Husband With Benefits-Chapter 30: His Fiancée

Elijah Frost gazed down the table at his four grandsons, observing how they devoured their meal as if starved for days. With a disapproving harrumph, he reminisced about a time when he might have resorted to starvation to teach them a lesson. Alas, those days were long gone. Now, he was limited to mere threats.

"Sebastian Frost, you assured me your brother would join us! Dinner is nearly over. When will he arrive? Call him." Elijah ordered.

Sebastian Frost, the youngest of the Frost brothers at twenty-five looked up at his grandfather and mumbled with his mouth full," Mfmmph, he shtaid he’llmmph come l-later. Annmmph, phone’s ded, ash Ian."

Suppressing his frustration at the boy’s lack of manners, Elijah glared distastefully at his youngest grandson and turned to Ian who hastily intercepted," There’s no need, grandfather. I told you he will miss dinner, but he will come. Disturbing him will only delay his arrival."

The three boys almost snickered at Ian’s words. The girl with the sexy voice had said that Demetri was busy. Just what could the man be doing that he would let someone else answer his phone, they’d all made their wild and completely inaccurate guesses.

As the old man would have burst out to say something, a soft voice chimed in, "Great Uncle Elijah, please enjoy your meal. Everyone knows Demetri is occupied. We can wait for him, especially when he’s making time at the last minute. It’s not like he knew I was coming; otherwise, he would have hurried here."

"Arabella, you are a sweet girl. But you’ve travelled so far. I don’t want you to tire yourself out. If he does not come on time, I’ll have one of these boys send you home. And Demetri will clear his schedule tomorrow to take you around."

Just then a butler arrived and announced, "Master Demetri has arrived."

Arabella’s face lit up, eagerly awaiting Demetri’s entrance. Ian, Seb, and Lucien focused intently on their food, deliberately ignoring their brother’s arrival. Meanwhile, Gabe toyed with his meal, fixated on Arabella’s delighted expression.

As Demetri entered, Arabella sprang from her seat and rushed toward him, arms outstretched in excitement. Swiftly, Demetri caught her elbows, nudging her aside before proceeding. Instead of approaching his grandfather, he headed to the table’s opposite end, taking a seat after a curt acknowledgement. "Grandfather."

The old man stared down the table at his grandson’s blatant disrespect or rather minimal show of respect and snidely taunted," I thought you were not joining for dinner."

"Your thought was accurate. I’m only here because you summoned me," Demetri replied, waving away the butler’s offered plate.

"Summoned you? I invited you to dine with the family!" the old man retorted.

"Yet outsiders are present," Demetri shot back.

While the old man looked ready to burst a nerve, Arabella who had almost frozen on the spot after hugging Demetri, seemed to come to life," Demetri! You can’t blame great uncle for that. I was the one who decided to surprise him today."

She walked back to her chair which had been placed on the right side of the old man and patted his hand," It is not good to argue, great uncle." She then turned to Demetri and pointed out gently," I did not realize that you do not consider me family." Her face showed a pained expression, but it disappeared in the next moment.

With a bright smile, she said," Next time, I’ll make an appointment. I hope you won’t be petty about this and let me enjoy with you all this time. By the way, have you changed your aftershave recently?"

Amid coughs from Ian and Seb, Demetri paused mid-sip. He responded with a monosyllabic "No," raising an eyebrow.

Gabriel, on Demetri’s left, turned incredulously, "Are you a scent hound?"

Arabella blushed under his gaze while explaining, "No, when I hugged him, I smelled a feminine fragrance... I thought it did not suit him."

Lucien, the most innocent of the bunch, stood and nudged his brother, saying, "I don’t think Demetri changed his aftershave... It must be because he was with a woman..."

Gabriel tugged his brother’s arm, interjecting firmly, "Sit, Lucy! Try this pasta! It’s delicious..."

"But I already did..." However, Gabriel had already stuffed pasta into his brother’s mouth...

The rest of the dinner was a silent affair, as had been the norm in the presence of their grandfather and brother. All the Frost brothers had grown up under the strict care of their grandfather who was known for having a bad temper when someone did not follow discipline. However, things had not been so severe until a few years ago...

Demetri, who always had a cold face on but had always been approachable by his brothers letting them know that they could come to him with their troubles. However, Demetri’s icy exterior seemed to multiply when he faced their grandfather, a chilling force that warned off anyone who dared approach. No one knew why Demetri held animosity toward their grandfather or why the old man favoured him. Yet, neither man’s reasoning was questioned.

Finally, the dinner concluded, and Elijah bid Arabella farewell, her promise to return the following day hanging in the air. Gabriel had been tasked with dropping Arabella home since Demetri refused to take any hints from their grandfather.

However, the moment the girl exited, Elijah’s voice reverberated loudly off the walls. "Demetri Frost! How dare you disregard your fiancée! She’s returned after so long, and you don’t even greet her properly!"

"I do not have a fiancée."

"Well, I have already asked for her hand in marriage, so she is..."

"She’s your fiancée, then, Grandfather!" Demetri interjected. "I wish you all the best in marrying a young girl like her. I’ll even show respect by addressing her as Grandma."

The remaining three brothers exchanged wide-eyed glances at this statement. Ian’s mouth was slightly agape, Seb blinked rapidly, and Lucien’s innocent features contorted into a half-smile of disbelief as he seriously wondered if Arabella was going to become their grandmother. She was younger than him...