|Katherine|
The ride to Gavin’s ancestral home was steeped in silence—dense and heavy. Not a single word passed between us. No small talk. No nervous jokes. Just the soft hum of the engine and the occasional turn signal cutting through the stillness like a metronome to our anxiety.
At first, I’d been casual—maybe even careless—about the whole thing. Meeting his parents? Whatever. I had convinced myself it wasn’t a big deal. We weren’t even a real couple, after all. Just partners in a performance neither of us wanted to put on. Why should it matter?
But that confidence crumbled the moment the gates opened.
They were tall, ornate, and intimidating in a way only old money could be. As we drove through into their estate, the car rolled along a gravel path lined with trimmed hedges and lant
