Unwanted

Auri let out a breath and looked down at her lap. It was time to open up to Nicolas. She picked at the fruits in the salad tub with her fork as she searched for the words she needed to start. Nicolas was looking at her. Watching her every move. Taking in everything. He said nothing. He just waited for her to speak.

"My father was Michael Engel," she said.

Nicolas looked at her in shock. It made sense. Michael Engel's mother had been the founder of Love Angel Jewellery. He had taken over the business when he was in his mid-thirties and it had grown under his control. The business had become a multimillion-dollar organisation. It was on its way to being worth a billion dollars when he died. It was rumoured the company was being held in trust until one of his daughters was twenty-one and that she had a large trust fund keeping her comfortable.

"Your Father was LAJ?" he couldn't help but ask.