A family’s secret

Chapter Seven

Gabriella's POV

Son? Gold digger? Those two words rung loudly in my ears. I took a few steps backward, staggered by the shock. I tried to put two and two together but everything still felt confusing. I mean of course she was definetly Lucian's mother, just judging by her appearance, they looked so much alike. What I really wondered was what she was doing here and why had she tagged me as a gold digger?

I managed to step fully into the living room, clutching my bag tight, my eyes never left Lucian's mother for once. His mother eyed me with so much disdain and disgust, I felt like a complete fool in her eyes and just as she seemed like she was about to bark another insult at me, Lucian appeared out of nowhere, a charming smile plastered on his face.

"Gabriella, you are home so soon. I thought you said you had a business dinner?" He raised at brow at me.

I gulped a lump down my throat and waved that off immediately. "It ended already." I said with a straight face. What I was mostly concerned about was Lucian's mother and what she was doing here.

"Oh, so soon?" Lucian muttered to himself. He cleared his throat and pointed at his mother. "Anyways, Gabriella I would like you to meet my mother, Victoria." he said, his eyes gleaming with warmth.

I was not surprised at that. I mean what did she need now when she had not even been present at our wedding, to sum it all, I had never even seen a picture of her. I had always assumed she was just a distant figure in Lucian's life. I mean judging by the way Lucian barely ever talked about her or interacted with her, I assumed they both did not care so much about each other.

"Mother." I paused to clear my throat and then I continued to say. "It is such a huge pleasure to finally meet you. Lucian has said so much about you." I said forcing a smile on my face and trying to my best to ignore the part where she had just addressed me as a gold digger.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down. "So, you are the woman who snagged my son's heart," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "I must say, I am not impressed at all Lucian, I thought you could do better than this." She sneered, now gazing at her son.

I felt a sting from her words, but I tried to keep my cool. Well maybe it was because I had little confidence in me, I knew I was beautiful and I was a hundred percent sure she was not judging me by my physical appearance but rather by my societal status.

According to society standards, I knew wealthy people like Lucian and his family were supposed to interact with people of their class.

Victoria ignored my gesture, she turned to Lucian instead. "I do not know what you see in her, Lucian. She is just a gold digger, after all." She spat out bitterly. Almost like she was trying to get a reaction out of me. Her words did hurt me but not enough to make me flare up.

I gazed at Lucian and I noticed his face darken, and he stepped forward, his eyes flashing with anger. "That is enough, Mother," he said, his voice firm. "Gabriella is my wife, and I will not have you insulting her."

Surprisingly Victoria just laughed instead. Her cold laughter echoed loudly, "Oh, Lucian, you are so vulnerable. She is just using you for your money and status."

I mentally scoffed. If only she knew that it was the other way round. Lucian was the one that had proposed a contract marriage to me in the first place. As a matter of fact, our marriage was just a mere contract. We both needed each other for selfish purposes.

Victoria stayed a little longer to have a private discussion with her son. Of course, I knew their discussion was revolved around me because I had eavesdropped. Victoria kept complaining about me to Lucian but I was grateful that Lucian stood up for me all throughout his conversation with his mother.

I expected her to pass the night here but she left immediately after her discussion with her son, although she made a promise to return back soon.

As I and Lucian sat in the living room in silence. I decided to ask a question, I turned to Lucian, my eyes blazing. "Why did she talk to me like that? Does she hate me that much?" I questioned.

Lucian's face softened. He turned to me with an apologetic look and said "I am sorry, Gabriella. I know my mother can be... difficult. I also did not expect that much from her but you do not have to worry about anything. I will handle her."

Lucian and i were unable to continue the conversation the moment my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, my heart racing as I saw the number of the private investigator I had hired to find my missing brother. I knew he had some news for me, all I good hope was that it would be in my favour.

I rose to my feet and excused myself from Lucian's presence.

I answered the call and pressed the phone close to my ears.

"Gabriella, I have got more news for you." James said, his voice low and urgent. "I had to dig into your family's past, you know just to see whether you guys had any enemies and I think I might have found something important."

My heart skipped a beat. "What is it?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and for a moment, I thought I had lost the connection until James' voice suddenly blared out loud, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Gabriella, your parents... they are not who you think they are."

I felt my heart race really fast and I felt chills run through my veins. What did James mean? Who were my parents, really?