His Forbidden Mate

My parents came to find me

LUCIEN

I barely concentrated on the board meeting we were having. Thank goddess my assistant was able to cover all the topics. Looking at her speak in her sophisticated pantsuit reminded me of the little conversation I had with Diane last night.

"You're in your final year," I pointed out and she nodded. She barely touched the food but I wasn't going to force her. "You must be excited then."

"I am. I'll soon be out and start living a normal life as an adult." The emphasis she laid on the word 'normal' was cute and I chuckled.

"Have you decided what you want to study at the University?" I asked.

"Business administration. I actually want to be a CEO one day." I caught the signs of a smile.

That explained why she constantly referred to me — or at least her version of me — as a mentor. Seeing that line of conversation made her a little happy, I pursued it. "So tell me what kind of company you'll like to build."

By the time she was done giving me a rundown of it all, I swore the eighteen years old me couldn't have come up with something more brilliant.

Throughout the meeting, my mind was on how I could help her make this plan happen, whether she decided to accept me or not.

"Mr. Kane, what are your thoughts on these new fragrances we've agreed on?" my assistant asked.

"Carry on with your plan. I endorse it. I guess that'll be all for today?" They surely saw I was distracted but who cares?

"Yes sir. That's all on today's agenda," she replied.

"Cool. Let's all get to work then, shall we?" Without another word or even acknowledgment to them, I got up and began the brisk journey to my office. I was never one for meetings. They bored me out and it was just annoying to watch them argue over the same things time and time again. The only part of the job I enjoyed was supervising the production of the perfumes.

As soon as I walked into the office, my eyes strayed to the calendar. I've tried breaking this habit more times than I enjoyed board meetings but it was here to say.

"Shoot," I hissed. I was supposed to be at my dad's company by three thirty. Running two companies had its perks but I sincerely wished I could just carry my own cross and give the other to someone else.

'That's where siblings come in. But guess what? You don't have any,' Lyall joked.

It wasn't funny. 'Shut up.'

'By the way, our girl isn't happy. Remember that you showed up from nowhere when she was enjoying finally being an adult?'

Just hearing his voice was giving me a headache and I hadn't started work yet. 'Wasn't that your idea? You know what? Just tell me what to do.'

'You know what to do,' he said and retreated to himself. Sighing, I called a maid and told her to get a good birthday cake and decorations for a party. Though I still wasn't paying full attention, I got to work with the papers on my desk. Midway into it, my phone rang. "Kane," I answered.

"Good morning, Your Highness. Two humans are here to find their daughter and they're coming to your place. The human officers are attending to them. Should I come with you just in case?

I facepalmed. Why didn't I think her parents would come to get her? I underestimated them. "No. Just stay where you are. Thank you for telling me."

Sprinting to my feet, I got my driver and we sped to the house. The maids were putting up the decorations when I arrived. "Take them down and hide them now!" I yelled.

Diane was reading on her bed when I ran into her room. Tossing her on my shoulder, I took the book too and went upstairs to the penthouse. There was a door I had built-in when the house was still under construction. The door was of the same texture as the wall and it was invisible to the common eye.

"What's going on?" she asked.

I put her in the empty space and switched on the light in case she was scared of the dark. "Just be a good girl and stay here."

By the time the officers arrived, we were ready for them. "Good morning, Officers," I greeted, seated on my couch with my iPad in hand.

"Mr. Kane, hello. It's good you're here. We almost thought you would be working," the chief of the search party said, showing off his dirty teeth.

"I am working," I deadpanned. "What's going on?" I wasn't the best actor but I was sure the woman behind them could agree that I did a good job. They explained the situation to me and I let them search the whole house.

They were back to me after about thirty minutes. "We're sorry about the misunderstanding, sir."

I nodded but Diane's mother was having none of it. "But her friends said-"

"I don't care, ma'am. You don't get to accuse me falsely. And if you try this nonsense again, I'll have you behind bars!"

The officers apologized and dragged the grieving parents away. I low-key pitied them. If my daughter was missing, I'd tear the whole country down. But this was different.

Standing by a window, I watched them leave and waited till I couldn't hear the sounds of tires friction with the road before I went back to the hidden room. On second thoughts, I decided to walk around the house first to make sure they didn't leave any cameras behind. I then checked the CCTV footage to confirm. They didn't leave anything behind. Good for them.

Finally, I returned to the room and let her out. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes bloodshot. I frowned. "You were crying?"

She wiped her nose with her hand before looking at me. Hatred clouded her eyes. "You wouldn't even let them go home with me?"

"Look, I understand-"

"My parents came all the way from Middleton and you couldn't even give them back their daughter!"