Emilia didn't want to go up those steps, she didn't want to see Mr. Delmont, she didn't want to live there, but she did want to make her mother happy.
Putting on a very tired smile she reached the top step and gave her mother a sincere hug which she returned full heartedly, her gracious face years younger with her beautiful smile.
"So, what do you think? More than we're used to isn't it?" She giggled lightly, looking around the beautiful archway before the double door entry. How could Emilia begrudge her mother this? Happiness, a home bigger than for just the two of them, a husband, everything. Mentally, she shoved her own reservations to the back of her mind as for the first time in the past several days she gave a genuine smile.
"It's beautiful mom, why don't you show me my room? So I can put my things there." She asked, completely ignoring the tall man behind her as she was led inside the overly ornate doors and into a beautiful entrance hall decorated so lightly that it seemed no one lived there. Yes, there was a statue or two and an antique table in the middle, but there was nothing on the walls, no photographs or paintings, not even a vase on the table with some dried flowers for decoration.
It was beautiful despite a lack of personality, the ceiling so high that you could see it encompassed the second floor as well, a simple wooden balcony at the level of a crystal chandelier that sparkled from a recent cleaning. Emilia couldn't help but notice how broad her mother's smile grew at the vision of her new home, her shoulders pushing back ever so slightly and her chin lifting with pride that she had such finery. But Emilia only felt diminished, small and feeble in comparison to the mansion. Yes, it was beautiful, but it was too much, much, much, too much.
"So, this is the foyer, through there is the seating room" Her mother pointed to the left, gesturing at another ornate room with an enormous couch and large windows on one side, barely visible through the door as they kept walking, "And there is the dining area". Gesturing to the right this time at a table so long that it could have seated over 20 people and with enough chairs to fit before they had reached the large, marble staircase and carved railing as they began their ascent up the stairs towards the second floor. "You know, this house has been in his family for the past 3 generations? His great-grandfather built this, he was from Italy where they had family money, and. . ."
Emilia wasn't really paying attention as her mother described Delmont family history, her voice full of excitement at being included in such a well-known and influential family. Instead, she was taking in the house, noticing the beautiful spaces that she could just glimpse through open doors, a library looked to be just beside the living room, an office down the hall. Changing her focus to the second floor, she noticed the interspaced doors, most of the doors closed tightly. She couldn't help but let her focus wander to a door that was opened just a crack, just wide enough to see a large desk with papers spread across half-hazardly and just managed to glimpse the edge of a gun mounted behind the chair. Emilia had nothing against guns, truly, but the sight of one mounted on the wall like a trophy gave her unnecessary goosebumps along the back of her arms.
She didn't notice her unmoving feet until her mother gave a small tug on her arm to get her moving again. "Come on Emi, the sooner we find your room, the sooner we can have some brunch!", nodding slowly she turned her focus back to her mother and followed in the opposite direction around the circling balcony to the third door on the left. Pushing it open, her mother stood aside to let her into her new room.
The room was plain, just like the rest of the house, but so elegant that it hardly mattered. The bed, a queen, was decorated with a beautiful comforter of an eggshell color, far too many pillows of various blue and golds, a very soft looking tan blanket laying across the foot. Setting down her bag on the bed she turned to look at the rest of the room, the beautiful wardrobe and antique bedside table, and a door that led to a full bathroom, bathtub and all.
Emilia couldn't complain, the room was beautiful and clearly expensive (even if it wasn't her taste). Her mother's expectant face forced her to smile and exclaim in flat tones that she couldn't have asked for better, which only made her mother's smile all the wider.
"Alright, you can explore your room later, right now, we need to have some breakfast with your new father." She exclaimed excitedly, unaware of the sour look that overtook Emilia's face at the words "your new father". Honestly, she was nearly 21 and the man was hardly her father, all he had done was given her a bodyguard and hint that he had quite a few new rules for her to follow as "part of the family".
Back downstairs in the dining hall they found Mr. Delmont pacing beside the large windows that looked out upon the drive and front gates, talking in hushed and angry tones on the phone with someone. Seeing this, her mother gave a soft knock on the door frame as Emilia simply walked in, her stomach grumbling with suppressed hunger as she took a seat before one of the three place settings at the table that had magically appeared while they were upstairs.
