When the elevator opened, she trailed carefully behind Lorenzo who wheeled fully into the room and then swallowed hard when she met with the people who stood together, like they were expecting them.
Lorenzo halted, and like a puppy, she stayed behind him.
She had a strong feeling that people wouldn't like her.
It was evident Lorenzo didn't get along with them, so what were the chances that they would like her?
"There she is!" the lady from earlier, Mia, exclaimed, pointing her index finger at her.
She bowed gently at the man who glared at her before he finally talked. "Do you care to tell us what is going on?"
Instead, Lorenzo turned away from them and she breathed inwardly.
This husband of hers was not going to make things any easier for her either.
Regardless, she walked after him till they arrived at the table and when he gestured to her to settle beside him, she nodded her head and then did as told.
She started, "W… why are you…"
"I just asked you a question, Enzo!" the old man whom she had assumed to be his father burst in with others trailing behind him.
The meal was already served and Lorenzo had already picked up his cutlery before he looked up and then breathed out.
"What is it, father?"
"Who is this woman?" He spared her a cold glance, settled in a chair, and then the others did the same too.
Lorenzo picked up the glass cup filled with water, sipped a little, and then said, ever calmly. "Meet Leilani, my wife."
The loud snort that came from the older woman made her raise her brows to look at her and she could feel nothing but the hatred the woman had for her already.
She had felt it with Jonathan's mother, it was not hard to sniff it from anyone anymore.
"My wife, meet my father… his wife and their children,'' he continued despite the silence that had ensued in the room.
Leilani forced a bow at the people who glared at her like they were going to eat her alive before a thunderous laugh came up and it was from Lorenzo's mother.
Or… stepmother.
The laughter went on for a while before the girl joined in the laughter and one of the guys before the father hit the table rather vigorously.
"I am choosing to not agree with what you just said and now I am demanding a proper answer. Who is she?"
But Lorenzo no longer answered, he adjusted his cutlery in his hands and then began to eat.
"I asked you a fucking question!"
"My wife, goddamn it!" he snapped back, slamming his palms against the table.
"Wife? Your wife?" his stepmother, Agnes stood up and then stared at Leilani.
"I doubt he knows what he is talking about," she shook her head.
"Well, I got married today, and here is my bride. Dig into your food, Leilani," he urged her.
Leilani shook her head gently but held the cutlery in her hands regardless.
This might actually be the worst environment and atmosphere that she could ever eat in.
The air was too heavy.
Everyone looked like they had a lot to say.
It seemed as though it was Lorenzo against them all.
"Chill, you all!" one of the guys stood up and then clapped his hands together.
"I guess… I guess he is only trying to pull our legs," the guy, Shane, said and then chuckled.
Leilani had not caught the pun in the sentence till the other brother laughed gently and then she drew her brows.
They were mocking him.
But Lorenzo looked unbothered.
He moved gently over to her, pulled her plate closer to himself and she raised a brow.
When he took a couple of bites from her food and then nodded his head at her, assuring her that the food was safe, her gaze lowered warmly and she pressed her lips together.
When he had finally seen her dug into her food, he clasped his hands together and then started, "You wanted me to marry, didn't you?"
"Not just anyone. I was working on…"
"You think I would give you the luxury to arrange a marriage for me?"
"I do not accept this… bullshit that you call a marriage," his father snarled without care.
"I do not remember seeking your approval."
Leilani took a quick glance at Lorenzo and then his father. Unlike the old man, Lorenzo seemed to be enjoying the moment as his lips kept curving into a soft smile while the old man boiled in anger.
Whatever was going on between these people?
She could not even swallow her meal as it would not stop itself from hanging in her throat.
"Lorenzo!"
"You wanted me to marry and I have done that. Whoever I marry should never bother you. After all, yours didn't exactly bother me."
Silence fell in the room again and while they all watched him, he resumed eating his food.
"He will come around, father. He is just being rebellious," the guy who had been silent all along, Arthur said.
Lorenzo raised his head and then shook his head at the man, "You don't wanna patronize me."
"Why? Are you not being rebellious? You suddenly come in with a woman and expect that we accept her?"
"I do not remember telling any of you to accept her. She is my wife and I am more than enough for her."
"You?' Arthur laughed softly.
"You don't even have anything to offer her except your last name, so how the hell are you enough for her?"
"Ah… did you forget that father still funds your account monthly? Marriage should even be the last thing your broken ass should be thinking about," he added.
Leilani turned her head gently to look at the man who had leaned in his seat and his fist curled tightly on his thigh.
Wondering if she should reach out to him so that he would not lose his temper or just leave him to handle it however he deemed fit.
"Ever since you lost your legs in that accident, you have become… careless? Foolish and definitely intractable because…"
"You talk too much for someone who doesn't give a damn about me," Lorenzo cut him short.
"Why would I not? I need you to get back on your goddamn feet so that you would come to collect back your position as you have vowed on the day I took it from you."
Lorenzo tilted his head and then smirked, "Oh?"
"But, unfortunately, you might never use those legs again. The doctors' words, definitely not mine."