter now. And he is a qualified mechanical engineer and a very good businessman," he informed her. "As for Daniel, he is a year older than me and takes care of our family business in Nihon Kingdom."
"Do Joseph and Daniel have children?"
"Joseph has a wife and a three-year-old daughter. Daniel isn't married yet and has no children."
"You have a big family."
"Yes. I have already told you about Anaiah and little Micah, who is six years old. So, I have 7 cousins with the name Zarayne. As for my mother's side of the family, I have dozens. Out of them, I have only ever met a couple and don't even know the names of the rest." He chuckled.
"And siblings?"
"Just an older brother, who is seven years older than me. And the little one who is on the way."
"Is your older brother married?"
"Yes. Izaiah is a Lieutenant Colonel and his wife is in the Royal Army as well. A Captain. They have a 2-year-old daughter."
"How old is your father?"
"55."
"Your mother?"
"52."
"Who else is in the family?"
"My Grandfather and my Grandmother. They are 77 and 84 years old."
"Your Grandmother is older than your Grandfather?" She surprisedly asked.
"Yes. We call her Granny Bella. She's not my biological grandmother, but she is a Zarayne too. My Paternal Grandparents are first cousins. And my biological grandmother was the younger sister of Granny Bella. She passed away five years ago." He sadly smiled. "She could not bear the loss of her son and grew weaker over time. One night she went to bed and did not wake up."
"You loved her." She smiled.
"I love everyone in my family." He grinned at her, brushing away the sad thoughts.
His phone suddenly rang, and he immediately picked it up when he saw who was calling.
"Yes, Alison?"
"Boss, where are you?"
"I having a meal with someone right now. Why?"
"You have a meeting with the Manager of the Emres Tower at 4 pm."
"I will call him and we will reschedule the meeting for tomorrow. And cancel all my appointments for today."
"There are none, Boss."
"Okay." He chuckled and ended the call. "Please, excuse me." He stood up and went to the lobby to make a call.
Ginny curiously watched him make a call, and the more she stared at him, the more she imagined him without his clothes.
When he returned, he noticed that she was blushing, and he curiously raised his brow at her.
Before he could ask her what was wrong, his phone rang again, and he picked it up.
"Yes, Mom?"
"Where are you?"
"I am having a brunch with someone."
"Come to the Family Manor before lunchtime. Your Father wants to meet you. And bring this girl along with you." He frowned at the last sentence, and when he looked outside the glass wall, he noticed a familiar car.
It belonged to one of the trusted men of his father, who worked for his mother now.
"Yes, Mom."
"What was she saying?" Ginny curiously asked.
"We have to go to the Family Manor before lunchtime." He said to her and then pressed the button on the tablet, asked for the bill, and it was immediately generated.
Mikael scanned the code, left a handsome tip, and grabbed Ginny's hand and he led her out.
"We?"
"Yes."
"No..."
"Why?" He raised his brow at her and she lowered her head.
"I..."
"She won't hate you. If she did not like you, she would have never invited you to the Manor."
"She likes me?" She frowned.
"I didn't say that. She just wants to meet you and see what kind of a girl you are."
"Please, can I not go?" Ginny panicked.
"You have nothing to worry about, Silly." He gently told her, and realising that there was no way out, she obediently nodded her head.