Chapter 192: Do you know her well enough
"You don’t know, do you?" Stanford chimed in, disbelief plain in his voice. "Man, you wanna propose to this girl and you don’t even know where she works?"
"And her last name?" Stanley added quietly, as if laying down the final card in a stacked deck.
Stefan swallowed hard. His fingers drummed against the table, then stilled. "Aveline... uh..." He cleared his throat. "I just call her Ave."
Steve groaned and dragged a hand down his face, while Stanford let out a low whistle.
"Goddamn, Stefan," Steve muttered. "You’re falling hard for a girl you barely know."
"I know enough," Stefan snapped, standing now, his chair scraping against the floor. "She’s good. She’s kind. She listens to me. She makes me feel... seen. And isn’t that what matters?"
Mara’s heart ached, hearing it in his voice that thread of loneliness, of need, like a man chasing something to fill an old, aching hollow.
She looked around at her brothers, their stubborn faces, their protectiveness disguising their fear. Fear of watching Stefan crash and burn. Fear of watching another Ava slip through his fingers.
Steve’s voice cut across the room like a whip. "House address, past life, the school she went to, do you even know any of that about this girl you claim you want to marry?"
Stefan stiffened, his face flushed with heat, a mix of anger and shame curling in his gut. In his mind, it had never been about that. The connection was what mattered, the late-night talks, the way Aveline’s voice softened when she spoke about the future, how she listened like every word he said was precious. He figured the rest could come later. Names, schools, exes... who cared about ancient history when your heart was on fire?
But Steve’s words hung in the air, sharp and unrelenting.