Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 382

Reiner looked up to see his parents already seated at their regular places at the dining table. Rachael greeted them happily and both of them smiled to welcome her. She really does feel like a part of the family, just like the old days. Perhaps nothing here had changed at all and the one who had changed was him. Suddenly, he felt quite out of place in his own home.

“You haven’t visited us for a while. I really miss you; you know?” Queen said before smiling her pretty smile at Rachael.

“Sorry about that. I was away on a trip with some friends and so I just got back,” Rachael replied.

“I see. Well, why don’t we eat first before we chat. I’m sure that you’re already hungry,” Queen suggested as she gestured with her hand to the bunch of dishes prepared and laid out on the dining table.

“Thank you…” Rachael replied.

Reiner watched the whole conversation unfold without feeling any sense of engagement. As far as he was aware, he wasn’t needed here, and he couldn’t wait for this dinner to be over and done with. He glanced over at his father’s stern face and knew that he had something to say but was just waiting for the right moment to voice it. He also knew that it wasn’t anything good.

Queen and Rachael chatting like girls usually would. Talking about random things and giggling as if they were in their own little world while he stuffed tasteless food into his mouth. His father looked stern as he also ate his food silently. Reiner wondered what his old man was thinking.

“How is your mother doing?” Queen asked.

Reiner sat up a little straighter in his seat at the mention of Rachael’s mother. Rachel’s father was his father’s good friend when he was still alive, and Rachael’s mother was also around a lot when Reiner was younger. He respected her quite a bit for how well she ran her household and managed her husband’s various affairs. She was a very strong woman until she suffered from an illness a couple of years ago. At least, that was what his mother had told him.

“She’s well enough these days. Thanks to the foreign doctors that King helped to fly in,” Rachael replied before nodding towards King.

“Well, we’re always happy to help out,” Queen replied.

The conversation steered in a random direction again and Reiner’s attention started shifting elsewhere. He looked out the dining room’s window to the garden outside. It was already dark by that time and Reiner wondered where Natalia was. Is she working at the bar right around now? How is she going to get back home? She has Queen’s car with her, right?

“Knight. Knight?”

Rachael’s sweet voice calling his name and the sensation of someone tugging on his arm softly brought him back to the reality in front of him. His father stared sternly at him, and he was at a loss as to what had just happened.

“Sorry. You were saying?” Reiner asked as he struggled to focus.

His father narrowed his blue eyes at him, and he knew that the part he dreaded most about today’s dinner had arrived.