Chapter 6: Family Gossip

If I had known that Sunday brunch with my family would feel like a full-blown interrogation, I might have faked a fever. Or a trip to Mars.

But my mother’s text was as impossible to ignore as always:

Mom: “You and your husband must come over this weekend. Everyone’s is excited to meet him!”

Me: “Everyone?”

Mom: “Yes. And you don't have any reason to say no, you shouldn't even try to.”

So now, I was sitting at my parents’ dining table, the same one that had seen countless Sunday roasts, birthday cakes, and awkward silences, watching my mother slice roast chicken like she was dissecting my life choices.

Adrian slid into the chair beside me, calm as ever. His posture was unnervingly straight with his shirt neat and sleeves rolled just so... Every movement made was measured

He looked like he’d stepped out of an expensive magazine and into my family’s chaos.

“So,” my mother said, setting down her knife with a delicate clink, “tell us about yourself, Adrian.”

Adrian smiled politely, the kind of smile that didn’t reveal much. “There isn’t much to tell, Mrs. Hart. I manage a few business ventures, mostly property and finance.”

“A few?” my brother Mark snorted. “I I looked you up online. You’re on Forbes, apparently.”

I froze. “You what?”

Mark shrugged. “What? The internet exists. I just wanted to make sure our dear sister didn’t marry some… internet mystery.”

My mother gasped. “Mark!”

But Adrian only chuckled softly, unfazed. “That’s fair. Background checks are important.”

The man had charm armor — polished, unbreakable, dangerous.

Then came my aunt Clara. The self-proclaimed keeper of every rumor within a ten-mile radius.

“So, Adrian,” she said, leaning forward, lowering her tone in a way that meant she wanted everyone to hear,. “I heard your company was in the news last year. Something about a woman…?”

My fork froze halfway to my mouth.

Damn it and here we go.

Adrian’s smile didn’t waver. “Rumors follow everyone, Mrs. Clara. Not every story deserves a second thought.”

He said it lightly, but the edge of control in his tone made it clear he’d been through worse.

“Oh, but this one was interesting,” she persisted. “They said you were engaged once to someone from a very powerful family.”

My heart thudded. I glanced at him.

Adrian met my gaze for the briefest second, then smiled, smooth and polite. “Ah. That. It was a misunderstanding that the media exaggerated.”

“A misunderstanding that involved an engagement ring?” Mark muttered.

I kicked him under the table.

Adrian noticed but didn’t comment. Instead, he reached for his glass of water, his composure maintained.

My mother sighed dreamily. “Well, whether or not it’s true, I’m just glad you’re married to our Elena now. She’s been through enough.”

That made me choke on air.

“MOM!”

“What?” she said innocently. “After that last boyfriend—”

“MOM!”

Too late. My entire love life was officially public knowledge. Adrian’s brow lifted just slightly, amused.

“Ex-boyfriend?” he asked quietly when no one was listening.

I groaned. “Please don’t ask.”

“I won’t,” he said simply and somehow that made me want to tell him even more.

Halfway through dessert, I excused myself to grab something from the kitchen. When I came back, I heard my aunt’s voice, lowered but not enough.

“She’s lucky, really. After everything she went through with that cheating bastard, she landed herself a Kingsley. I still can’t believe it.”

“She didn’t even know who he was,” Mark whispered. “The marriage was… kind of impulsive.”

“Oh, she knows now. And if she’s smart, she’ll hold onto him tight. Men like that don’t stay single long.”

I lingered by the doorway, my heart racing.

That tone used was deeper than the words it was said with, Like I’d won a prize, not a person, like my marriage was some kind of accident I should be grateful for.

Adrian’s voice broke through the murmurs, smooth but firm.

“Actually,” he said, “I think....I was the lucky one.”

The table fell silent.

When I stepped in, his eyes met mine. There was warmth there ; soft, steady, utterly disarming.

And for one dizzying second, the gossip didn’t matter. None of it did, atleast for the moment I wanted to live in.

The drive back was quiet. The city lights flickered across Adrian’s face as he drove focused, unreadable, just too beautiful for my sanity.

“Sorry about my family,” I said finally. “They can be… intrusive.”

“I didn’t mind.”

He glanced at me. “You defended me more than once. That’s rare.”

“I wasn’t defending you,” I muttered. “Just saving them from your lawyer-level sarcasm.”

His lips curved slightly. “So, you do notice my sarcasm.”

“Hard not to.”

He chuckled softly, then his tone shifted ; deeper, more introspective.

He exhaled softly. “Families… they have their own kind of chaos, don’t they?”

“Yours too?”

A brief pause. “Worse.”

I wanted to ask, but his expression changed slightly and i could guess he was thinking about them, I let it go. The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. It was… familiar like we were both carrying ghosts we didn’t have names for yet.

When we arrived at the penthouse, he turned to me before I stepped out.

“Elena.”

I looked up. “Yeah?”

He hesitated just for a heartbeat. Then:

“Next time your family invites us, tell them I’ll bring dessert.”

I blinked. “That’s it?”

A faint smile ghosted across his lips. “You expected something else?”

That was quite a tease, I didn’t answer. Because what I had expected… was a kiss , shocking right? I know that myself.

And that realization scared me more than my mother’s gossip ever could.