The Bride He Never Chose: Married to my Dead Sister's Husband
Chapter 6
Nikolas' POV
I couldn't take my eyes off the woman sitting beside me. Referring to Brianna as “woman” felt strange because she'd always been this timid girl who hung around Daphne’s shadow.
A timid girl who happened to be my first real…
Che cazzo. What the hell?
I forced that train of thought to a halt, terrified that my mind could venture in that direction. As if waiting for this moment, her flowery fragrance assaulted my nostrils.
I clenched my jaw harder.
“Carry on, child. We're all ears,” Grandfather's voice broke into the thick cloud of suspense.
Brianna shifted in her seat. After several beats of silence, she softly replied, “The maids have nothing to do with this. I don't think they should be here.”
“What are you saying?” Mother scoffed with disbelief written all over her face. “Who then is responsible?”
Who dared mess up the food reserved for Grandfather’s guests? Absolutely, nobody. Even if said person didn't fear my wrath, the mere presence of Grandfather was enough to make them rethink their plan. To the best of my knowledge, all the servants respected us as a family; thus, it was unlikely they had a hand in this. This fact left out one possibility.
Brianna. The fault was hers alone.
I kicked her feet under the table, giving her a wordless warning to get her acts together. Jerking, she glanced at me but I didn't return the “favour”.
“I see. Why do you say so?” Grandfather asked with a deceitful calmness. Rightfully so, because only a fool couldn’t see through Brianna's lies.
“You were asked a question,” I said to Brianna through gritted teeth as she stayed silent. I couldn't help but look at her this time, staring straight into her green eyes that gleamed with dishonesty. It took a hell lot of willpower not to slam my fist on the table and force her to confess.
Unable to handle the heat, Brianna swung to her feet and hurried out of the dining room. Murmurs filled the air.
My anger reached the apex; it could raze down a building
“Stai zitto! Quiet!” The murmurs ceased, following Grandfather's command. “Head back to your quarters.”
With the servants gone, Mother asked, “What are we going to do now? Can you talk to her, Nikolas?” As though reading my mind and not trusting me to handle the situation gently without losing my shit at Brianna, Mother swiftly added. “You know what, I'll handle it.”
Grandfather and I sat quietly after Mother left. The only sound heard was the Newton cradle thumping at a distance.
“You’re angry,” Grandfather spoke first.
I narrowed my gaze at him. “Am I not supposed to be? This is the height of incompetence. Whoever is responsible, maids or not, will go in for it.”
“I'm not talking about the food incident, Nikolas.” Looking at me squarely, Grandfather frowned. “You shouldn’t have spoken to your wife that way in the open.”
Wife. I hated that word. “I don't understand.”
He leaned back in his seat, but before he could reply, Mother strode in.
“She should be here any minute. It was so tough reassuring her but she's fine now.” A small smile rested on Mother's face as she spoke, which was unusual because she didn't particularly like Brianna.
Brianna appeared not long afterwards. Her ruddy face was a dead giveaway that she'd been crying.
“I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting.” Her voice cracked. Right then, a strange feeling tugged at my heart, but I suppressed it.
“Well. It's been a rough night and my aged belly cries for dinner. We'll continue our discussion thereafter, no?” Grandfather tried to ease up the tension for Brianna's sake. He was fond of her, given the strong friendship that existed between her father and mine.
We ate in silence, apart from the random conversation between Grandfather and Mother. Brianna and I were more or less the passive audience. She barely ate her food. Obviously, a lot went through her mind. Not that I cared to know, but I hoped she had braced up for what was to come.
“Brianna?” Grandfather called, after the maids cleared the table. “You had something to say.”
It was quiet for a split second and then:
“Yes I…I” She cleared her throat. “Sorry.”
“It's okay. Take your time.”
She gave out a soft breath. “I made sure everything was in order. The food tasted just fine and there were no unusual flavours. Alice was the only person with me.”
Grandfather nodded, urging her to go on.
“After cooking, I left to go change. Some of the guests had already arrived at that point. Then, I came back down and was heading to the kitchen when…”
For some damn reason, Brianna stopped. Grandfather, having all the patience in the world, continued to urge her on once again.
“What happened, Child?”
She glanced at Mother. “Mrs. Conti walked out of the kitchen. I don't know, it—” A splash of wine fell on her face, staining her dress and getting her hair wet.
Roughly setting down her wine glass on the table, Mother spat out, “How dare you?”
Mother advanced towards Brianna, ready to do something drastic. Without thinking, I sprang from my seat, yanked Brianna to her feet and shoved her behind me.
My actions didn't stop Mother. She lunged towards Brianna, aiming for her arm that was well shielded by my body.
“Abigail!” Grandfather's voice rang out. “Stop this madness, will you!”
That brought Mother to a stop. Her lethal gaze settled on Brianna, then melted when she dragged it to me.
“Did you hear what she said? She called your mother a saboteur. A party destroyer and yet you defend her?”
Something throbbed in my heart even though I maintained an expressionless face. “You need to calm down.”
“Calm down.” Scoffing, her focus returned to Brianna. “Calm down, right?” An uncanny smile held her lips. She spun on her heels and stomped out. Her heavy steps on the stairs sounded seconds later. Then came the loud bang of her bedroom door.
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