Page 11 of Dr. Damaged Protector

"I'm still trying to adjust to working here like I used to," I explained. "Dad recommended a staff for me to hire, and it's been smooth sailing so far."

"Dad told you to hire someone…and you agreed," Tabitha replied. "Didn't it occur to you that it might have been an act to get details about you?"

Now that she mentions it, could that have been the plan?

I have no idea why someone as talented and intelligent as Olivia would be involved with my father. Perhaps that is why she had been behaving distant. She was prepared to spy on me, and when I turned out to be someone she knew and was intimate with, she couldn't follow through.

"She's not like that," I carelessly defended.

Tabitha's raised brow of interest didn't go unnoticed. The rest of them looked away. Each of them was already formulating plans on how they'd get their hands on whoever I was interested in.

"This is a beautiful sight," someone remarked. It was a voice that still sent shivers down all our spines.

Mother made her way to the dining table. We sat upright, startled by the intruder.

"Good evening, Mother," Tabitha greeted. The rest of us followed suit, except Isaac, who greeted with, "Good evening, ma'am."

The woman sported streaks of grey hair but retained the look of someone in their early thirties. Her nails were a peach color, and they were long as talons. Judging by how she stepped into the dining room, she had been in the house longer than us.

I recalled Sebastian mentioning that she had been frequenting the manor.

"Why are you all here?" she asked, momentarily turning to Isaac. "Even the half breed is here as well."

A vein showed, but he suppressed it, looking away. Even Helena, who had made fun of him earlier, was displeased.

"Father summoned us," I replied. "I didn't thinkyou'dbe invited as well."

"I wasn't." She picked up an apple from the table. "I came to search for something. You pieces of shit can do whatever you want with the retard."

She turned to leave. "Extend my greetings to him. And whatever his announcement is, kindly be a dear and tell me what it is."

The rest of us focused on Tabitha. She didn't say anything; her eyes were trained on Mother. As the older woman left, we needed to figure out how to bring back the conversation we were having.

"I'll go get myself a drink," Isaac said as he got up and made his way to the kitchen.

The rest of my siblings returned their attention to their phones. Even after two years, my family was yet to feel like one.

Chapter four

She's…Here?

Lucas

The silence stretched on. Each of us waited for Father to arrive. I was rather bored with waiting, so I had a nice hot bath to relax and prepare for whenever he came. A few minutes after I was done and had changed into a simple dress shirt and pants, the older man finally arrived.

"I'm sorry, we're late," he apologized, a rare thing for him, but considering that he was with a guest, his actions were to be expected.

Neither of us was excited to see him, nor did we show any interest in his apology.

"It's alright, good evening, sir," I greeted, and the rest followed suit. "But I would like you to get on with it."

He was alone when he got to the dining table, turning around to notice that whoever he was with was no longer with him.

"Oh, don't be shy, come on in," he said.

The young lady showed her face. She appeared to be roughly the same age as Helena but slightly older –in her late twenties. She was wearing a red dinner dress that seemed to make her skin glow. Her pearly white teeth shone brightly, and her hair was short, stopping at the nape of her neck.

A beautiful woman.Not nearly as beautiful as Olivia, though.

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