Chapter 52

Conrad's POV

My father enters with Gwen and smiles at me.

"What were you doing?" he asks.

"What were you doing?" is what I want to say, but instead, I say,

"We were baking bread. Mom and I made a deal."

"Your son thought he could deceive me, but little does he know I never agreed to that deal he's talking about."

"Oh, really? You even promised that I could have some of the bread I made myself," I joke.

"I don't remember it that way. You said Gwen would be the one to take it," he says.

The smile he had disappears. Mom knows how to play her cards well. The Bells family has always been adept at manipulating situations. My father is calculating; he enjoys playing with people until he gets tired and decides he's had enough. Mom always gets involved with people's problems or uses important individuals in the person's life against them.

"I would be delighted to try it," Gwen whispers, smiling.

I turn to her with a racing heart.