Chapter 6 Meeting his family..

Ava

"In-laws? You mean your family?"

Caleb didn't answer right away as he was occupied with giving the women an envelope each and waited for them to head out before turned to me.

"Yes, my family."

I fiddled with my fingers, feeling very uncomfortable. What did he mean he was introducing me to his family? Why would he even want to introduce me to them?

After how his girlfriend reacted, I was too scared to even imagine how his family would react.

I flinched when I felt his hand touch my cheek, looking up at him. I didn't even hear a sound or see him move, yet he was standing right in front of me.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked in a low soft voice that made me dizzy... the good kind of dizzy.

"Why?" I blurted without thinking.

"Why what?"

I had many 'whys' and I wasn't sure which of them I was asking about, but he was staring at me, waiting for a reply.

"Why are you taking me to your family?"

"Because you're my wife."

Why was that so easy for him to say and with such a straight face? I still had a feeling he married women just for the fun of it. Who knew, he was probably taking me to introduce me to his other wives.

I nodded, keeping my eyes down, but his fingers touched my chin and made me meet his eyes.

"You look beautiful."

That was a sudden compliment. I couldn't even remember the last time someone told me that.

"Thank you."

"Let's go."

He easily took my hand in his - as if it was the most natural thing to do - and led me out of the room.

The sun was already setting by the time we got out of the house to the waiting car. Who knew how long it took those women to get me ready.

I sat quietly next to Caleb, trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever was about to come.

As the car started moving, I felt Caleb's eyes on me but I didn't dare look at him. A whole minute passed with him just staring at me... two minutes!

I was feeling uneasy under that scrutinising gaze.

"Don't be so stiff." He said finally in a bored tone.

Well, if he didn't want me to be stiff, then he shouldn't stare at me like that.

"Look at me." He instructed. I'd be crazy if I didn't obey him.

I turned to look at him.

"Smile."

"What?"

"Smile. I haven't seen you smile at all."

There wasn't really anything to smile about. Even I couldn't remember the last time I had something to smile about.

I stretched the corner of my lips, showing a bit of teeth.

"That looks forced."

That's because it is forced.

"Why do you want me to smile?"

His eyes bored into mine for a moment.

"I don't just want you to smile, I want you to look at me like you're in love with me."

What the...?!

He frowned, watching my expression. I was sure it had to be something between disbelief, amusement and confusion.

"We're married, it shouldn't be a strange thing to ask." He muttered. "Can you at least pretend in front of my family? It won't matter to the men, but my grandmother has to believe this is a love marriage."

It was so confusing. For one, he had a beautiful woman who was obviously crazy about him and they're also hooking up. Since Gia said they grew up together, she was closer to being loved by him than I'd ever be. So, why marry me and then ask me to pretend it's a love marriage.

Besides his name and his girlfriend, I was yet to know anything else about him. How was I supposed to pretend to love him with such little details.

"Don't think too much about it." He said, penetrating my thoughts. "I believe the most important thing is that you don't look so scared whenever I touch you. Keep your chin up, smile and say less. Can you do that much?"

I could try.

I nodded.

Keep my chin up, don't flinch, smile and say less. I repeated that over and over again in my head, mentally coaching myself to carry out the first task given to me by Caleb.

All through the ride - the ride that went on for what felt like hours - I kept drilling myself, and by the time we arrived at the tall huge gates, I felt ready.

I thought Caleb's house was big, turns out it was just regular sized to compare to his family home. Even after we passed the gates, it took a few minutes before we got to the main building, it was as if we were going to a different country.

The mansion was jaw-droppingly huge! It had towering spires and massive pillars that made it look like a castle. The walls were a mix of shiny marble and dark stone, and the windows sparkled like a row of diamonds. It was an intimidating sight, but also strangely beautiful. I felt a thrill of excitement mixed with a little fear as we pulled up to the entrance.

Caleb helped me down from the car and he didn't let my hand go when I got down. Rather, he held on to it and stared at me.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded, flashing him a genuine smile. He returned it.

"Good."

He still held on to my hand as we walked into the house together. The decor was impressive and I had to fight to keep my jaw from actually dropping... that is, until I saw the people sitting in the living room. A room full of hard faces, cold eyes, and an unnerving sense of collective intensity.

All my mental drilling was in vain because with those piercing stares aimed at me, I just wanted to run and hide away somewhere.

I was considering it when Caleb's hand squeezed mine and I snapped out of it.

"Oh, they are here." I heard a woman's voice say. Until like the others that were dressed in luxurious dark clothes, her dress was a soft shade of purple and she had on a smile as she approached us.

"Hello, dear." She said to me all smiles.

I didn't get a chance to reply as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm happy to meet you." She pulled away. "I'm Caleb's Nonna, you can call me that."

I wasn't sure what Nonna meant, but I had a vague idea she was his grandmother.

"Nonna, this is Ava." Caleb said from next to me.

"A pretty young woman with a pretty name too. I can see why you were in such a hurry to marry her." Nonna said with a laugh.

"Still makes no sense why he wouldn't invite his family to his wedding. And she's una puttana bianca." Another woman said, this one was younger and she was sitting awfully close to another man who looked like he might be her husband.

Nonna said something to the woman in Italian and from her tone, I knew she was pissed.

The men were silent, dangerously silent and their hard stares were unwavering.

I was grateful when Nonna took my hand and asked me to help her set the dinning table. I was finally away from those piercing eyes.

"Scusa, cara. Nadia can be a little bitter sometimes."

I didn't understand half of what she said, but I smiled.

"Everyone is just uneasy because Caleb suddenly eloped, but it's my Leone's fault for pressuring him into getting married and making an heir."

So, that was it. He was pressured into getting married. Then why didn't he just marry Vale... Wait! Did she say making an heir?!

That explains why he had no qualms wanting to consummate our marriage even while we're still strangers.

"But I'm happy." Nonna went on. "Now you're both married, you can start working on making babies." She frowned slightly. "Then we can avoid Caleb and his Papis having a clash."

Oh God!