Ophelia and Cade met at the house and to ease the awkwardness of him coming clean about his family to her he suggested that they do a house tour. Ophelia knew the house like the back of her hand but to put him at ease she agreed and followed along.
She had chosen the house by herself when she was still much younger. Her father had told her he would give it to her when she got married because she loved the house too much and she had been excited about it at that time, shortly after that she saw the dark side of marriage and suddenly it was no longer enticing to live there.
“I got this wedding gift from my dad when I was six years” she let out as they went from room to room. It was well-furnished and perfect. She noticed that her dad had kept the same design but had updated it with newer technology. It must have been a difficult task but of course, Mr Carter Frost was equal to the task.
“Six years? Was he preparing to marry you off to some rich old man?” Cade joked trying to wear off the feeling he had brooding over him.
“Hahaha very funny” she said giving him a sarcastic smile. “I asked him for the gift because my parents used to come here at every chance we got to spend a few days together and I always thought it was romantic that they spent time together”
“What then happened, if you asked for a wedding gift at six then you must have believed in marriage at some point”
“Of course, I did believe, I had a dream that I was going to marry the perfect price charming until a year later I discovered that after my parents put me down they went ahead to have big arguments and then sleep, in separate rooms” Ophelia explained.
“That is not too bad, all married people argue,” Cade said remembering how much Edward and Abigail were at each other’s throats while he was still alive. Cael had made sure he never forgot that his parents only began to argue so much after he came to the house.
“Well, it was a never-ending argument and suddenly the beauty of marriage that they had always shown to me was now so belittled in my eyes. A month after my seventh birthday my mom walked away from my dad after spending ten years with him”
“The clause in our contract is ten years”
“Yes, it is. I would try to have a normal marriage for ten years and then walk away. I believe ten years is the exact amount of time one needs for a marriage” Ophelia explained.
Cade gaped at her because he had never heard such an opinion before. “So you were hurt and that is the reason you do not believe in marriages right?”
“Hurt? The pain was more than what the word hurt can explain” She pressed her lips together to stop herself from explaining anything more. “We are here because you wanted to share but here I am oversharing already” She let out a nervous chuckle and left the room with him on her tail.
“So my dad thought it wise to have an affair with one of the women in his offices, I guess he was too charming to be resisted” Cade started out of the blue as they sat down in the living room. Cade could not believe that they already had a place to stay before they even got married.
He could not lie, young Ophelia had done a great job at choosing such a decent house. The place was not as big as any of the mansions that they currently lived but it would be a mansion to any random person. Living together in that house for ten years would not be a bad idea at all at least for him.
“Your dad had an affair?” Ophelia asked shocked. The media never forgot so if his father had an affair it would still pop up from time to time whenever their name came up. “I never heard about it or read it anywhere”
“My grandfather is an expert in all things and stopped the news before it could get out of the family and I am a product of that affair”
Ophelia’s eyes widened in shock. “You are an illegitimate child?” she asked before her mind could process the words.
“What?”
“I am sorry about that, this is just brand new information that is why,” Ophelia said.
“I think that is about the most appropriate reaction,” Cade said. He wondered why the public would react. Would he still be the beloved Cade Vale in their eyes or would he lose value overnight?
“And your grandfather chose you over the legitimate son?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“I do not know”
“That is the strangest thing ever,” Ophelia said.
“Does this change anything?’
“Of course not, no one knows you were not born in wedlock and moreover my dad is not concerned about your birth circumstances, he is more concerned about your position in the company, so I think you are good”
“My family wants to stop the wedding from happening because that is the only way to stop my grandfather from leaving the company to me”
“What did they do? What are they like?” she asked wondering what she was going to be up against.
“They brought Harper to the house”
“Harper your ex-girlfriend?”
“Yes”
“Oh well, I guess we should plan an engagement soon”