A Woman's Empire

VII

CHAPTER SEVEN

Audrielle always thought that the Harrington estate was enormous, but as the chauffeur drove through the gates of the Amours, she was proven wrong. Everything about this house screamed Italian. From the four giant pillars at the entrance, to the curved windows. Audrielle shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the car slowly rolled past the plains of land that were neatly mowed.

The car finally came to a stop and the chauffeur was quick to run around to the other side to open Audrielle's door. As she stood out of the car, Leo made his way over to her, grasping her by the elbow and linking arms. On the stairs stood Mr. and Mrs. Amour. Audrielle was quick to realise that Mrs. Amour looked a lot younger than her husband. Not just by a couple years but more like a couple decades.

"Father." Leo nodded his head, acknowledging his father who had salt and pepper beard and hair. He wore glasses and his face was stone cold. His icy cold eyes then glanced over to Audrielle where he mustered a fake smile, grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it like Leo did when they first met.

"Audrielle. So nice to meet you." Mr. Amour purred, and Audrielle smiled.

"Is mamma coming tonight?" Leo asked his father and Mr. Amour's jaw suddenly clenched at the talk of his ex wife.

"Yes your mother is coming. She's running late as usual and Alessio should be here any minute." Mr. Amour stayed with a cold voice. Audrielle and Leo followed the couple inside where they were greeted by the sensational smell of Italian cuisine cooking.

"Emma, would you like to show Audrielle a tour of the house while I speak with my son in private?" Emma smiled and nodded, looking over at Audrielle before beckoning her to follow her. Mr. Amour watched the girls walk out of the entrance, checking to see if the coast was clear.

"Why don't we talk in my office, hm?" Mr. Amour suggested and Leo followed his father. They entered the office and Leo closed the door behind him while Mr. Amour poured two glasses of whiskey. He handed his son one before taking a seat on the brown, leather sofa. Leo thanked his father for the drink and sat down in the seat opposite of Mr. Amour. Leo definitely got most of his genes from his father. Their eye color was almost the exact same, Leo's being a darker shade, they both had a sharp jawline and had the look like no one could ever touch them. Leo has a smaller nose than his father and in a way, he looked a tad softer than his dad.

"So, how does Audrielle feel about the wedding?" Mr. Amour asked his son.

Leo thought about an answer. He thought of having to watch Audrielle break down and cry because of it. The poor girl had gone through so much emotion and stress over the past week that Leo was starting to worry about it.

"Ehh, she's adjusting to it slowly. Steven only told her the night of her birthday and she doesn't know much about it all anyway. All she knows about it is that in a month time, we'll be married." Leo muttered before taking a mouthful of the whisky.

"Good. That's all she needs to know. She's a fine woman isn't she? Her father has done a good job at keeping her innocent; I'll give him that." Leo chuckled at his father's statement but he suddenly felt the urge of protecting Audrielle. Mr. Amour was not a man to mess with. If he saw something he liked, he went after it, even if they were already claimed by someone else and that left Leo feeling uneasy about the whole marriage now.

"You remember the plan, yes?" Mr. Amour asked and Leo nodded his head. "Good. Once you get a couple of kids in her, our family name will be ingraved in their generation forever." Me. Amour chuckled darkly and Leo joined in.

"What about Steven? How is your father in law coping with the whole situation?"

"He's coming around to the whole deal. Slowly." Leo mumbled. Mr. Amour nodded his head slowly. The Amour family was dangerous and they were a shark in the business world. If you slipped up, they were quick to tear you up.