Chapter 20 " You should be leaving now , " Jessica says , breaking me out of my reverie . I turn to June . " Summer , are you sure you'll be okay on your own ? " " Lucy and I will happily stay with her , " Jessica says . I sigh in relief . " Really ? Thank you . Please make sure she has dinner on time . " They nod simultaneously . After I administer June's nightly dose of insulin , I hug her , wishing I could take off all the fancy stuff and just spend the night curled up with my sister . Instead , I find myself heading to the dining hall , my stomach dropping further with every step . Not everyone is in the hall when I arrive . I count only seven girls , excluding Lara and Valerie . While I don't know what's keeping Lara , I'm sure Valerie is glued to her mirror , making sure she looks extra special for the Ashfords . The first five seats at the table have place sets different from the rest , and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they are for the Ashfords . In preparation for the banquet , we were instructed that no one was to take a seat before the Ashfords did , so everyone is standing , just lingering until they arrive . I spot Eliza across the room and make my way towards her . But before I take more than three steps forward , I feel a warm hand at my waist , and I stiffen . " April . " Peter grins at me , his perfect white teeth almost blinding me . " Peter , " I greet , forcing a polite smile when all I want to do is wrench his hand off me . " Come sit next to me , " he declares loud enough for the other girls in the room to turn in our direction . My eyes widen . " Um , I don't think- " Just then , Samuel , Marisol , and Lucas walk in , nod a general greeting to the crowd , and move to take their seats . Peter also moves and , to my horror , applies pressure on my waist , forcing me to either move with him or cause a scene . Samuel takes his place at the head of the table , and Marisol follows suit on his right side . Lucas sits at his left . To my horror , Peter leads me right up to them , taking a seat next to his mother . " What are you doing ? " He smirks as he pats the seat next to him . " Sit down . " Marisol glances at me , her dark blue eyes - identical to Peter's - piercing through me , and I find myself mutely sliding into the seat , feeling bamboozled . The rest of the girls take their seats , and just as I note that the seat next to Lucas is empty , Nathan strolls in , Valerle hot on his heels . Before I can acknowledge once again just how beautiful Nathan is and how dashing he looks in his dark suit , or that next to him , Valerie looks even more gorgeous than I could ever hope to be , Peter lets out an exaggerated gasp , and I turn to him in question . " My bad ! " he says as he stands . " Nathan , I forgot that you were supposed to sit next to Mom . " He turns to me and smirks as my eyes widen . Then he points to the empty seat across the table from him . " That's my seat . " He points back to the seat he just vacated . " This is Nathan's . " With a wink in my direction that he doesn't bother hiding , Peter heads to the other side of the table , taking Nathan's would - be seat just as Valerie also sits next to him . Nathan pauses , his hand on the seat Peter just stole , looking unsure . A chill runs through me when I realize that the only other seat on the table set for the Ashfords is the one beside me . 14 My heart pounds loudly in tune with every step Nathan takes - towards me . Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!