Chapter 2: Strange

Eleanor's decision sent chaos through both families. No one showed it, but the Rothschilds and Eleanor’s parents were all scrambling behind closed doors, trying to make sense of Eleanor's choice. Lucian wasn't even supposed to be an option. But now, with the alliance still hanging in the balance, Damien and Sebastian refused to back down. They started showing up more. Too much, actually.

First, it was Damien.

Eleanor was sitting on the patio outside the main house, sipping coffee and skimming through a tablet and reading a book. The morning was quiet until Damien’s shoes clicked against the marble floor.

“I figured I’d find you here,” he said, slipping into the chair across from her like it belonged to him. “Still drinking that awful black coffee?”

Eleanor flipped a page. “Still interrupting people without asking?”

Damien smirked. “I’m not here to fight. Just thought we could talk.”

“Talk about what? You being mad I didn’t choose you?”

Damien leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. “Eleanor, come on. You really think Lucian is the best call here? He’s barely involved in anything. Doesn’t show up to dinners. Doesn’t even take meetings with your dad.”

“That’s the point.”

Damien laughed lightly, like he didn’t take her seriously. “He won’t give you the life you’re used to.”

She finally looked at him. “Good. I don’t want the life I had been through.”

Damien leaned back, caught off guard by her tone, but before he could recover, another voice interrupted them.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” Sebastian said, walking in from the poolside. “I was told you were out here.”

Now both brothers were flanking her like a trap. Eleanor groaned quietly and shut off her book.

“You guys need a hobby.”

“We’re just concerned,” Sebastian said, sitting on the other side of her. “This whole thing with Lucian. It’s a little… out of nowhere. Have you ever met him in person?”

“You think I made a rash decision?”

“I think you’re being emotional,” Sebastian chuckled. “And with the likes of you, I think you’ve always had a tendency to make reckless decisions when you feel pressured.”

Eleanor shook her head, biting her tongue to keep from snapping. The same old nonsense—the cocky Sebastian, smiling at her while quietly assuming she was too emotional to think straight.

And right on cue, Jane walked out the sliding doors with a tray of drinks, dressed in soft beige and that same gentle smile she wore when pretending to be harmless.

“I brought iced tea,” she said. “Thought you all might need something cool.”

She placed the glasses down and glanced at Eleanor, a little too sweet.

“My lady, are you alright? You look… tired.”

“I’m fine,” Eleanor said flatly.

Jane’s gaze flicked to the brothers. “Sorry, I should’ve introduced myself, my lords… I am Jane Thorne. I am a servant in this mansion, and my father works here as a butler.”

Damien stood first.

“Ah, the famous Jane. I’ve heard a bit about you.”

“All good things, I hope,” and Jane chuckled.

“Very good things,” Sebastian added.

Jane blushed and laughed. It sounded innocent. She's good at that.

“I just help out here and there,” she said modestly. “Lady Eleanor was kind enough to give me a place to stay when things got rough.”

Eleanor tensed. The way Jane said it made her sound so affectionate. She was really good, but she was exaggerating. She was saying it in a way as if Eleanor had picked her off the street, which wasn’t even close to the truth.

“I didn’t take you in. It was my parents’ decision, not mine to begin with. And I'm not sure about the word ‘rough,’ because we pay your father handsomely.”

Jane stuttered, kind of shocked with Eleanor’s response.

“Right. Sorry. But I am still grateful that you let me stay here, my lady.”

To ease the tension, Sebastian picked up a glass and took a sip.

“This is really good.”

“Glad you like it,” Jane said softly. Then she turned to Eleanor. “I added a splash of lemon, since I know you’ve been a little off lately, my lady. I thought it might help.”

The brothers glanced at Eleanor.

“You’ve been feeling off?” Damien asked, too casually.

“Lady Eleanor is probably just stressed. A big decision like this? It’s a lot to carry,” Jane said.

Sebastian frowned. “You know, it is kind of a big shift, El. Going from someone like me to Lucian? I heard you used to care about appearances.”

Eleanor sharply stared at Sebastian, calming herself to not rip apart his face. This was the man who had poisoned her. The one who had once driven her to death.

Sebastian sighed. “We’re not attacking you. But choosing someone who avoids everyone, never shows up to family events… It looks like you’re trying to pick up a ticking time bomb.”

Eleanor stood up.

“You know what? It doesn’t matter. It’s my marriage. So whatever decision I make, that is none of your concern.”

Jane stood too, wearing a worried look. “Don’t be upset, Lady Eleanor. They’re just worried about you.”

The tone was soft, but the words stung.

Damien shrugged. “Well, if Lucian breaks your heart, don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

“It’s not too late to rethink things. Just saying,” Sebastian added.

Eleanor looked at both of them, then at Jane, whose eyes gleamed with something far from innocent.

Eleanor left without another word but heard Sebastian mutter something under his breath, “She’s losing it.”

And Damien answered, “Or already has.”

Eleanor headed straight back inside, phone clutched in her hand, already typing a message to Lucian’s social. If she was going to make this work, she needed him to stop hiding. And she needed to get ahead of Jane before the whole new scheme started to unravel again.

— LATER IN THE AFTERNOON —

Eleanor smoothed down the front of her blouse, took one last look in the mirror, and tied her hair into a low, clean ponytail. She didn’t want to look too polished. Lucian didn’t care for pageantry. He always avoided the parties, the photoshoots, the interviews. But she didn’t want to look careless either.

