DANIELLE'S POV
I entered the mansion that was going to be home for the next one year, hopefully, since Jonathan hadn't said anything else after his cryptic statement, and struggled not to stare at the spacious living room, high ceilings and especially the gigantic chandelier that took almost half of the room, as I'd done the first time I'd stepped foot into the house.
"Is this your first time here?" Jonathan's mother asked me, her voice clipped. It felt weird to refer to them as Jonathan's parents even in my mind, but I had no other choice since they'd not introduced themselves to me. I doubted they even knew my name.
I shook my head. I'd entered just once briefly to drop my things in the room I'd been given. I tried not to grimace. I wasn't really looking forward to entering the room again. It had been painted in black, of all colors. I wondered what his room would look like if mine looked like that.
She nodded. "I suppose not. You would want to confirm everything was up to your taste, right?" I stared at her. While the words weren't exactly condescending, the way she had said it sounded very sarcastic.
Jonathan entered the house with his father and pointed at the sofa. "Mum, you can have your seat."
She glanced at me pointedly and then sat down, and I held in a shrug. It wasn't my home, so. The only thing bothering me was the fact that at the bridal suite, she had seemed so sweet, as opposed to the way she was behaving now. Was that all an act?
"Let's get some water for you." Jonathan told his parents and glanced at me and I followed him to where looked like his kitchen. I stopped at the door and stared at the room as if I'd never seen one before. I'd completely forgotten to tell him that as much as I liked it, I was terrible at cooking and the kitchen I was seeing made it very obvious he was a master at it. The room had a long countertop and almost all kitchen appliances were neatly arranged there, including equipments I'd never seen before. There were also a lot of cupboards, I was very positive I would never find anything I needed.
He turned and saw me rooted at the entrance and lifted his eyebrows. "What is the matter? I wanted us to talk a little before we go and give my parents something to drink."
"Do you eat take out? I forgot to mention I couldn't cook."
He turned back to what he was doing before in the huge refrigerator. "I do, and I also cook, but I have someone that comes to cook when I'm not home."
I heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh. I didn't know that."
He glanced at me again before picking up a tray from the stack of trays at a corner that had obviously been designated for it. "My parents need time to adjust, especially with what happened, so don't take offense if they say anything they are not meant to."
I shrugged. "I won't, and I'm sorry for what happened at the reception. Do you have a first aid kit?" I asked, motioning to his reddened face. His nose had long stopped bleeding, but his face had bruises around it, his hair was a mess, I didn't know men grabbed hairs as well, his tie was nowhere to be found, and his suit looked nothing like it had that morning. If someone had told me I was going to have a bloody wedding, I would have laughed at the person's face, mostly because I didn't know I was ever going to get married.
He nodded. "Later. And you have no reason to be sorry. It's solely on that asshole."
His face had that "I told you so" on it, but I ignored it. Lucas must have drank a little too much or someone had done something offensive before he had arrived, he had always had anger issues, and it made sense if that was why he had come late.
He placed two bottles of water with cups and left the kitchen, me following closely behind, and his mother sat straighter as she saw us approaching. He dropped the tray on the table in front of them, and we sat on the love seat.
She smiled at her son. "Thanks for the water." She said, picking the bottle, and the room fell into a momentary silence, one that didn't last long.
"What does your mother do, Danielle?" She asked me and I clenched my hands. I had guessed they had been discussing me before we came, that was why she had straightened her posture. Something occurred to me, was she being this rude because of something that woman had done?
"She's a medical assistant." I replied, saying the first thing that had come to mind.
She nodded. "Is that so? How many years has she been one?" She asked in a way that made it obvious she was looking for something.
I fumbled for an answer. "About eighteen years now. She started when we lost my father." Hopefully she would realize it would be rude to ask about him after I mention he is deceased.
She nodded and met her husband's eye in a way that made my skin crawl. They were having a full-blown conversation, one I doubted would sound good if spoken out."
Thankfully, Jonathan noticed and cleared his throat. "I think we can get to know each other better another time. It's rude to intrude on newlyweds, you know?"
She sent me an annoyed glance and smiled at Jonathan. "Of course. Your father and I were just wondering what your brother would think about your marriage. I thought you said you weren't going to?"
He stood up immediately, causing me to look at him with caution. His face wasn't hiding his fury now. "You were the one that said you wanted me to because he couldn't. Are you trying to use him against me now?"
Him? Brother? I had believed my boss was an only child. A snippet from the conversation that had started it all now flitted to me. "... That was before that happened…" Had they been talking about his brother then? So where was he now?
A pin could have been heard as his parents stood up in preparation to leave, but then his father glanced at me. "Do all you can to make sure this incident doesn't make it on the news or leave a stain. I don't know why you would choose to marry her over the other." He whispered the last one, and I felt Jonathan tense.
"Sure. I already met with them and no video was taken. Only pictures and articles will be released." He replied, his voice tense.
"Don't bother seeing us off." His mother said with one more nasty look at me as if I was the one that had been the whole cause of the ruckus, and then they left the house. I nodded as Jonathan glanced at me before following them out, and then shrugged, falling into one of the sofas. I guess she could blame me. If he had married the person of their choice, Julia probably would have been unable to spread such rumors. That was if the person wasn't her. I shook my head. I wasn't going to focus on it anymore, I wasn't really here to make someone like me. I just wanted to find what I needed concerning my dad and then the game would be over, but something was nicking at me, who was his brother, and why had Jonathan reacted like that?