Chapter 2 Asher Zane trone

Chapter 2

May's POV

"You ungrateful brat!" I rolled my eyes at Daisy as her true colors finally showed.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. Did they really think they could deceive me with their fake kindness?

I had hoped for their acceptance, but I wasn't desperate enough to fall for their pretense. They were so plastic.

"So? What now?" I turned to Giovanni.

Giovanni shook his head and sighed, clearly trying to control his anger.

"I might actually believe you if you had a job for me," I added, grabbing a piece of pork chop with my hand and dipping it into the sauce.

"How disgusting," one of my sisters sneered in disgust.

"Don't you know how to use a fork?" another asked, laughing mockingly.

I couldn't care less about what they said.

I simply grinned at them mischievously and took a bite of my pork chop while maintaining eye contact.

"Ew..."

"I lost my appetite."

I chuckled. "Oh, please. You haven't even touched your food since I arrived."

Well, suit yourselves! I'm going to enjoy this pork chop.

Thanks for the meal!

"Ahem!"

We all turned our attention to Giovanni. He had regained his composure. I smiled at him.

I scooped some rice onto my plate. "So? What now?"

"Maria, you're already 25, right? I think it's time-"

I immediately cut him off. "Wrong. I'm 28. I was born before Felix, which means my mother came before Daisy."

"That wh*re of a mother you had," Daisy spat venomously.

I simply glared at her. "Yes. You never fail to remind me of that."

My mother raised me until I was fifteen. That's when she revealed that my father was a millionaire. She passed away soon after, and I searched for Giovanni, thinking he would be my family. But instead, he hid me from them, ashamed of my existence. When Daisy found out, it only pushed me further away from Giovanni.

"As I was saying, you're already 28, and I just can't let you continue living in that place," Giovanni continued.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

Is this for real? Because it sounds awfully sarcastic.

"So, I suggested to Daisy that it's time for you to be acknowledged as an Alaister."

I glanced at Daisy to see if this was true, but she only shot me a murderous glare, as if she wanted to kill me.

I smirked at her teasingly. "Is that really the attitude of someone who agreed to this?" I asked sweetly.

"You b*tch!" she screamed, ready to lunge at me, but Giovanni held her back.

"Daisy, enough! We've already discussed this!" he yelled, making Daisy freeze.

Even I was taken aback-he had never raised his voice at Daisy because of me before.

He must be serious about this.

I straightened up and stopped eating.

"As I was saying, you will become an Alaister," he stated, turning to me.

I glanced at my siblings, trying to gauge their reactions. The girls avoided my gaze, but Felix remained silent, listening to Giovanni.

"What's the catch?" I asked, looking him in the eye.

There was no way they suddenly accepted me out of pity. Giovanni never did anything without expecting something in return. Even when he gave me an allowance during my school years, it always came with conditions.

He studied me carefully.

"You will marry one of my colleagues."

My eyes widened.

"Don't worry. He's your age, he's ready to settle down, and I already promised him my firstborn daughter. He's a decent man, so you don't have to worry."

I raised an eyebrow. He made it sound as if I was just adopting a goldfish.

Marriage?! How would I even know how to be a wife? I never even thought about getting married at my age!

"No way! Absolutely not!"

"What?!" Daisy snapped. "That's the only way we'll accept you, you witch!"

"Daisy!" Giovanni scolded before turning back to me. "Think about it. The man you're going to marry is the owner of Heresy Estate."

The housing company?

"He's a rich man. I don't think there will be an issue-"

"Isn't his business struggling?" I interrupted.

They fell silent. It was all over the news every year. The business was still running, but it had been losing money for a while. People weren't exactly lining up to buy houses from him.

"And even if he's wealthy, what about his personality?"

Giovanni let out a long sigh, as if exhausted by my questioning.

"He's a busy man."

I turned to Felix, noticing that Giovanni seemed to ignore my concerns.

"You'll probably see him only once a month," Felix added. "He's a mysterious guy. You don't have to interact with him much. The marriage is just for you to carry his name. You can still remarry if he allows it."

And that's supposed to convince me?! This sounds like a lifeless marriage!

I knew rich men in this country could have multiple wives, but still...

"I'll give you two million for your effort-"

I raised an eyebrow and turned to Giovanni.

"W-what? Did I hear that right?"

"He's giving you two million," Daisy smirked, looking as if she had just won the lottery.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Mood swings much? You were mad a minute ago, and now you're happy? Is this your menopausal stage?"

