4. Caroline Knight

“Oh.. so she got married to THAT Max?” Adam angrily asks.

Eleanor’s blood boils when she meets her father. There was never a connection between them. He always wanted a son but settled for 2 daughters instead. And only because Rose couldn’t bore more children further, he had to stop hoping. But her poor mother even gave him the liberty to re-marry but somehow he didn’t wish to take a chance.

Was it the love for his wife or the fear that if his second wife also gives birth to a girl, it will crush his manly ego, she doesn’t want to know. During her early childhood, she always wanted to spend more time with her father. They say fathers love their girls more than boys. But there was nothing of that sort in their home. She always saw her father pinpointing their mistakes, shouting and screaming at them for almost everything.

"You girls have no choice," Adam continued to bicker, frustration evident in his voice. The dimly lit room reflected the tension, casting long shadows across the family drama unfolding. "Always choose the wrong side. If Avery had married the man her father chose, she would roll in money today."

"Money is not everything," Eleanor interjected, her eyes revealing a mix of defiance and hurt.

"It is everything. And at least you don't negate that, Eleanor. Didn't you choose that filthy modeling career to earn money?" Adam's accusatory tone lingered in the air.

Eleanor clenched her fist, her nails digging into her palm. "That was my dream, and I wanted to stand on my own feet. It is not a cheap profession."

"I don't see it that way," he barked, his gaze fixed on Eleanor, as if trying to impose his perspective.

"Well, then don't see it. Just ignore it like you have always done with every wish of your daughters." Eleanor's retort held a mixture of frustration and years of suppressed resentment.

"Eleanor," Rose pleaded, her voice tinged with worry, as she tried to mediate the escalating conflict. "Please, don't fight, you both."

"Mom, wait," Eleanor shrugged off her mother's hand and stepped towards her father. The room seemed to shrink with the intensity of the confrontation.

"You fixed my marriage to the Royals?" Rose's eyes widened in shock as she processed Eleanor's revelation. Adam, standing defiant, remained unapologetic. He was glad she got to know it from the outside. He had no patience for explaining why he orchestrated such a pivotal life decision.

"Yes," her father responded curtly, his voice echoing through the dimly lit room, where shadows seemed to dance to the rhythm of their strained conversation.

"Why?" Eleanor questioned, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, catching the subtle play of emotions on her father's face.

"What do you mean by why? You are grown up. I cannot wait for you to elope with some stranger like your elder sister did," he retorted, his frustration manifesting in the tenseness of his shoulders and the subtle creases on his forehead. The palpable tension in the room seemed to thicken with every passing moment.

"Don't lie, Father," she snapped, her voice cutting through the silence like a sharp blade. "I know you are very conscious of your name and fame at this place, but it's hard to believe you agreed to get me married to a Royal. You hate them, don't you?"

"I do," he nodded solemnly, his admission hanging in the air like an unspoken truth. The room seemed to hold its breath, anticipating the revelation of long-buried family secrets. "But they put up this proposal and want to end the enmity between us. We all need to put behind our pasts."

Eleanor remained unconvinced, her skepticism etched across her face like a canvas painted with defiance. The subtle interplay of light and shadow accentuated the complex emotions swirling between father and daughter.

"Put your past behind, but don't make me sacrifice for that. I am not going to marry that man," she declared with determination, her words echoing against the walls of the room, carrying the weight of a decision that could reshape the course of her life.

"Why?" he shouted, frustration seeping into his voice, reverberating through the room like an unsettling echo.

"He is a goon; you didn't find anyone else for your daughter?" Eleanor snapped, her words cutting through the air like shards of glass, leaving a trail of disdain in their wake. The room seemed to shrink with the intensity of their confrontation.

"He belongs to the Royals; don't talk so low about him," her father defended, attempting to maintain a semblance of dignity in the face of his daughter's accusations. The soft glow of the lamp on the nearby table cast a warm yet eerie light, creating a backdrop for the familial clash.

"Royals?" she scoffed, her tone filled with a mixture of bitterness and sarcasm. "The same family whom you never liked? Who always gave you competition your whole life and finally took over the throne, leaving you hopeless?"

The room, a silent witness to the generational complexities and unresolved conflicts, seemed to embody the weight of the past. The air, thick with the scent of tension, held within it the echoes of choices and resentments that had shaped the family's history.

Adam Watson stares at his daughter with frustration in his eyes.

“You don’t have manners to talk to your father” he shouts. “I am not giving you a choice Eleanor. This is my order. Next week is your wedding with Kayden Knight and that’s final. Don’t even try to step out of this house until then” he didn't wait for her to argue and left.

Eleanor’s jaw drops at the sudden threat from her father. He is behaving like a Jailer. But it doesn't matter how much her father pins her for this marriage, she knows how she has to deny it. She will herself visit the Royals tomorrow and cut this alliance.

____

THE KNIGHT PALACE

Kayden Knight gets down the car and heads inside. All the guards and servants bow their heads as a gesture of giving respect to the Royal son of this family. He doesn’t care. He stops at the living room where his grandmother is enjoying her evening tea.

Caroline Knight, the present head of this family doesn’t get along with her elder grandson because of his high headedness but him being the only one now to take their generation forward makes her be cordial to him.

"Did Max's wedding take place?" she inquired, her eyes searching his for answers.

"When I take a task in my hand, nothing can stop it from succeeding," Kayden replied confidently, his posture exuding a sense of authority and determination. The grandeur of the palace hall reflected the weight of his words, adorned with opulent decor that spoke of centuries of regality.

"I still don't understand why you had to help him?" she questioned, her tone a blend of curiosity and skepticism. "He is a commoner, Kayden. Anyone else from this palace would have done this work for him. You are a Royal; you have more responsibilities than abducting some bride and getting him married to your best friend." She said with a roll of her eyes, making him frustrated.

Kayden’s eyes blaze with anger. There is no point in arguing with this old lady. She will never realize what he shares with Max. His grandma’s inclination is more towards the side where money rolls. He wonders how she agreed to fix his marriage to a Governor’s daughter rather than some Royal suitor.

Probably she was short of options. He has rejected some 26 Royal family girls whose proposal he was offered. None of them had that charm to attract him. Some of the girls were no less than fake dolls who only look good to be flaunted while the others were too docile and passive to capture his attention.

But the one he met today, Eleanor Watson, his present suitor is totally unlike the rest. She made his heart skip a beat the moment he saw her. But he is still not convinced by her temper and nature of arguing. He should be controlling her before she breaks into his zone and alters his routines.

"I heard Watson's daughter is back," Caroline casually adds, her words hanging in the air like a veil of intrigue. The room, adorned with antique furniture and dimly lit by the soft glow of a chandelier, sets the stage for the unfolding conversation.

"We shall do the engagement tomorrow," she declares, a hint of excitement in her voice.

He, however, remains indifferent, already making his way upstairs. Unfazed, Caroline steps in his path, determined to capture his attention.

"You will need to accompany me to Watsons tomorrow," she insists, her eyes fixed on him.

"I don't have time for this nonsense," he growls, his impatience evident in the harshness of his tone.

"It is called an engagement ceremony. Not nonsense," she snaps back, her retort laced with a touch of defiance.

"Same for me," he retorts dismissively, his mind seemingly preoccupied with matters beyond the upcoming event.

He walks away, leaving Caroline to ponder in the quiet room. The delicate fragrance of tea wafts through the air as she sips, contemplating the enigma before her. If he succeeded in giving justice to his friend's love life, why is he still irritated? Did something happen in the church?

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