Chapter 7 - The Matriarch’s Blessing
Clara blinked, caught slightly off guard. “Mrs. Duca?”
Eleanor stepped closer, her sharp eyes warming significantly. “Do you know how many fake, starving socialites have tried to claw their way into my family for thirty years, Clara? Girls like Vanessa Hawthorne, who would trade their own mothers for a seat on our board.”
She reached out with her gloved hand, gently touching the sleeve of the cream lace dress hanging on the mannequin nearby.
“Adrien has been dead inside since his father passed ten years ago,” Eleanor said softly, her voice losing its metallic edge. “He ran the shipping terminals like a machine. He ate alone, he slept alone, and he was ready to marry that Hawthorne viper just to satisfy the board’s demand for an heir. But last night... when he looked at you in that ballroom, I saw my grandson smile for the first time in a decade.”
Clara felt a soft warmth spread through her chest. “He’s a good man, Mrs. Duca. He was just surrounded by people who treated him like an invoice.”
“Call me Eleanor,” the old woman said, pulling a heavy velvet box from her pocket and placing it on Clara’s worktable. “This belonged to Adrien’s mother. It’s a Venetian silk spindle, wrapped in platinum. It’s been given to every woman who ever married a Duca head.”
Clara looked at the box, then at Eleanor. “I can't accept this. Adrien and I... we are taking things slowly.”
“Nonsense,” Eleanor scoffed lightly, her eyes twinkling with sharp humor. “Adrien has already ordered two dozen custom suits from your shop for his executive team, and he’s moved his private security detail to your block. You may think you are taking things slowly, child, but my grandson picked his target the second you told him he looked lonely.”
May you like
She turned toward the door, stopping before opening it.
“And for what it’s worth, my dear,” Eleanor added, looking over her shoulder with a genuine smile, “that green dress you wore last night made every dried-up socialite in that ballroom look like a toothpick. Don't ever let anyone tell you how a beautiful woman should look.”
