Arranged marriage: Skeletons(sequel)

Chapter 4

The Browns and the Smiths sit on a dinner table in the living room at the Smiths' resident. The men sat opposite each other at the heads of the table. Murrieta sat next to her husband. Next to her was Paul then Jennie. Riley sat next to her father, opposite Jennie. Next to her sat Patrick- the Smith's youngest member.

They were all eating quietly. Silent glances were passed, but Riley kept her head on her plate as she slowly ate small amounts at a time. She wasn't feeling too good. She wasn't physically sick or something like that, but there was a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that dimmed her positive mood. She could sense a negative energy in the room and as a result, she felt her anxiety rise.

Jennie subtly glanced at her, but didn't want to look for too long so she also focused on her food. The silence in the room was almost deafening, save for the sound of plates and cutlery. Soon, they were all done eating. Well, most of them. Riley's food was barely touched, and Jennie had spent more time mindlessly playing with hers than she spent on actually eating it. Peterson was the first to speak as two maids came in and cleared the table.

"I must say Murrieta, the food was amazing." He complemented, giving the woman a kind smile. Murrieta smiled at him.

"Thank you. I'm really glad you enjoyed it," she responded, looking at Peterson before glancing at her husband who seemed to be a little nervous. Believe it or not, Joshua still felt nervousness and fear whenever he was in the presence of the Browns. To him, they always carry some kind of power and superiority.

"Shall we move to the living room?" He asked, looking around the table. Everyone nodded. Riley and Jennie looked at each other as they all stood up, Murrieta rushing to Patrick's side to help him down. Riley held the eye contact, her face a mask of calmness. Jennie, feeling the heat of the stare quickly looked away.

"Paul, take your brother and go upstairs," Murrieta told her oldest son as she led her youngest to him. The boy took the boys hand and they excitedly rushed out of the room. The elders walked out of the dining room and walked to the living room. First was Joshua and Peterson who started a small conversation of their own, talking about business and how the new company is doing. Behind them was Murrieta who listened closely to their conversation, but didn't say a word. At the tail of the line was Riley and Jennie. They walked next to each other, keeping a good distance between them.

Riley had no problem. Infact, she had been looking forward to seeing the younger woman again. But as soon their eyes met when she and her father got here, she just knew that something has changed. Upon getting to the lounge, they all sat down on the couches. Peterson and Riley sat next to each other, opposite them being Jennie and Murrieta then Joshua sitting in a triangle to them on a single couch. The maids from earlier on walked in and placed a glass of what Riley guessed to be juice infront of them all on the coffee table between them.

"Now that we've all had something to start off on, I think it's time we get to the real issue," Joshua spoke, the atmosphere changing from awkward to serious. Riley looked at her father who gave her a small nod. Usually, the two stand on different sides of the line during a fight, so it felt weird to have them playing on the same side, especially with Peterson showing Riley a bit of care and attention. Riley was definitely not used to her father actually treating her like his daughter that she is, and she wasn't complaining because she was used to it. But now that he seemed to slowly be softening up towards her, she felt really weird.

"Please, excuse me for a minute," Riley politely said, turning to look at Jennie's father. She didn't like the man before, and she definitely didn't like him now. But she wasn't about to show it. Without waiting for a reply, she stood up and walked out of the room. She exited the house and walked to the car, seeing one of the guards they came with.