30 Minutes Ago
Kai Blackwood's eyes followed the figure clad in white, her every movement graceful, her smile soft and polite as she engaged with the guests. It was almost surreal, if he hadn't known better, he'd think she was a completely different person. Maybe even a doppelgänger.
Just as he guessed, she truly had changed.
This wasn't the Amelia Cosgrove he remembered.
The Amelia of the past wouldn't have bothered with pleasantries, let alone smiled at her relatives. She used to carry herself with an air of disdain, her nose perpetually turned up at the world. When she got engaged to Ace, she'd clung to him like a lifeline, blind to how little he cared for her. Everyone had seen it, everyone but her.
But now? Ace was nowhere near her, and it seemed like she'd forgotten he even existed.
"How long do you plan to stay before you go back?"
Kai heard a cold voice say behind him.
His face darkened for a fleeting moment before he quickly masked it with a polite smile. He turned to the woman who'd made his childhood hell on earth.
"Aunt Hera," he greeted smoothly. "I still have some business to handle here. I'm not sure yet."
Hera Blackwood, with her sharp eyes and perfectly styled short curls, scrutinized him. She wore a beige Chanel tweed suit, as pristine as her reputation. But beneath the polished exterior, Kai knew the cold, calculating woman who had never cared for anyone but herself.
Ever since he returned from abroad, Hera had been watching him like a hawk. She had this uneasy feeling about him that she couldn't pinpoint.
She had thought it was guilt, but she quickly shrugged it off. Besides, when young Kai had clutched her skirts desperately, tears pouring down his cheeks, begging her to return his mother to him, she hadn't felt anything. So why would she now?
She sighed, feigning concern.
"When you're ready to leave, let me know. You should be by your brother's side. He may look strong, but he's still... fragile."
Kai set his glass down on a nearby table.
"Of course, Aunt. I'll check on him now."
His eyes flickered to the position where he had seen Amelia previously, but she was no longer there.
Where did she go? he thought briefly. Well, I can't be too bothered about it.
Kai weaved through the crowd, intent on finding Ace. He had never liked that little brother of his, who always acted as if he was deserving of everything the world had to offer.
Kai soon moved towards the grand hall, only to be met with the sound of raised voices. The atmosphere was tense, filled with whispers.
Did something happen?
He stepped into the hall just in time to hear Amelia's soft but clear voice:
"So please, Grandfather, I wish to end the engagement with Ace Blackwood."
Silence descended like a heavy curtain. Every head in the hall turned. Shock rippled through the crowd, their whispers a hushed wave of disbelief. Kai's eyes flicked to Ace, whose face had gone pale, his jaw slack. Beside him, Lilac's eyes widened in stunned surprise.
Mason Cosgrove's face darkened with fury.
"What the hell are you saying?" he barked.
But before he could say more, Grandfather Cosgrove glared at him.
"Mason, shut your mouth."
The room fell silent again, all eyes now on Grandfather Cosgrove as he turned his gaze to Amelia.
"Is that truly what you want, Amelia?"
Amelia met his gaze. It was obvious in her eyes that this was what she wanted.
"Yes, Grandfather. I no longer wish to be engaged to Ace."
A tense pause followed before the voice of Dan Blackwood, Ace's father, was heard.
"It's not that simple," he snapped. "An agreement was made. A contract binds the Cosgrove and Blackwood families. This engagement cannot be dissolved so easily."
Ace, still reeling, finally found his voice.
"But Father, I love Lilac." His words echoed in the hall, drawing gasps from the onlookers.
Dan's face twisted in anger.
"Lilac doesn't bear the Cosgrove blood, and her name isn't in their family book!" he growled. "She's irrelevant to this arrangement."
"Father—" Ace tried speaking again, but Dan cut him off sharply.
"Enough, Ace. Know your place."
The hall became filled with whispers as the onlookers watched the ongoing drama. Grandfather Cosgrove fell into deep thought, and everyone became tense as he was the one to make the final decision.
"Alright, my lovely Amelia, I will uphold your wish," he said. "However—" he paused, his gaze sweeping the room before landing on Kai, who had a seemingly amused expression on his face, "I've heard the Blackwoods have an illegitimate child, Kai Blackwood. Amelia will be engaged to him instead."
The room erupted in a collective gasp. All eyes snapped to Kai, whose expression fell from amusement to disbelief, then to coldness.
"Isn't that the illegitimate son of the Blackwood family?" someone whispered.
"The useless one, right? I heard he was a failure."
Dan Blackwood's face twisted in rage.
"This is absurd!" he barked. "Kai is—"
"Enough, Dan," Grandfather Cosgrove interrupted coldly. "Kai bears the Blackwood blood, does he not? That's all that matters."
"I don't want to be engaged to anyone," Amelia insisted.
Grandfather Cosgrove turned to her, his expression softening slightly.
"This is the best I can offer, Amelia. It will not be heard of in the Cosgrove family that an outsider is engaged before the legitimate daughter. Besides..." He rubbed his temples with a tired sigh, "there is a lot to be lost if the engagement is canceled."
Amelia's lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing more. Rather, her eyes trailed to Kai's figure. He no longer donned that roguish appearance she had seen at the bar but now looked handsome and gentlemanly in his blue tuxedo, his hair brushed slick back.
In his grey eyes was a cold and disinterested glint.
Oh, she mused, so he repels this engagement as much as I do. Then it won't be so hard to end it in due time, after all.