Family

Jason stared at her silently for a moment, a blank look on his face. Auralia stood in front of the desk, a nervousness creeping in as the silence continued.

After a few minutes of silence, Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Auralia, are you sure? There's no guilt in this choice because the Davidson Family will be taking on the repercussions."

Staring him straight in the eye, Auralia nodded. "Yes, I'm 100% sure."

"Alright then…" Her uncle stood up. "We'll support you then. And if you ever feel like pulling out at any time, let me know okay."

"Yes…uncle." Auralia whispered the last word, not sure if he would like it.

He smiled and ruffled her head. Jokingly he said, "Let me earn the title of being your uncle first."

Auralia smiled back, the tension in the room disappearing with the words. "I think you've already earned that title, Uncle Jason."

"Alright."

There was suddenly a knock on the door before the door was opened. Auralia saw a middle-aged blond woman peek her head inside the room before walking in upon seeing them there. Her red high heels clicked on the wooden floor as she walked over to them.

She was an elegant lady with red blouse and matching knee-skirt. Her face was done with makeup but it was a natural look and made her brown, doe-like eyes and full red lips stand one. She was classy and made Auralia want to learn how to dress like her.

"Jas dear, what are you too doing?" The woman asked, curling her arm into his.

He pulled his arm away and instead wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her closer. Giving her a kiss on the forehead he said, "Nothing much, Mary. Auralia was just telling me that she wanted to go through with the marriage."

Mary gazed at her with a motherly look. "Are you sure darling? You know your uncle and I will support if you want to back out."

"I know, but I want to go through with this." Auralia told her aunt.

"Alright but-"

Mary was interrupted as something small crashed into her legs. Auralia looked to see four year old boy with curly blond hair and blue eyes hugging his mother's leg.

"Mommy!" The boy cried out in terror. "Maddy let Mr. Frog out! And…and…"

He burst into tears and Mary bent down to console the small boy. She picked up the small boy and gently rubbed his back, trying to calm him down.

Auralia heard a sound and turned to see a teenager girl with brown hair and eye walk into the room with a grumpy look of her face.

"Mom, can you tell George to stop keeping frogs and insects around." The sixteen year old girl winced as she got to the group.

"Come now Madison…Your brother is interested in that stuff." Jason said in a calm tone. "I'd rather have him play around outside than be on a phone all day."

Madison blushed at the words, knowing her father was targeting her phone addiction. Auralia smiled a little, happy to see such a normal family scene but also a little sad.

She was an only child, her mother dying when she was nine, and while most of her childhood memories had been good, she was a little jealous of seeing a whole family.

She shook her head as jealousy raised its ugly head, Auralia not wanting to think such negative thoughts about a caring family who had accepted her immediately.

"Auralia." A voice interrupted her thoughts as an arm clung onto her. "Please make father and mother understand how gross frogs are."

Auralia looked at her younger cousin and smiled. "George…"

The little boy looked at her shyly and hiccupped, "Yes."

"I think Madison released Mr. Frog because she knew that he was missing his family." Auralia said to the boy.

Mary catching on nodded her head. "Yes. He was probably sad not getting to see his mommy and daddy."

The boy frown for a second. "I guess…"

"So, you'll let it go then…" Madison asked nervously.

"I will but only because you were helping Mr. Frog." The boy muttered as his mother set him down. He walked over to Auralia. "Lia, where did you go today? You weren't here during playtime."

Auralia smiled, knowing he was upset since they had gotten close while she had sent time with her cousins. Despite keeping her distance with the members of the Davidson Family, she hadn't included her two younger cousins. She had spent time with them and slowly got to know them.

It was mostly because she knew they were innocent and knew nothing about the arranged marriage and hidden secrets. Although they would learn about it one day. Maybe…

"I was at a training center to check up on something." Auralia said, bending down to look the boy in the eye. "I promise to play with you tomorrow okay."

"Pinky swear?" The boy asked holding out his pinky.

"Yes, pinky swear." Auralia curled her finger around his tiny finger.

Just as she did so, there was a knock on the door and the butler came inside. "Dinner is ready."

Auralia straightened up as Jason nodded his head.

"Okay we'll be there now." He then looked at his family. "Alright, you heard uncle Marius. Dinner is ready so let's go to the dining room."

He herded the family out the office, Auralia following closely behind. As she got to the door, Marius stopped her. She looked curiously at the butler wanting to know why he had stopped her.

"I didn't want to say this in front of everyone, but Maria stopped by and told me to give this to you." Marius pulled out a white envelope from his jacket. "She said that it's important you read it and give her a reply as soon as possible."

Auralia took the envelope and Marius excused himself, leaving Auralia alone in the hallway to wonder what was inside it.