Very early on, relatives from my mother's family began to arrive, for the first time, the house felt really full, on the other hand, no one from Henry's family attended, since they did not have close relatives who could accompany them. The day passed with disturbing speed and, almost without realizing it, it was time for dinner.

I helped my dear Mad get dressed in a delicate blue dress adorned with flower lace, she looked beautiful... although I knew very well what was going through her mind at that time.

At the end of the day, this compromise was a mere agreement of convenience. My parents never had a male child, if one day my father was not here, everything he had built would automatically pass to the closest male in the family. He preferred a thousand times to leave us under the protection of his best friend and his son, rather than allow my mother's family, the same one that hurt them so much in the past, to claim his property. Inviting them to our home for the first and only time was not a gesture of courtesy, it was a reminder of what they could never possess.

Madelyne's family and my parents were gathered in the living room, waiting for dinner to be ready. Meanwhile, some of her cousins ​​and we remained in the garden. I went over and over again the speech I had to give that night. Each sentence seemed more clumsy and empty than the previous one. In the end, I folded the paper and put it in my pants pocket.

—Damn... I don't think this is happening — I muttered, frustrated.

—Wouldn't you like to talk to Madelyne? —Gilbert asked, breaking the silence.

—Talk about what?

—The atmosphere is uncomfortable, Henry. Everything has gone wrong since we arrived, first Madelyne falls out of the fountain and gets hurt, then Dad gets angry about the ribbon... it would be too much to cause more problems at dinner.

—It's just sitting down to eat and saying a few words — I replied —What else could go wrong?

—Henry, you and Madelyne don't get along. If this continues, their lives could end badly.

—Don't be so dramatic Gilbert...We talked yesterday.

—Ten minutes — he replied — That's not talking.

I remained in silent.

—You have to come to a middle ground — he continued — In the end, this is just a deal. A deal that will remain between you. Nobody else has to know. Even if you continue living together, this is a good time to understand each other. That's why we came a few days before dinner.

—And what do you want me to tell her? — I asked, uncomfortable.

—Maybe... you don't want to either...

—No —I interrupted him immediately. —You know perfectly how Dad reacted when I said something similar. I'm not going to risk him treating me like that again.

Gilbert sighed.

—Then listen to her. That's all.

I nodded, without much desire.

I stood up and walked over to where Grace and Madelyne were sitting.

—Madelyne… can we talk for a moment?

To be continued…

This novel is also being published in the spanish language, through this same platform called Entre el Cielo, la Tierra y el Mar, I invite you to help me as a reader in the same way, thank you very much and we will see you in the next episode.

Att. BF Crunch <3