Chapter 342: Mrs. Millers’s boyfriend.
Sienna didn’t have lunch with Elias or the children today. Instead, she convened a meeting with her group of friends in one of the best restaurants in the capital, where she had gone with Mija to present the Shade family’s case to the queen.
The restaurant was one of the capital’s finest--its walls lined with crystal panels that refracted light into a thousand colors, its tables carved from rare star wood and polished to a mirror sheen.
Sienna sat at the center of the table, Mija and Serenya flanking her sides. Lina was between Mija and the queen. The four women were half way through their meals, each taking a turn to complain about the latest disaster in their life or anything positive happening in their lives. Lina was talking the most, her words spilling faster than the servers could refill her wine glass.
Despite this, the air was lively, filled with chatter, clinking glasses and the strong smell of spices. Sienna was just reaching for a taste of Lina’s twice braised duck when her phone chimed. She picked it up, expecting some mundane update from Mika. Instead, her mother’s message flashed across the screen. Sienna opened it, and nearly dropped her fork.
It was a picture. Her mother, beaming, seated across from a fox beast man with sharp noble features, his smile practiced, his posture impeccable. He was middle-aged, but very good looking and in shape. Clearly, he took good care himself. The message attached to picture blazed in bold letters: Lunch with my new boyfriend. Could be your future father.
Sienna made a strangled sound--half "ack," half "arrgh"--that drew every eye at the table. She slapped the phone down as if it had burned her. "Boyfriend? After one blind date and a plate of fried rice?" she muttered, horrified. "My mother has lost her mind. There is no difference between her and Owena!"
Mija burst into laughter, her fork tapping against her plate. "Your mother’s love life is going to give you an ulcer at this rate. At least he is a good looking, wealthy, noble beast man," she teased, eyes glittering. "Your mother could do worse."
"So much worse." Lina pitched in. "No offense Sienna, but your mother is a bit plain, she is------"
"Watch your words." Sienna cut her off sharply.
Lina chuckled. "I don’t mean she is not beautiful, I just think she is not striking. You and Soren inherited your good looks from someone else. If your mother has babies with Chase Twindell, they will be beautiful for sure."
Sienna made that strangled sound again. "No...no...no!" If any woman got pregnant easily, it was her mother. This was not something she had even considered.
The queen raised a brow, amused. "Your mother marrying into nobility would strengthen your family’s standing. Your brother will be considered nobility. If he is adopted by Chase Twindell, he is entitled to his step-father’s wealth. Think of the benefits--land titles, estates, a good marriage, protection."
Lina clapped her hands, delighted. "Yes! Imagine the parties, the jewels, the gossip! You would go from being an ordinary human woman who got lucky by marrying the fox lord to the daughter of a noble household."
Sienna groaned, sinking into her seat. "You are all seeing the gains, not the problems. Lord Chase Twindell is the son of an ex-pirate. My family had a bad track record when it comes to criminal relatives. This is not romance, it’s a scandal waiting to happen"
Mija leaned closer, whispering with mock seriousness. "Scandal makes life interesting. Why do you think I have not dared to leave your home? It’s because the drama never ends. Another family’s drama is always better than your own family’s drama."
Sienna shot her a glare, but the laughter around the table only grew. The queen’s lips curved in a rare smile, Lina giggled until she nearly dropped her dumplings and Sienna’s protest was drowned in their amusement.
The conversation as the queen leaned toward Lina, her tone soft but deliberate. "Speaking of marriage, your brother is already searching for your next husband candidate."
Lina gasped, nearly choking on the dumpling she had just bitten. After gulping it down and taking a sip of water, she glared at the queen. "I won’t marry. It has not even been two weeks since I called off my wedding! Why is he in a rush to marry me off? Is he ashamed of me? Is my appetite too big for him to handle? What is it?"
Sienna nodded, folding her arms. "She is right, it’s too soon. She has barely had time to return the gifts sent by enthusiastic well wishers and nobles."
Lina pouted, cheeks flushed. "It’s unfair. I haven’t even decided what to do with my wedding gown, and all the other gowns I planned to wear at the wedding. They were delivered yesterday and now they are just sitting unused, mocking me."
Mija tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Unused wedding clothes are tragic. You spent a fortune on them. We all spent a fortune on the dresses we planned to wear at your wedding."
Lina sighed dramatically. "I don’t know what to do with them. Burn them? Donate them? Wear them to breakfast?"
Sienna’s eyes gleamed suddenly, her tone deceptively casual. "Allow me to unburden all of you. I plan to throw a grand birthday party for my husband next week. A celebration so extravagant it eclipses the bad memories from his coming of age ceremony. I originally wanted it to outshine your wedding, Lina. Now, I must make it to the finishing line alone."
Lina snorted. "I knew you were plotting evil against me."
The queen’s gaze sharpened. "A birthday party for Elias?"
Sienna nodded, her smile curling at the edges. "Yes. And you, my bestie Lina, should ask your mother to lend you her favorite, most famous jewelry to wear. It would be perfect."
Lina froze mid-bite, duck neck suspended in the air. Mija leaned forward, the scales on her neck rippling with anticipation. Even the queen’s composure faltered for a heartbeat.
Everyone at the table could see it: Sienna was plotting something wicked. Her tone was light, her words playful, but her eyes held the glint of scheming.
Sienna lifted her cup, sipping her tea with deliberate calm, as if nothing had happened. Her friends smiled, anticipating the chaos that would be the fox lord’s birthday.