So... So Lacey Hinton is the daughter that Ares was planning on bringing home?
And I was going to give her trouble...
Oh crap! If I had actually taken Lacey away, then I’d have way more than a few broken ribs right now.
Argh! Top Dog, you bloody imbecile! You nearly got me killed!
The sheer terror of it all was too much for Killian, and it caused him to pass out right then.
Lacey stared at Ares with her mouth slightly agape.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What is happening?
What did Ares just say to me?
Feeling extremely flustered, she instinctively reached for Zeke’s hand. “Zeke, what... what is he saying?”
Zeke took a deep breath. “Lacey, do you remember what I told you about having the immunity to poisons?”
Lacey furrowed her brows in thought. “You said that the average person couldn’t have such an immunity. The
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtperson would have to be a descendant of a century-old noble family...”
Lacey’s eyes widened in shock as she inhaled sharply. “Zeke, are you saying... Are you saying that I’m... I’m from
the Thisleton family?”
Zeke nodded his head solemnly.
No! No! No!
Shock and disbelief flashed across Lacey’s face as she stumbled backward. “No, you’re mistaken! I know who my
parents are! My dad is Daniel Hinton and my mom is Hannah Lawson. You’re all terribly mistaken! Zeke, come on.
Let’s go. I don’t feel like working today.”
It was only natural for Lacey to be unable to accept this bombshell of a truth right away.
Zeke gave a little sigh. “Lacey, this is all true. I’m sorry, but you can’t run away from this. You have no need to
worry though as I only wanted you to know the truth. As for whether you’ll return to the Thisleton family or not, you
have complete say over the matter. No one can force you otherwise.”
“Lacey!”
Daniel and Hannah’s voices suddenly cut through the tension.
Zeke had notified them earlier and asked them to come and help soothe Lacey.
At this point, it really did seem as if the elderly couple were the only ones who were able to calm her down.
When Lacey saw her parents, she immediately ran over to them and threw herself into Hannah’s arms.
“Mom! Zeke is being mean! He conspired with others to trick me! You have to teach him a lesson!” sobbed Lacey.
Hannah hugged Lacey tightly, and she too started tearing up. “My poor sweetie.”
Daniel himself was trying to ease his frustrations through smoking. He had just finished one and immediately lit
another.
“Lacey, listen to me. Zeke isn’t lying to you. You are indeed a Thisleton. Me and your mom... we raised you but we
didn’t give birth to you.”
No!
Lacey covered her ears, refusing to listen to anything else. “Stop talking, Dad! I’m not going to believe anything you
say! You’re my parents! And you’ll be my only parents until the day I die!”
Zeke could feel his heart breaking for Lacey.
If he knew she was going to react so strongly, he wouldn’t have told her anything.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe walked up to her and tried to console her.
With all the evidence in front of her, Lacey ultimately had no choice but to accept this cruel truth.
Ares waved his hand and ordered, “Don the tiara and robe on her! Let’s bring my daughter home!”
The servants immediately stepped forward to place the pearl-encrusted tiara on her head and drape the robe
woven with gold thread around her shoulders.
But Lacey quickly shrunk backward. “Don’t touch me! I’m a Hinton! I’ll always be a Hinton until the day I die! No,
even as a ghost, I’ll still be a Hinton! I will never go back with you to the Thisletons!”
The servants looked at Ares awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed.
Ares sighed.
He understood that Lacey needed time to process all of this. It would be a while before she could accept and
forgive him.
“It’s alright. I’ll let Lacey take a few days so she can come to terms with this news.”
“But Lacey, it’ll be the Harvest Festival in a few days. I really hope that you’ll go with me to the Thisleton Manor so
everyone can meet you. Please? Even... even if it’s just as a guest?”