"Seems like she won't be lasting that long here," Adrian murmured beneath his breath, his gaze darkening with a mixture of anger and desire as they roved down her body.
From her hair pulled into a messy ponytail, to her pale face, to her confused blue eyes, down to her red cheeks and puckered lips. He stopped himself from scrutinising her any further because... fuck! Even in old clothes that looked three times her size, she looked as desirable and tempting as any other woman would in lingerie.
A pity she would be dying soon.
Realizing he must have been staring at her a little too much, Adrian shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Wait, what the hell had he been thinking? She was his father's woman, and even though he knew she would not last in their kind of world, that didn't mean he should think about her in such way.
She was simply a forbidden fruit.
Eve.
Well, her name was fitting.
''What the fuck are you wearing? And who the hell are you?''
He was snapped out of his thoughts one more time, this time by his sister's voice. At the anger he sensed in Annika's question, his lips curved into a smirk and he leaned back into his chair. The impending drama was too much for him to miss.
Back To Present...
Genevieve stopped dead in her tracks at the heavy anger she sensed in the tone of the person who asked the question, even though she was yet to see who owned the feminine voice.
She looked down at her body, and back up at the faces of the people in the dining area with her. At least, the faces of those seated at the table right now that were staring back at her. All five pairs of eyes.
She recognized Roberto from the previous night sitting at the head of the table. Her new husband, staring at her like he was seeing someone else in her.
To his left sat an identical looking woman, eyes widened in a mixture of shock and horror, and on his right sat a brunette whom Genevieve had an inkling would either be her age or just older by a few years. This one also looked shocked, but there also seemed to be a hint of fear in her emerald eyes.
As if he could not bear her ignoring him any longer, Adrian cleared his throat, pulling her gaze to the other side of the table where he was sitting. His was the only one whose nonchalant face didn't bear shock. But for some reason, it didn't surprise Genevieve that he would be such an emotionless devil as she could still remember vividly what he did the previous night.
However, even with the memory of him shooting the auctioneer swirling through her mind and the tense atmosphere in the room, her mind didn't fail to register the fact this man was more handsome in broad daylight than he was in the auction hall last night.
With his silky black hair tousled, a few strands resting over his face, he looked like a domesticated, alluring and refined angel... of death.
However, Adrian only held her gaze for a moment more before diverting his attention sideways, causing Genevieve's eyes to follow his line of sight to a beautiful, curvy girl with ginger hair whom she guessed to be around her age. The girl's hands that were resting on the table were clenched tightly into fists.
Seeing the fire in her hazel eyes sent a chill through Genevieve's spine and without needing anyone to tell her, she knew this girl had to be one of the 'noble women' in the house that the head maid Penelope was speaking of earlier.
'Speaking of Penny, where the hell did the woman go anyways?' she thought.
Genevieve spinned around to look for the stern maid, her brows arching in confusion when she found her still standing with some other maids at the foot of the staircase. Couldn't she see the situation she was in? She was the one who prepared the clothes, so shouldn't she be the one to answer the question?
''Penny, what are you…?'' she started to ask, but was rudely interrupted by the same anger filled voice from behind.
''Didn't you hear my question?'' Annika demanded. ''Who are you and why are you in my mum's clothes?''
Genevieve flinched, subconciously taking a step back.
''Well... I am..."
''That is her. My new wife, and you and Adrian's new mother,'' Roberto interrupted her mid sentence. The shock on his own face had worn off, and he was now looking at Genevieve with intrigue as he added, "Doesn't she look beautiful in her predecessor's dress?"
The heads of everyone sitting at the table snapped in his direction, and even Adrian had a small furrow in his brows as he watched the scene. He, just like everyone else in the dining area, had expected Roberto to be the one with the worst reaction at the sight of what Genevieve was wearing.
Judging by the reaction he always had when similar incidents happened in the past, half of them hadn't even thought they would see her leave the room alive. But it seemed like their expectations had been dashed, seeing as their Don didn't look the least bit angry and even had a smile on his face right now.
Oblivious to what was going on in the others' minds, Roberto continued, ''Beautiful morning to you, Genevieve. You look different.'' He waved her forward, ''Though I must say, your way of letting me know we didn't prepare well for your arrival is kind of funny. Don't worry, you will be taken for shopping after breakfast.''
Genevieve stood there, gaping at him, until he waved again.
''Come over here. I will introduce you to everyone in your new family, and then we can get started on breakfast.''