“Sit down.” the judge ordered, with a sigh that sounded more weary than Rose expected “I feel I must begin the reading of this sentence by confessing that I know several of the many judges who have had this inheritance process in their hands. And honestly, even after so many reports of how you Vamcap family always found a way to turn the tables and bring new twist into the courtroom, I hadn't believed it was at such a high level until I saw it for myself today. New evidence, new witnesses, witnesses talking for over an hour... All this because of an inheritance case that should have been resolved a long time ago...” She put her hand on her temple, as if she could hardly believe this was happening.
"In any case, what this court saw today was proof that family problems can be taken to another level when it comes to money." the judge continued, pulling out the first piece of paper on top of her desk to read it “However, it is not up to the law to make“Mommy, mommy, look!” Rose turned in time to see Alec running towards her, as usual with Nick happily at her heels, a piece of paper that was almost the size of her in his hands "I finished my poster for my school's Family Day!"“Good, dear!” she celebrated, quickly taking out the batch of colorful cookies that she was baking inside one of the ovens in her bakery, opening her arms to welcome her son still with the oven gloves “Oh, Alec, I know you are excited to show me the drawing, but don't rush in here like that, okay? The space is very small and you could end up tripping over something and getting hurt.” Rose kissed his cheek, which every day seemed to be getting less rounded and childish, before lifting the other edge of the cardboard, so she could look at him “Is this us? It looks so beautiful, darling.” she sighed, enchanted, even though she didn't know if it was just her mother's eyes or if her son really had a very promis
"I'm sorry if this sucks, but you can make class 47 about romance at a time like this." Aaron murmured, taking a step away from her, but Rose didn't even have time to ask what he was doing, before her husband dropped to one of his knees and finally revealed what he had been hiding behind his back all this time: a blue velvet box with a silver ring encrusted with so many little diamonds she couldn't even count, all arranged around a huge stone that sparkled too bright to not be a diamond “I've been thinking for months about how to do this in the best possible way, in the nicest place and with the most romance. But, my idiotic family told me I was self-sabotaging, putting a damper on every idea I had instead of just doing it all at once.” he grumbled, looking towards the door.Still in shock, Rose followed his gaze and saw that the kitchen door was no longer closed. Instead, it was wide open and all the Vamcaps, plus his sister and brother-in-law, were huddled there,
Rose couldn't tell whether or not she wanted this trip to the mansion to end at once or if it lasted forever. She didn't consider herself an exhibitionist and certainly the shame would haunt her forever if they were caught, but there was something about having one of Aaron's hands shoved inside her pants while the other was on the steering wheel was making her feel like she was capable of coming right then and there. Well, in the first place, she was the one who unbuttoned and unzipped her pants to let him caress her pussy, but, in her defense, it was he who started teasing her through the fabric of her jeans until she couldn't take it anymore.Lip clamped between her teeth, she saw the path outside the window go by in a flash, certainly faster than traffic laws allowed, as she braced her hands on the seat so she could roll her hips against his hand as discreetly as possible. Not that she thought anyone could really see through the smoky windows of that car, but still, Rose fel
“Why did we let my grandmother organize this party, anyway?” Aaron snorted in a low voice, his arms around the bride's waist, while he watched all the guests, most of whom were called by Adele, walking through the largest of the mansion's halls, talking and drinking."Because she wouldn't have let us have a minute's peace if we hadn't allowed her to throw an engagement party for us." Rose chuckled, totally relaxed as ever in a situation where they had to shake hands with nearly a hundred people. “Actually, I'd say she allowed us to announce that we're engaged at her event, if you pay close attention. Besides…” his bride turned her face and, looking in the same direction as her, Aaron realized that there was a cluster of gentlemen the same age as Adele gossiping quietly nearby, with judgmental gazes, as they watched Jullian smile at Adele without any hesitation “It's an important day for them, too.”“Do you really think this
“Oh, Adele, allow me to be the first of our guests to congratulate you on your engagement.” the old woman, who seemed to be leading the other two, broke into an extremely white smile, her blue eyes narrowing with pure malice, and while Aaron would never be able to remember the name of an insufferable high society crone like that, the look on his grandmother's face told him all there was to know about that guest's intentions.“I appreciate it, Melanie. And thank you so much for being here in person today. When I sent the invitation to Westcote, I never thought it would be you coming to represent your family.” Adele commented, with the haughty posture Aaron always saw his grandmother assume when she got defensive.“My daughter-in-law is always busy with her business in the Middle East at this time of year, so obviously I couldn't let our family pass up an event as important as your grandson's engagement. And, I'm glad I did. You certainly know h
“Unbend that tiara. Can't you see it's at a completely wrong angle? And the bouquet? Don't tell me you made the mistake of mixing camellias with peonies this time too, right? It's not enough for me to be almost embarrassed by that arch of flowers outside." Adele didn't stop talking for a single minute to the maids who were tidying the room around her, with far more breath and energy than Rose would have, even though she was four times her age."Rose, can you line up the choker around your neck?" Grace whimpered softly "I'm afraid Adele will drink my blood if she realizes I got it wrong."“Don't worry, Grace, it's just a matter of angle.” Rose laughed, calming her sister, but even so she gently touched the silver line full of pink diamonds that was around her neck, until she was hugging her neck perfectly "Better?"“I don't know how Grandma didn't pull these jewels out of the family vault at one of the many parties you went to with Aaron.”
“And so we can mix the ingredients better and make a perfect pineapple wine jelly. Come on, don't be shy, you can taste it.” Rose smiled at the new recruits who were standing around the kitchen counter in the pastry shop, watching intently as she made her new stuffing recipe.As the young interns began to eat, happy as children, Rose turned away from the counter and practically ran to the kitchen door, where it was more airy, when she heard a whimper that she knew very well. Carefully, she lifted the hood of the pram leaning against the door, smiling to find a pair of large, obsidian-black eyes looking around with a mixture of distrust and curiosity, until they seemed to notice she was there and immediately the whimpering turned into a real cry."Oh, it's okay, Alice." Rose chuckled at her sly little girl, picking her up and causing the squealing to stop immediately, replaced by a happily babbling “Mommy is here now.”“Sorry again for mak
Most kids learned from their parents that strangers were not to be trusted, especially strangers you met on the internet and had never seen their faces before. In the case of Grace Springs, however, it was her older sister who had taught her that. So she knew very well how horrified and worried Rose would be to learn that she was doing exactly that right now."How's your day?" The message flashed in the in-game personal chat after the match ended, and with a smile, Grace clicked to open the message and reply from her friend Simon.Well, theoretically his nickname was still TallMole95, but they were long past that stage of knowing each other's real names. Seven months in all, in fact, since she'd managed to get hold of one of the notebooks in her father's study. Rose always said that she needed to avoid getting into trouble with Elisabeth and Michael as much as possible, especially while her sister wasn't back from college, but after those two had sold the portable game con