"What?!"

"Five," I countered, turning to Giovanni.

I wasn't stupid. My life was on the line here.

His eyes narrowed at my demand.

"Three," he said firmly.

"Four," I shot back, standing up with a smirk. "Enjoy your meal. I'll see you in your study later for my check."

Giovanni was now preparing the contract I needed to sign to make our agreement official.

"Call me Dad from now on, and refer to your Tita Daisy as Mom," he said.

I rolled my eyes. This was the first time I had ever heard him say that.

He never let me call him 'Dad' before.

I stood in front of his desk while he sat in his swivel chair.

"No one should know that you're my illegitimate child."

"That's true. In this world, having a child out of wedlock is considered a disgrace-not just for you, but for your entire family."

He handed me the contract and the check.

"I'll read this at home first. I might want to add or remove something."

"What? You already have the check. Just sign-"

A knock on the door interrupted him, making us turn our heads. Their butler, Dominic, stepped inside.

"Mr. Thorne wants to see you."

Dad immediately stood up and walked toward me. "Behave," he whispered before standing beside me. "Let him in," he said with his head held high.

"Mr. Asher Thorne!" the butler announced as he opened the massive double doors.

Two well-built men entered first, followed by a man dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt, black pants, and a long black coat. But it wasn't his outfit that caught my attention-it was his undeniable handsomeness and deep, captivating eyes.

My heart pounded, and for a moment, time seemed to slow. It was as if he was the only person in the room.

Damn... He's gorgeous.

I quickly snapped myself out of my daze to compose myself-he was now standing right in front of me.

How did he end up here?

"Asher! Perfect timing. I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Maria Zia Alaister," Giovanni said with a smile.

I took a deep breath and extended my hand.

"Just call me May-May."

He frowned slightly as he looked at my hand, then let his gaze travel from my head to my feet.

I suddenly felt self-conscious about my plain white shirt and jeans.

"Sorry, I just came from a wake."

Instead of shaking my hand, he took it gently-only to lower his head and press a soft kiss on my knuckles.

"It's nice to see you before the wedding," he said politely as he straightened up.

My mouth fell open in shock at his words. His warm hand, still holding mine, sent a jolt of electricity through my entire body.

Fillan, Elmo-goodbye! I'm leaving! I'm going with this man!

Take me now, Asher!

May's POV

Carrying my grocery bags, I made my way through our noisy alley. It was already morning-I had spent the night at Giovanni's place.

They quickly sent me off, saying they had a private discussion, so I didn't stay long at the office. That gave me the chance to cash the check and handle the contract. Luckily, the check didn't bounce.

"Hey, May-May!" Fillan greeted me excitedly when he saw me. "What's that?" He peeked into the bags I was carrying.

"Blessings, what else?" I handed him some of the bags, which he eagerly took, checking the contents.

"Wow! So much food!"

"May! You're back already?" Elmo asked as he approached.

"Oh no, just my shadow. I'm pulling a Doble Kara stunt." I handed him another bag.

"This is heavy!"

"Fillan didn't complain, though."

I walked ahead, with both of them following behind me.

"Sister May-May!"

"Hey, it's May-May!"

"sister May-May!"

I smiled as I saw the children running toward me.

"Ate May-May, did you bring us something?"

"That's a lot!"

"Ate, can I have some money?"

I high-fived the kids who raised their hands and playfully tugged at the shirts of those trying to grab the bags from Elmo.

"Let's go to my place! Or I might circumcise you all right here!"

They laughed and ran toward my rented room. As we got closer, more children were already waiting outside.

"Wow, there are so many of you!" I squeezed myself through the crowd of kids, feeling overwhelmed by their sheer number.

"sister May-May, give us some money!"

"What am I, your mother?"

"sister May-May, they said you got booked!"

"Oh really? Ask your gossiping mother where she heard that!"

"sister, my dad said you were dead because you disappeared yesterday!"

"Hey! Leave my loves alone!" Fillan scolded them.

"Eww!"

"You're not even handsome!"

*"Sam!"

*"Sam!"

"Sam!"

They all started chanting Sam's name, making me shake my head. Sam was kinder-and, let's be honest, more handsome than Fillan. He was more well-known here as my boyfriend.

When we finally reached my room, I signaled Elmo to set the bags down beside me.

"Alright, line up, you little hungry monsters!"

To Be Continued...