Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,146
different once in a while. I’ve been eating fish, lobster, and everything in between my whole life.”
After he takes a bite, I can’t help but ask, “Is it good?”
He observes me for a moment, a smirk rising on his face. “Well, I’d rather have steamed lobster with lemon and herb butter sauce, but it’s edible.” And I knew there would be a joke coming.
“Very funny.” I take a mouthful, and to me, it’s absolutely delicious, packed with light and fresh ingredients, including a taste of citrus, which complements the Asian flavors in the tofu glaze.
“By the way, did you manage to watch your classes with the VPN?” he asks. I know how much he stressed about it. I had to download a VPN on Sunday, and Alex told me multiple times to connect it to an IP address in Switzerland.
“Yeah, it was alright. A bit slow sometimes, but it was okay.” And remembering that tomorrow I have Public Economics with the group, I say, “Um, you know, I’m gonna have Public Economics tomorrow. And, um, Matthew and the group will be connected…”
“Can they chat with you?”
“Um, no, they can’t, but they will know I connected to the class, and I wanted to make sure we don’t run into problems if I do so.”
Alex starts ruminating over my question. “If you want me to be honest, I don’t think you should attend that class.” I was kinda expecting that answer myself. “I’m already worried enough about any tracking information you are leaving behind when you connect to the others.”
I nod pensively, knowing that, in the end, we can never be too prudent. “Okay, um, maybe I can skip that one. It doesn’t count toward my grades anyway…”
His face lights up with a smile. “That’s the wisest decision.” And he picks up his glass of wine, taking a sip. “Thank you.”
We’re both quiet for a while as we finish our respective starters.
“Petra?” he asks suddenly.
“Hmm?”
“Now that you are no longer living with your dad, are you getting this degree because you want to, or is it still to please him?”
The truth is neither one nor the other. “Um, actually, it’s one of the requirements in the inheritance contract I signed with him,” I tell him.
His eyes widen in astonishment. “An inheritance contract?” he repeats, quite baffled. And I nod at his question before taking a sip of my water. “Why do you have one?”
“Well, because he threatened to disinherit me if I moved out and lived elsewhere.”
Alex puts down his cutlery, his jaw clenching for a moment before he bursts out, “That’s insane.”
“Yeah, and getting my degree at Columbia is one of the requirements. Dad is totally obsessed with that. I don’t know why…”
His eyes drift away for a moment as he ponders it. “I think he’s very emotionally attached to that school. It was a dream come true for him when he moved to New York to study there.”
Oh, I shouldn’t be surprised that Alex knows so much about my dad’s life. Quite curious to know more, I ask him, “Do you know how he ended up there?”
“My father paid for his scholarship,” he says casually.
And my jaw drops at his answer. “Hendrik Van Dieren?” Alex just nods in return. “He paid for my dad’s tuition?”
“To be precise, our family office paid for it.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that.” I lower my gaze, a bit dazzled by the revelation. “You know, I never met my grandparents. Dad has always been so mysterious about them,” I tell him.
His lips curve slightly up, but he doesn’t say a word. After all, I’m probably not saying anything he doesn’t already know. As I keep my eyes glued on him, he utters, “Your dad comes from a modest background.”
“Did you know them?”
“A bit,” he says as the steward comes in to remove our plates. “They were farmers from the northern part of Rouveen.”
I try to appear unsurprised, but I’ve got to ask him what is on the tip of my tongue. “So Dad was closer to Hendrik?”
“Well, my father was his boss and mentor.” He pauses for a beat, staring at me for a moment. “And then your dad followed me when I decided to do things on my own.”
I narrow my eyes in confusion. “But why? I mean, why did he follow you and not Hendrik?”
But the steward is now placing our main dishes in front of us. And stealing our attention, he says, “For the main course, we have mushroom risotto with truffles and