Turning at the sound of entering footsteps and not her mother's soft knock, he gave an overly harsh glare and shooing noise to Emilia who returned the glare and shook her head no to the rude request. She was hungry damnit, and she was going to get some of the food that she could smell wafting deliciously from a swinging door that probably led to the kitchen.
Looking at the table she looked at the very fine china, it looked like it should be used for a foreign ambassador or the president, not a casual brunch with her mother. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him mouthing something angrily to her mom, pointing at her as he scowled at the phone, still listening intently to the muttered voices. Her mom only gave a passive smile, laying a gentle hand on his arm before taking her seat to the left of the throne like chair at the head of the table.
Emilia took that as her que as well, sitting across from her mother, deciding that throne fit Mr. Delmont's ego much better than her own and only wishing she could have sat beside her mother instead. The snap of a phone shutting brought an eerie silence to the room as Emilia focuses on removing the napkin from beneath the silverware that was probably made from real silver, trying to avoid the eyes that she just knew were trained on her. Instead, her eyes found a pair of sensible shoes on the carpet near the door that she hadn't noticed at first, following them up to see Mr. Serious again, straight faced and silent with his hands in slightly closed fists at his side. What in the world was this guy still doing here? She was inside the house after all, surely there was no point to a bodyguard now.
A clearing throat brought her attention back to a certain step-father that was giving her an incredibly harsh glare and stern look that just got her raising an eyebrow. Honestly, he was just being rude, if he intended to have brunch with her and her mother, he shouldn't have been on such a serious phone call in the first place. Getting annoyed with his glare Emilia finally decided to speak up over her rumbling stomach.
"So, when are we having brunch?" Drawing it out and trying not to seem incredibly sarcastic or rude but the hangry feeling was starting to grow and she was very ready for food.
"In just a moment, first we have a few things to discuss, right honey?" Emilia's mom asks, giving a gentle but nervous smile to her husband as she placed her hands on top of his.
"Yes, there are a few rules you need to get down now that you are part of this family, to begin with, you will have a body guard with you at all times" Mr. Delmont said, not looking at Emilia and pulling his hand away from Catherine's to poor himself a cup of water from the pitcher sitting on the table. She couldn't help the daggers that she shot him with her glare, it wasn't new information but it was still very unwelcome news. "He will drive you anywhere, be with you at all times both in and out of the house, he will only leave your side at night when I dismiss the guards personally and the house is locked for the evening. Secondly, you will be back at the house by 12am every night, you now have a curfew from that time until 8am which is when the guards resume duties. There will be no massive partying, underage drinking, law breaking or other instances in my house, am I understood?" He spoke, finally looking at his supposed daughter-in-law.
Emilia is outraged, her blood boiling with the injustice of such demands. She had never broken the law in her life, she did not like alcohol, and parties were affairs that she stayed far away from. That being said, he treated her as if she were some outrageous eighteen-year-old that was out partying every other night and black out drunk in the morning. "And may I ask, why my freedom has been taken from me?" She growls through gritted teeth as she tries to calmly unfold the napkin on her plate but only gets frustrated as it refuses to come undone from the unintricate triangle that had been placed there.
"Because, I do not need headlines or attention drawn to my personal life and you are currently my biggest liability, so, am I understood?" He speaks so calmly that the gritted teeth are almost not heard in every note of the question. Emilia crumpled the cloth tightly in her fist as she did not look at him for the longest time, drawing out the silence that seemed to only infuriate the overcontrolling man more.
"Emilia? Please?" The pleading and loving tone of her mother's voice forced her to speak at last as she nods slowly.
"As long as this bodyguard does not get in the way of my life, I have little objection." She whispers, loud enough for them both to hear, but only loud enough for that.
"Good, then we may eat." Mr. Delmont spoke ringingly, calling to attention servants that began to flood into the hall as Emilia turned her head to look at him.
This man's restrictions would not put a halt to her life, and she would find a way, she knew she would. She thought defiantly, eyes drifting to the man in the corner, Mr. Knyte.