chapter forty
The clinking of cutlery and the murmur of polite conversation became a background hum as the weight of King Aaron's announcement settled on the room. My father, ever the diplomat, was the first to break the silence.
"Well, this is certainly…unexpected," he chuckled, a lighthearted tone masking a hint of curiosity. "Alexander, I presume?" he addressed the young man across the table, offering a warm smile.
Alexander, still recovering from his public introduction, mumbled a noncommittal grunt and a mumbled, "Pleasure," his gaze darting nervously between my family and the king.
A tense silence followed, broken only by the insistent gnawing of Alexander on his steak. My mother, ever sensitive to the shifting atmosphere, turned to King Aaron with a forced smile.
"Your Majesty, I must say, Alexander bears a striking resemblance to you," she remarked, her voice a soothing balm on the awkward tension.