Aveline took a deep breath, and her hand holding on to two fancy bags Atlas handed her, tightened.
Her other hand was linked to his, as together, they walked into the Sinclair living room.
Again, she was hit with a sense of scrutiny, even though the room was practically empty.
"Good evening sir," a woman in uniform stopped in front of them. "Good evening ma'am." She turned to Aveline.
Aveline lifted her head in shock, not exactly expecting that her presence would be acknowledged.
"Helga, let me guess. They're already in the dining room?" He asked.
"Yes sir." She nodded.
"Alright, thanks."
He drew Aveline along with him as he took the turn towards the dining room.
Aveline's heart began to drum faster against her chest. The air conditioned house wasn't enough to keep off the sweaty palms that instantly formed.
Also, the knot in her stomach twisted up until the door to the dining slid open, and they walked in.
Everyone's eyes moved their way, and Aveline again, felt completely naked under the scrutiny of their rich, expensive, judgemental gazes.
"Look who decided to avail us with his presence," Theo surprisingly said.
"How is he already here?" Aveline thought in her mind, whilst discreetly looking around.
She recognized some of the faces present, but Atlas parents were the most noticeable to her.
"Be glad I came," he mumbled, leading Aveline to two empty seats just opposite his parents.
He drew out the chair for her to sit first, before he took his.
"Thank you." She offered him a smile.
"Welcome love," he replied, and her heart flipped.
"Love?" She thought in alarm as he sat beside her.
"It's an act. Remember," that stern voice in her head quickly replied.
"Love? Wow, so it's real?" Freya asked with a big smile on her gorgeous face.
Her voice drew Aveline's attention to her. She was seated next to the woman she remembered from the other night. They looked identical too, with Freya being a younger version.
"Why wouldn't it be true? Atlas is unpredictable." Cara Sinclair shrugged.
"That he definitely is. Good one, cuz. You've managed to take all of the atte—" the door opened, and Faiza Marek sashayed into the room.
"Good evening to the Sinclair household," she announced in a sonorous voice, as she went round kissing everyone on the cheeks.
When she stopped behind Atlas, and Aveline, she used her body to block Aveline's view as she leaned down to peck Atlas.
He served before her lips could touch him, causing her to almost fall.
Faiza's face swiftly shifted into a horrific expression.
"Oh Atlas," Freya chuckled under her breath.
"Come here, darling. Come sit here," Nadia Sinclair who had been quiet all along patted the empty chair beside her.
With a dark glare directed at Atlas who was pretending not to notice her annoyance, she stormed towards Nadia.
"I knew this dinner was going to be annoying," Reese yawned.
Atlas rolled his eyes hard, as he inwardly counted down the minutes until this disaster of a dinner would be over.
Cane Sinclair cleared his throat, and everyone's eyes went to him.
"I think it's important we address the elephant in the room instead of beating around the bush," he said.
"What elephant?" His brother, Chris, asked.
Canes' eyes went to Aveline. "Her." He pointed.
Aveline, whose head had been down the whole time, looked up to see everyone's eyes on her.
Her heart began to thump anew, and a slicing ache sprung up on her head.
"What about her?" Atlas asked, sitting up.
"Well you don't exactly expect that you'll dump on us the fact you're getting married in two days, without any prior information, and we'll just accept it without any questions." He shrugged.
"I didn't think I needed to spill my long history with Aveline. But if you all are that curious, by all means, ask your questions." He nudged his head.
"Oh I will," Cane replied, bringing his gaze back at Aveline.
Atlas' eyes met with Theo and a secret conversation immediately happened.
Cane Sinclair was usually very chill about these kinds of things. His activeness simply meant that the great Nadia Sinclair had gotten to him, and he needed to prove to her that he could keep up with her.
"What is your full name?" Cane asked.
Aveline sat up. "Aveline Parker sir," she replied.
"Parker? Doesn't ring a bell," he paused for a moment, giving room for the jab to really hit Aveline. "It's courteous to bring your in-laws gifts, don't you think?" He continued.
Aveline was at loss for words for a few seconds, up until she felt Atlas touch underneath the table.
It jolted her, right up to her feet. "Actually, I didn't come empty handed," she said, walking over to the other side of the table with the bags in her hand. "This is for you sir, and this is for you ma'am." She stretched out each bag to them.
Cane Sinclair accepted his bag with a grateful smile on his face. But Nadia Sinclair didn't even look at her.
"I'll accept that on her behalf." Faiza yanked the bag out of her hand.
"Such class," Sidney muttered sarcastically under her breath, her nose turned in disgust.
Aveline bowed her head a little before returning to her seat. Although it stung that Nadia vividly didn't like her, she was determined to prove herself.
"Whiskey? Now that's what I'm talking about." Cane whistled pleasantly.
"So easy to please," Nadia mumbled.
"What is your family into again?" Cane asked, but this time, his voice radiated so much more kindness.
Aveline briefly glanced at Atlas who ensured not to return her gaze.
He couldn't hold her hand through everything. She also needed to put in some work.
However deep down, he worried she would mess things up. From the little he has seen, it wasn't enough to judge if she could be a good liar or not.
"Art sir," she replied. "My father is an artist. He paints the best pieces," she said confidently.
Her response was so confident, it made Atlas pause. If he didn't know any better, he would have believed her.
"Oh really?! Theo is into art too. You know Theo right? He's my son's best friend." he described as if Theo wasn't right in the room with them.
Aveline smiled. Her smile was so radiant, everyone who was looking at her in that moment became momentarily enchanted.
Collectively, they agreed in their minds that she was a gorgeous girl. And that fact troubled both Nadia, and Faiza the most.
"Of course I know Theo," she said.
"Good. So Atlas said you two met in France a year ago?"
Before she could answer, food arrived, and a brief intermission ensued.
They all started to eat after everyone was served.
"So back to my question, Aveline. How did you meet Atlas?"
This time, Atlas looked at her to assure her, but she was the one that didn't return his gaze.
"We met at the Louvre in Paris . It was the memorial of my parents death, and my father's art piece was being displayed. That's where I met him." The entire room went silent immediately. Even the chewing stopped.
"I'm so sorry— about your parents," Cara Sinclair said.
Aveline looked at the woman she thought had very tough eyes, but with a lot of kindness underneath it. "Thank you."
Atlas was confused. He didn't know if she was still committing to the act or she was being honest.
To make matters worse, she was simply refusing to look at him.
"The death may be a tragic situation, but it doesn't excuse the possibilities of a lie," Nadia Sinclair who had been quiet all along, dropped a bomb, and the silence in the room completely disappeared.