Lyse felt as Levi ca beside her and wrapped a possesive arm around her. The blonde man looked from her to Levi with an amused smirk that she was sure Levi would not appreciate.
"Why are you here Bret, I am sure you were not invited." Levi said coldly and Bret did not seem the least bit offended.
"I am family." He said and raised his arms in a shrug, "Family does not need to be invited to family functions." He said then his eyes went back to Lyse and she could feel Levi bristle beside her.
"Are you not going to introduce us Leviticus?" Bret asked mockingly.
"Lyse is my wife." Levi said.
Bret looked up at Levi with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "So it is true, a wife." He said, "very convenient considering the ti. How does it feel to be tied down, Levi? Must be quite a change from your bachelor days."
Levi, his jaw clenched, forced a smile. "It is great, Bret. Really great."
Bret scoffed. "I bet. But don’t you worry, I am sure that you will find a way to ruin this perfect little life you have built for yourself."
Lyse, feeling the tension, stepped in. "Have you had sothing to nibble on, I noticed you seem to have just arrived."
Bret turned his attention to Lyse, his gaze lingering on her. "Oh, Lyse. You are and even more beautiful woman inside, Levi is a lucky man."
Lyse forced a polite smile, her eyes narrowing. "Thank you, Bret. But I think that I am also a very lucky woman to have Levi."
Bret ignored her, his attention returning to Levi. "I heard you have been struggling with the company lately, Levi. Must be tough to balance work and marriage."
Levi’s patience was wearing thin. "Enough, Bret. This is ridiculous."
Bret laughed. "Ridiculous? Or truthful? You know, I’ve always wondered why Dad favored you over . Maybe it is because I am the smarter one."
Levi’s face flushed with anger. He stepped forward, his fists clenched. "One more word, Bret, and I swear-"
Bret, sensing the danger, backed away, his smirk fading. "Okay, okay. I get it. You are a big tough guy now, you are going to fight in front of all your esteed guests."
Lily suddenly materialized beside them. "Bret, what a surprise to see you here. I was not aware that you were around or I would have sent an invitation to you."
Bret glanced from Levi to Lily and smiled and asked scornfully. "Would you really have invited Lily?"
Lily frowned, "of course I would have, you are family."
"Sohow I find that hard to believe, at least soone does not think so." Bret said flatly, his eyes resting on Levi before he turned to Lyse and lifted her hand to his lips then he bestowed a kiss upon it before Lyse even knew what was going on.
"Hopefully I see you again and under better circumstances." He said smoothly.
With that, Bret turned and walked away, leaving Levi and Lily to exchange a tense look. The incident had cast a shadow over their special night, a reminder that not all family relationships are as harmonious as they may seem.
Lyse glanced at Levi and from how stiff his jaw looked, she knew that he was still very ticked off even after Bret had left. She wondered what the story was between the siblings but knew better than to ask.
*
After she had handed her visibly shaken mother over to her caretaker and made sure they administered her drugs, Ophelia was pacing back and forth in her opulent living room in her wing, her mind racing.
The dinner at the Van Doren’s had left her unsettled. Lyse, the woman that had set off another of her mother’s episodes, bore an uncanny resemblance to Maeve, her long-lost sister.
A chill ran down Ophelia’s spine. Could it be possible that Maeve had survived the attempt on her life? Had she sohow managed to escape and start a new life, raising a daughter who was now a spitting image of her?
The more she thought about it, the more the theory seed plausible. The resemblance had been so much that even she had been unable to deny it, Perhaps her mother had recognized a familiar spark in Lyse’s eyes, a glimr of Maeve’s spirit.
Ophelia turned to her husband, Edward, who was lounging on a nearby sofa, a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Edward," she began, her voice low and urgent, "I think we may have a serious problem."
Edward raised a nonchalant eyebrow, setting down his drink and asking impatiently. "What is wrong this ti? Did sothing happen at the Van Dorens?"
Ophelia hesitated, unsure of how to broach the subject. "It is about Maeve," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I saw a girl and she looks... familiar. Too familiar."
Edward’s expression turned serious. "What do you an?"
"She had daddy’s eyes, and those cheekbones and lips that made Maeve think she was the most beautiful thing in the world."
"Really?" Edward asked, his eyes lighting up.
Ophelia picked up a throw pillow and threw it at his head, all her rage directed at him but he ducked and it instead hit a vase and that fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
"That was a priceless Ming vase." He said carelessly.
Ophelia stood in from of him with her feet apart and her chest heaving. "This is not the ti for jokes Edward, we could get into serious trouble."
"Fine." He said and turned serious, "but how can it be possible that she survived? The guy told that it had been done."
"He lied to you!" Ophelia snapped.
"So that ans that she survived and is probably living sowhere with a different identity." He mused.
Ophelia nodded, her eyes filled with determination. "We need to find out everything we can about that Lyse. Her background, her family, her life. We need to know if she is really who I think she might be."
Edward leaned forward, his voice low and nacing. "And if she is Maeve’s daughter, we need to eliminate her. She could be a threat to us."
Ophelia shuddered, but she knew he was right. They had to protect their carefully constructed lives, and that ant eliminating any potential threats.
"We will need to be careful," she warned. "We can’t let anyone suspect our true intentions. We must play it cool, and find soone to dig into her and make sure nothing leads to us."
Edward nodded in agreent. "Of course. We will proceed cautiously. But make no mistake, we must uncover the truth, no matter the cost."
As the couple sat in silence, a sense of unease settled over them. There had been a ti when they had been obsessed with each other but now there was nothing but hate, they only stayed together because they had to.
Lyse’s appearance had given them sothing to pour their hate into.
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