222 The Family Meeting

Recognizing Anya, two young women in their twenties and another man, who was none other than her cousin Charles, stood up to kiss each other on the cheek. The man was no longer ashamed to flaunt his huge facial scar and even seemed to wear it with pride.

Charles paused hesitantly when he saw Jake's gold-silver eyes, but he relaxed when he realized it was just his cousin. He let out a small embarrassed laugh before shaking his hand in a falsely formal manner.

He then introduced himself to the rest of the group by shaking hands, and he complimented or joked with each of them. A real icebreaker.

"Let me do the introductions. "Charles proposed by taking the initiative. He knew Jake couldn't stand either of his cousins and Anya could only get along with the two young women who came to greet her.

"From left to right, Vincent, Noémie, Kate, Kevin, George, Brice, Edouard, Arthur, Aurelie and Elijah. In the middle chair is Antoine, our grandfather and the current head of the family. "