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I was having the worst day of my life and, thanks to Aelin, I did not know why. Things started fine. When Nolan told me that he, or rather we, would host his family, I had gone into a panic wondering how I was going to pull off a fancy brunch when I myself had never been to one. Luckily, Nolan and his Danish chef Magnus had taken charge of everything while I stood back and mentally took notes. Magnus did most of the preparation, and by the time Saturday rolled around, the only thing I had to worry about was Nolan's family liking me. No. Liking Aelin. And that was a harder task than hosting a fancy party.

Nolan's family was nice. At first. I knew he was the eldest and that he had six other siblings, but I didn't know them all. Carey was the second oldest. Followed byLevi, Sebastian, Tyler, Ivy, the only girl in the family, and the youngest, Raine. Tyler came alone. Carey and Ivy brought their spouses, Thalia and Damien, respectively, and Raine and Sebastian brought their girlfriends. And Levi sent his apologies saying he couldn't make it. Apparently, he was busy doing his dissertation at Cambridge.

They were all lovely. Curious and a little probing, but not too inquisitive. Still, I could sense that something was off. They were a little too nice, especially to someone of Aelin's reputation. Their brother had just gotten married without telling them. Not only that, but married someone who clearly didn't walk in the same circles as him. Nolan, the titan of industry and Aelin, the clout chaser. We could not be more unsuited.

The New York air whistled around us as we finally gathered around the rustic table, changing the mood. Lynn, Sebastian's girlfriend, was the one who broke the fake niceties.

Her eyes had been wearily darting my way the entire day, and when Sebastian asked her why she was uncomfortable, she simply replied with a low, "Nothing." I was sitting at one end of the table and Nolan on the other. Sebastian and Lynn sat beside me and close enough for me to hear their hushed conversation.

Sebastian said something to Lynn I couldn't quite catch, to which she replied, "It's nothing, really."

Her eyes darted to me again. Sebastian's gaze followed hers. His eyes were burning with an emotion that was far from positive. Did they catch on? I knew very little of Lynn, but she was something of an influencer and socialite. And since she primarily lived in LA, she probably ran in the same circles as Aelin and knew her very well. My heart raced.

"I think it's a big deal actually," Sebastian said loud enough to grab the attention of everyone at the table.

"Something wrong?" Nolan asked.

"Tell them Lynn." Sebastian said, his gaze on me.

My heart skipped a beat. What if I ran away? Jump out of my seat before they could catch me. Escape was preferable to having my lie exposed at that moment.

Lynn spoke softly. Her head drooped. "It's not a big deal. I'm over it. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Now that you've riled us with curiosity, you have to tell us." Ivy sat down the glass of white wine she had been drinking from with a dramatic flare.

Lynn dropped her cutlery and placed her hands on the table. "I don't know where to begin." She darted her gaze around the table. Everyone was on tenterhooks. I was trying to hide my panic.

"First, I have to say when I came here, I had no idea that Nolan had married Aelin. I know you won't believe me, but I am currently on a social media cleanse. If I had known, believe me, I wouldn't have come."

"You can only tease us so far," Carey muttered.

Lynn took a deep breath. "Why do you tell them, Aelin?"

I froze. Tell them what? Was she referring to my deception or something else? If I say anything, I would only incriminate myself. Better to hear what she knew first, so I remained silent. This only seemed to irritate her.

She scoffed. "Still, to this day, you refuse to admit it. Fine. I'll tell them myself. I don't know if your brand new wife told you this, Nolan, but she is vile. Aelin once called CPS on me and basically had my child taken away from me because I asked her to give me time to repay her for ruining her designer bag."

I was relieved that I hadn't been caught, but horrified by what I heard. I did not know what to say. Aelin never told me anything about this, nor did grandfather, nor did any of my research on her yield this time of information .

"She basically told CPS that I was a drug addict, endangering the life of my four-year-old daughter. But she didn't just stop there. She sent the social worker, quote proof, of me doing drugs, which were old pictures of me, before I had Sky. I was a different person back then. Anyway, her little prank, as she called it, resulted in my stupid ex using it to gain custody over Sky. Custody he doesn't deserve, by the way, because he's a bigger drunk than me. So thanks for that, Aelin. I've been enjoying going back and forth to court, fighting a battle I had already won before."

Everyone looked at me. Everyone's face ranged from shame to disgust. With Nolan looking particularly repulsed. I was clueless about what else to do. How to react. Lynn's story was harrowing and I couldn't imagine anyone going through that. Let alone instigating such pain in someone else's life. And yet, I couldn't think of anything else to say, because I didn't know how true the story was. Was that something Aelin was capable of doing? She was self-centered, yes, but not as vindictive as this. But then again, we're talking about someone who ran into children.

An apology hung on my tongue. It seemed too small to just say; But I must have been silent for too long because Nolan said, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

I mumbled an apology, and I tried to appear as contrite as I could. I told myself I was apologizing on behalf of Aelin, but Lynn didn't accept my apology even though she gave a barely perceptible nod.

"Wow, that's insane," Raine whispered to his girlfriend Willow, but because everyone was quiet, his voice carried.

"I don't think she should be part of this family," Sebastian said to Nolan. "You can't marry someone like that. Not to mention all her other numerous scandals. She will disgrace you and the family."

I glanced around the table. Everyone seemed in agreement, even though they were pretending to behave like drama wasn't occurring around them. It made me wonder if this was all a setup. If Sebastian had specifically brought Lynn so he could show his brother what a colossal mistake he was making. Maybe all the siblings were in on it. From their expressions, that conclusion wasn't far off. Even Thalia, the person I could say was nicest to me, seemed to not be able to look me in the eye. To be frank, it wouldn't be that hard for someone with a rap sheet as long as Aelin's. Every scandal of hers I learned trumped the previous one.

"Who I marry is none of your business, Seb," Nolan said. "She's my wife. Deal with it."

"Is W. Burgess really worth it? I know dad wanted—"

"Seb!" Nolan's voice was low and tight with warning. Enough to scare Sebastian into silence, but the younger brother was still defiant. He stared at his older brother with steel eyes but said little else.

Nolan straightened in his chair and said, "I know you all don't like my choice of wife, but you have to respect it. It has little to do with what you may think. And no, I was not hoodwinked. I entered this marriage, able and willing. I know who I married. I know her more than all of you. And I know what I am doing. You might be worried for me, but let me tell you this, I don't do anything without understanding the consequences. He turned to Lynn, and his eyes softened, "On behalf of my wife, I apologize for what she did to you, No one should have endured what you endured, and to put weight to my words, I am going to help get custody of your child back. I promise you that."

"That's really nice of you, Nol," Lynn said.

At that moment, I saw something in the man I had just married. The ease with which he made his family acquiesce to his command. I had seen a man like that before. My grandfather was exactly like that.