Chapter 296: Chapter 296

This remark drew startled gazes from Alex and Geneva. They could not fathom that this was the only problem that Brad saw out of everything that had been said. Even Ian had an amused smirk.

Ian did not bother with his younger brother’s concerns, for everyone had their own priorities. However, Brad was dead serious about it. Many scenarios ran through his head about what to do and why his parents had waited almost four decades before they brought this up.

’What do they aim to gain from this? What are they planning?’ Brad was not sure, but the one thing he knew deep down was that he did not want to assume any managerial or heir-related roles. Ian was made for that, and for that reason only, Ian had to be Alex’s first son!

Geneva knew her two sons like the back of her hand. Her eyes moved from Ian to Brad, and then she sighed as her eyes took on a faraway glaze of her own. She had vowed to herself never to think of those times again for Alex’s sake.

Even though she understood Alex’s thinking, Geneva did not wish to revisit that pain of betrayal from then on. She had loved deeply and had been hurt even deeper.

About four decades back ....

Geneva’s maternal home .....

"Geneva! Come back here this instant!"

Twenty-six-year-old Geneva, young and full of life and pride, only looked over her shoulder once and then left decisively. She skipped lightly along the path in their garden and out of her home.

"Young lady! I am talking to you!"

Geneva was fed up with this! She had delayed long enough but knew she could not delay any more, which scared her. Even though Geneva had been told that she was a charming girl, she did not understand why the person she had been engaged to had insisted on never meeting her.

It was always one excuse or the other. Was she that unlovable? The agreement with the Thornston family had been such that she was supposed to have married the young master, Alex, the year she had turned twenty-five. However, Geneva did not want to marry someone who detested her that much. In Geneva’s eyes, that is what Alex’s actions or inactions showed her.

At her age, she stood slightly taller than most of her peers. She was a little on the plump side but not overly so, with all the curves in the right places. Her hair, which had never been cut fell in waves down her back as she preferred to let it lose and let the wind rush through it. Geneva was a ’nature person’.

She preferred walking barefoot in the gardens behind their residence, which were connected to a small natural forest just beyond that. She called it, ’Being one with nature.’ She preferred fresh flowers in her hair and not artificial ones or hairpins. She also liked to pick fruits right from the trees and eat them.

Obviously, her tutors and nanny hated it, but Geneva was not a tamed girl. To preserve her beauty and also to prevent gawking eyes, she had been homeschooled and prepped solely to be the mistress and matriarch of the Thornston estate.

She was allowed to read wide, but the courses and topics were all related to home management, culinary skills, accounting, reading, knitting and the likes of those. Her classes and tutors had been specifically prepared for that role only.

Even though Geneva had grown up like that, it did not mean that she was not curious about other things.

In short, Geneva had led a very sheltered life.

On this day, her nanny had implored her to stay in-house because of reasons that Geneva did not even bother to listen to. She felt suffocated and wanted an outlet. Stepping out of the house and into the back garden, she fluked her feet and got rid of her slippers.

Geneva’s feet sunk slightly into the dump black soil, and she sighed in contentment. She loved this part of her day when she could just run off. Her nanny was slightly older and could not keep up with her.

It was not like she even wanted her nanny around at her age but her parents wanted an eye on her around the clock, so nanny stuck around.

Hearing the nanny’s footsteps catching up with her, Geneva dashed off through a small footpath and down a small hill. She knew the path by heart and was able to avoid all the pieces of protruding rocks and thorns along the small footpath.

Geneva ducked under trees, picking a few berries along the way until she came to a small stream.

She bent and tied her long dress into a knot mid-thigh to allow air to wash over her legs. Finally, she sat down and let her legs dangle along the shore of the stream. It had taken her about half an hour of light running to get there, and she knew that no one would find her there. It was her sanctuary.

She lay back and stared at the cloudless bright sky.

"Nature is breathtaking," she sighed softly, letting her thoughts return to the impending marriage.

"I must find a way to break this engagement, but I don’t know how, and it’s frustrating that they will not let me out to see anyone! What is so good about being the matriarch of that estate, anyway? I just want to be me! What is so good about being in that position anyway? It would be me being released from one cage into another! So annoying!"

She flicked her legs lightly and then dipped them into the cool water.

The stream was shallow, so she could see all the tiny smooth rocks underneath it. Geneva turned on her side, casually picking up small pebbles and throwing them into the stream. She was not worried about being dirty as she turned to find comfortable positions by the water and on the bare ground. This was what she preferred. After a while, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

She was not afraid of any animals or unwanted things as this was a regular occurrence to her. But then, on this day, just as her eyes closed, Geneva could not shake off the feeling that there were a pair of eyes on her. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up. She was not scared, just curious. Geneva’s eyes roamed the surroundings for a while until she found the culprit.

’So, I was not imagining it!’

She thought as her eyes met the startling molten silver eyes of the stranger on the other side of the stream. She sat p fully and kept her gaze on him as her heart started to pump blood very fast. Her excitement shot up as the man straightened to his full height after their gazes met.

He was unlike anyone or anything she had ever met. The man looked barely twenty but had an air of maturity that looked far beyond his age. She would later find out that he was years older than her. His features were firm and feminine. In short, he was handsome to the point that he would turn heads wherever he went. He was also slim-built and tall but not overly so.

Geneva’s gaze was locked on his lips even from afar as a phrase in the last romance novel she had read popped up into her head,

’I wanted to kiss him so bad just looking at those juicy full lips that literally begged me to suck hard on!’

She was not sure what had happened, but the man let out a hearty laugh. They were like music to her soul.

’Get a grip! Geneva, back to earth!’ She chanted in her head. Why think of that silly girl in that novel now?! The novel in question was like a fools’ paradise when she had read it but the words echoing in her mind made a whole lot of sense than when she had read them.

It was just that Geneva had no idea how to control her limbs and the influx of pheromones that looked to be clouding her judgement just from laying eyes on this stranger in the middle of nowhere.

He rose to his full height and stepped on the rocks in the stream, making his way to her. Geneva remained the same way until he crossed over to her and then squatted so that he was eyes level with her seated.

They both asked in a whisper at the same time.

His voice sent goosebumps through Geneva, and despite all the warning flags in her head, she chose to remain close to him without moving back.

His clothing was weird, as if he had stepped off the set of a fantasy movie but Geneva did no find that odd.

It was a few minutes later that something clicked.

The other side of the stream was a dead end, and there was no path leading or coming from anywhere. So, was he already there when she had arrived or where had he come from?

Geneva skewed her head, staring deep into his eyes in fascination. She was sure that there had been no one there when she had arrived as there weren’t many places that could hide a man his size,

"Did you just come out of thin air?" Geneva asked curiously, and the young man nearly jumped out of his skin!

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