Eleanor grabbed her purse, took a breath, and headed down the stairs. The halls were quiet. Too quiet. Her heels echoed softly on the marble. Outside, a car was already waiting for her. She told Lucian she’d come alone. He hadn’t replied with much, just: If you’re serious, I’ll be there.

She's serious. And Lucian needed to know that.

As Eleanor walked past the garden entrance, voices drifted through the glass. She stopped. Through the tall windows, just beyond the hedges, she saw Damien, Sebastian, and Jane, seated beneath the pergola, with drinks in hand while laughing. Jane’s dress was white, delicate, and she leaned just slightly toward Damien when he spoke. Sebastian said something and Jane laughed while her eyes were sparkling. Then, Damien reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind Jane’s ear.

Eleanor froze. She shouldn’t care. She really shouldn’t. But the way they looked at Jane like she was the most precious and fragile thing, made her stomach twist. She watched for one second too long and Jane noticed her. Their eyes met. Just a flicker of a glance through the glass. Jane’s smile softened even more. It was almost like sympathy. Almost like a win.

Eleanor exhaled, turned, and kept walking. Outside, the driver opened the door for her. She slid into the backseat without a word, her jaw tight, fingers clenching around her phone.

She tapped out a message to Lucian:

“On my way. Please don’t bail.”

A moment later, the screen lit up.

Lucian: I’m here.

That’s all he said. But that was enough.

Eleanor leaned back against the seat as the car pulled away and the estate grew smaller behind her. Let them laugh with Jane. Let them be charmed. She didn’t need the brothers to understand her choice. She just needed Lucian to meet her halfway. To change her fate. To make sure that she wouldn’t be married to any of the two.

— COFFEE SHOP —

The café was tucked into the quieter side of the city, hidden beneath a law office and a tailor’s studio. No valet, no paparazzi, no curated flower displays or PR-friendly lighting. Just glass doors, scuffed floors, and a few locals who didn’t look twice at her. Exactly the kind of place Lucian would pick.

Eleanor stepped inside, the bell above the door chiming softly. She spotted him immediately. He was sitting near the back, hood up, one hand wrapped around a coffee mug, the other was flipping casually through something on his phone. He didn’t stand. Didn’t even look up at first.

Eleanor made her way to the table and cleared her throat. Lucian glanced up.

“You’re late.”

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “By three minutes.”

“That’s still late.”

She slid into the chair across from him.

“Still holding onto your control issues, I see.”

Lucian leaned back, finally locking eyes with her. His expression was unreadable. “Still holding onto your need to impress everyone?”

Eleanor exhaled a sharp breath and could not help but twitch her lips. Same Lucian. And she herself knew that she was once a huge pleaser. But she's different now.

“Well,” she said, settling her bag beside her, “I’m not here to impress anyone. That’s the least of my concern. And I know you’re on the same page.”

Lucian lifted his mug. “You talk as if you know me.”

For a moment, silence stretched between them. It was thick with unsaid things. Regret. Curiosity. Caution. Eleanor cleared her throat.

“Lucian…”

“Why are you really here, Eleanor?”

“I want to marry you. I know you’ve already heard that from your father and well… brothers.”

Lucian had no reaction. No laugh. No frown. Just that steady, analytical stare like he was waiting for the punchline.

“I’m serious,” Eleanor added.

“Of course you are,” he muttered, tapping a finger against the rim of the cup. “You always are. Except when it matters.”

That stung more than she wanted to admit.

“I’m not playing games,” she said.

“Yeah?” Lucian said. “Then tell me why you picked the bastard son of the family over your two golden boys. I’ve been invisible to all of you for years. Now suddenly you want to tie yourself to me? What changed?”

Eleanor hesitated. “Because you took my virginity.”

Lucian almost coughed up his coffee. He immediately took a tissue to wipe his lips. “You were a virgin?”

“When we had sex? Yes.”

“You… stop talking like this is not a serious matter.”

“But that’s not the entire reason I wanted to marry you.”

Lucian tilted his head, still skeptical. “Enlighten me.”

She leaned in slightly.

“Damien smiles at what he wants. Sebastian calculates it. But you? You build it. You work for it. You’ve never needed anyone’s approval. And that’s exactly why you scare them.”

Lucian scoffed. “You think flattery’s going to work?”

“No,” she said. “But honesty might.”

He studied her for a long moment. “You don’t know me. You never did.”

Eleanor stared at him. He was right. She didn’t know everything about him except for the hot night they shared. But she knew he was the only person who could interrupt her faith.

“I’m trying to.”

Lucian narrowed his eyes. “So this is you trying? Coming in here, dragging your designer bag and high-end perfume into my quiet corner of the world, asking me to marry you like it’s a business deal?”

Eleanor stiffened. Lucian leaned forward, voice low. “Don’t confuse wanting to escape your parents with wanting to use me.”

Her throat tightened. But she didn’t back down.

“I am finally choosing something that isn’t wrapped in their expectations or anyone else’s schemes. I am serious, Lucian. The only man I want to marry is you.”

Lucian stared at her. Then finally, finally… Lucian sat back, lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk.

“You’re either completely out of your mind, or you’re desperate.”

“Can’t I be both?”

The waitress came by to refill his cup, then turned to Eleanor. “Anything for you, my lady?”

“I’ll have the same,” she said.

Lucian raised a brow. “You drink black coffee?”

“I do today.”

He studied her for a second longer, then nodded once. “So, are you accepting my proposal, Lucian?”

“What?”

“My marriage proposal.”

Lucian coughed, diverting his gaze away from Eleanor, but gave no answer.