Chapter 38: After Dinner With Her Uncle

All eyes shifted to Cashel like he was an idiot.

Especially Andeen.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, the words You don’t know? practically written across her face.

Nathan wasn’t left out either. His spoon was halfway to his lips when Cashel asked the question, leaving him frozen in place with the most baffled expression imaginable.

And Nathan was hardly ever baffled.

Cashel, on the other hand, simply waited. He looked between the nephew and the uncle. When neither of them answered, he leaned forward slightly.

"I asked if...."

"You’re joking, right?" Nathan interrupted before Cashel could continue.

Cashel stared back, chewing his food as though he hadn’t just asked the most absurd question in the world.

Why?

Because the answer to his question was apparently extremely popular news. Global news at that.

And judging from Nathan’s reaction, it wasn’t some insignificant event that had happened in a distant country and disappeared after a few days.

It was something everyone was supposed to know.

Cashel frowned.

Nathan lowered his spoon and took off his glasses, placing them at the end of the table, away from the plates.

"You’re serious?"

Cashel nodded.

"You really don’t know?"

He shook his head.

How was he supposed to know? He had only come to this world three years ago.

That was all the time he’d had in this world. Three years to figure out how this place worked, survive the paranoia of his first few months, untangle the mess he’d inherited from an abandoned son turned slave, and somehow end up married to a hunter who could probably break him in half without even trying.

He’d never cared enough to dig through the original Cashel’s past. What little memories he’d inherited were fragmented anyway. He’d simply accepted them as they came and focused on surviving.

So how the hell was he supposed to know about some globally famous event when he’d only recently learned Eclipse even existed here?

’Crap.’

Cashel’s chewing slowed. His eyes flicked toward Nathan before immediately dropping back to his plate. He swallowed far too quickly and reached for his glass.

But Nathan was still staring at him, his eyebrows drawn together as his gaze lingered on Cashel for several seconds.

Cashel hurriedly shoved another bite into his mouth to avoid speaking, and fortunately, Andeen spoke up.

"Maybe he forgot."

Nathan looked at her. "You don’t forget something like that, especially when it concerns your wife."

Cashel flinched, shrinking back into his seat.

Andeen just tilted her head. "People forget things, Uncle. You don’t expect him to remember after everything he’s been through."

’Exactly.’ Cashel thought inwardly, commending her sharp thinking and the save.

Nathan, on the other hand, was not convinced. He continued staring at Cashel.

Cashel simply decided the safest strategy was to look stupid, waiting for an answer as though he truly had no idea. He was apparently doing an excellent job.

Nathan’s eyes moved from Andeen to Cashel, but after a moment, he simply sighed and picked up his spoon.

"Forget it."

Cashel relaxed slightly, ’That was close.’

Very close, and he had to keep it that way to avoid being interviewed by Nathan, which would eventually end badly.

Dinner continued with less questioning and the ladies requesting seconds, especially Nina.

By the time everyone finished, it was 4 a.m.

Andeen’s head dipped for the third time before she caught herself, blinking sleepily at the table. She muttered something to Nathan under her breath, but when she received no response, she placed her head on the table and continued sleeping.

Cashel rose and cleared the plates before returning to Andeen.

She barely reacted when he slipped an arm beneath her knees and another around her back. The moment he lifted her, she instinctively settled against him and curled closer to his chest, already half-asleep.

"Gimme a minute."

Nathan nodded, unbothered by the obvious display of affection in front of him.

He watched as Cashel called the other two and took them upstairs with him, their voices soft and quiet as he replied with laughter.

Nathan watched them disappear upstairs. He couldn’t help but smile, then he sighed.

’Three women.’

He shook his head.

’And this bastard still manages to look like he has everything under control.’

He was, once again, jealous of Andeen.

He thought with a smile as he left the dining area and moved to the sofa. There, he sat comfortably, placed his glasses on his lap, leaned his head back into the sofa, and fixed his gaze on the ceiling.

After a few minutes, Cashel returned holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. Nathan raised a brow when he saw him and sat up.

"You’re not going to bed?" he asked, groaning softly as he reached for his glasses, "And wine? Isn’t it too late for that?"

Cashel smiled, settling beside him. "I doubt I’ll be getting any sleep today, so I might as well do something to keep myself busy. Besides, you’re not going home."

Nathan leaned back into the sofa. "I doubt I’ll be able to drive like this."

Cashel raised a brow, pausing just as he leaned over to pour the wine. He stared at Nathan.

Now that he was sitting this close, he noticed just how different Nathan looked from Andeen.

His hair was blond, except for the dark section slightly shorter than the rest of his hair, and dyed along the sides and back; A fade.

And his eyes were almost unnaturally black, with a tiny red glint buried somewhere in them. Dark shadows sat beneath them, deep enough to make him look like he hadn’t slept properly in years.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from Nathan’s face to the glasses.

He poured the wine into one glass and handed it over to Nathan, who collected it before replying.

"Sensory overload."

Nathan rubbed beneath one eye before putting his glasses back on.

Cashel hummed, poured wine for himself, and straightened up.

"So what’s that?"

Nathan laughed softly. "Let’s just say it’s something to do with my eyes."

’So that’s why he wore glasses.’ Cashel noted before speaking. "It seems everyone in Andeen’s family has eye problems."

Nathan just shook his head. "No, no, none of us do. And besides, Andeen was supposedly born with peak eyesight. I’ve had this since I was a kid, and it’s tied to this hell of an ability."

Cashel ignored that talk about her eyes once agaib and asked; "You don’t use your abilities, though?"

Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Because they’re impossible to control." His fingers then stayed against his temples. "Besides, I don’t see the need to." He shrugged, casting a teasing glance at Cashel.

"I don’t need to heal anyone, neither do I have to fight anyway. Can’t relate to a hitman."

Cashel glared at him. "You are part of the reason this happened."

"Blaming me for your glorious awakening?" Nathan snickered. "I’m hurt. Shouldn’t you be thankful to your wife?" That reminded him of something. "You do know you can’t live in this house with all three of them, right?"

Cashel flinched.

He lowered his glass as his shoulders dropped and put his palms over his face.

"That’s what I wanted to talk about."

He sighed.

"We need to move."