After taking a shower and getting comfortable in my home clothes – a white shirt and gray sweatpants – I laid on the bed tiredly trying to find some sleep. Not a minute passed when I heard the loud grumble from my stomach.Right, I haven't had dinner yet.I barely had anything to eat today. I had a slice of toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, a piece of cake at the party and that was it. It made sense that I was hungry. I got up reluctantly and went to kitchen. I stared at the counters, the cupboards, the gas top. The whole kitchen was spotless, not a morsel of food in sight. I guess I have no other option but to cook.I tied my black apron around my waist. "Let's get to work" I got out the ingredients and prepared to make the only dish I was sure of 'Ramen noodles.' I stared at the empty pot in front of me feeling tired all of a sudden. "Why don't you go wait in the living room? I'll whip up something quick." I was startled by Lilian's voice. She was standing there in a
After what seemed like hours, I stood up from the corner I had hid in. My mind felt numb, unable to think about anything. I slid the closet open a bit at first to check if Byron was still in the room. The room was empty but my bed had been made and everything was in place.I got out fully and went into the bathroom, hoping for a nice and warm soak in the tub. I took off my clothes and dumped them at the entrance of the bathroom.After my bath, I put on a green long sleeved shirt with a black skirt. I laid on my bed, not willing to face Byron. There was a knock on the door and when I didn't reply after a few seconds, Byron came in. I didn't acknowledge his presence and instead, trained my eyes on the pink curtains.My line of sight was blocked by a pair of black joggers. Byron was looking down at me and in his hands was a tray."You didn't have anything to eat last night." He said, setting the tray on the bedside table and sitting on the couch. "I made breakfast."When I didn't say a
I stared at the closet doors that she closed behind her. She's been in there for a while now. Was she crying or she was avoiding me?It's better I just leave. I hit myself in the head. ‘What was I thinking asking her to talk about it?’ I thought as I walked out of her room.Why would she want to talk about her trauma? No less with me, someone she does not trust or feel comfortable with. "I really should watch my mouth" I thought. I stopped in front of the kitchen and ran my hand through my hair. I looked at the char marks on the gas top and the unusable pan and grimaced. Right there was also this.I was so invested in making sure Lilian was okay that I forgot the pan on fire. Luckily, the smoke detectors made the sprinklers go off extinguishing the fire before it could do any real damage. I had to get that fixed before the kids showed up.The pan reminded me that Lilian didn't have dinner. She must be famished now. I couldn't make her anything, this was so annoying. Maybe I should
"We're here." The screams of two teenage girls filled the foyer. I took off the apron and made my way to the living room."Hey sis." James greeted. He was standing in a corner, away from the girls with a bag draped over his shoulder."Sister-in-law!""Lilian!" Rose and Christie shouted simultaneously, running to hug me. I was knocked back by the impact of the force but managed to regain my stance."Hey girls." I kissed both of them on the cheek. Lucas came in with their bags and took them upstairs to the corridor."I missed you so much." Christie cried out, wrapping her arms around me and pushing Rose aside."Hey! She's also my sister." Rose exclaimed."Let me show you to your room." I smiled, leading them upstairs."Can Rose and I stay in the same room?" Christie asked after I assigned James the room beside Byron's."If you'd like." I showed them to the room beside mine. "When you're all settled in, come downstairs for dinner. It's in thirty minutes.""Hold on, sis. Where's my brothe
I didn't doubt HIS capabilities in getting information. He was an expert in this field, he could dig up information on someone's ancestry if I asked. He ran a background check on Lilian before but that was only basic information, things in the present not some buried past.Whatever happened to Lilian before, I trust him to find out. I mean he hasn't failed me before. After settling everything at the hotel, it was already late so I headed home.I was expecting to be greeted by Rose's loud voice at the door but it was silent when I came in. A little unusual, weren't they here yet?Then I saw Lilian descending the steps. She had a little smile on her face and looked better than she did this morning. That was good. "Lilian." I called. She paused at the call and faced me. "Hi. When did you get back?" She asked. "Not long ago." I loosened my tie, though I wore suits all day, I still found it stifling sometimes. "Are the kids here yet?" I took off my jacket. "Yes. They arrived not long
Waking up in Byron's bed was strange. Strange but nice. It meant I was comfortable enough with him. I was also glad I didn't have a nightmare. That'd have been a disaster.Ever since the incident, I had not been this close with the male gender, well except Nathan. I was awake for a while but didn't want to face him, not after my wild thoughts yesterday. I felt a light touch on my face which must have been the wind.I heard the bed creak as Byron probably got out of bed. I mustered the courage to open my eyes and met an empty bed. I took the opportunity to look around his room.It looked prim and proper with everything in place, just as I expected from him. There were a few books on a shelf beside his vanity mirror, other than that, the room was sparsely furnished.The door to Byron's closet opened and I heard his footsteps in the room."Good morning." I greeted him. He was fully dressed and looked ready for work."Morning. I hope you had a good night's sleep." He responded."Yeah I d
Contrary to what I thought, I actually had a good night's sleep. I was so tired that the dim light didn't bother me as much as I thought it would have and I soon fell into oblivion. I woke up the next morning without an alarm. I set alarms but usually wake up before them. No matter how tired I was, my biological clock made me wake up at 6am or even earlier everyday.I gingerly opened my eyes to welcome the light in the room. I stared at the ceiling for awhile trying to wake myself up completely. Then I heard the soft breathing from my side. I almost forgot Lilian was right next to me.Judging from the creases on the bed, she didn't seem to move around a lot in her sleep. She had flipped over and unlike last night, her back was no longer facing me.I rested my head on my pillow and found myself staring at her. There were no expressions on her face, her pink lips were pressed in a thin line. Strands of hair had escaped from her ponytail, scattering on her forehead. I looked closer at th
"Can we eat out tonight, please?" The girls pleaded. We were closed for the day and the only thing I wanted to do after today's hard work was to eat one of Lucia's delicacies and get warm under my blanket.But the girls had other plans.My workers stared at our family drama and waited with bated breath for my reply. I was forced to oblige to their wishes."Fine, I'll call the driver now."I said resignedly, picking up my phone."Actually," Rose said, "can Byron join us? Since we won't be cooking this night and James won't be home. I don't want my brother to starve to death.""He can't starve to death because he missed one meal." Christie countered."Who told you?" Rose said."That's enough!" I almost shouted. "No one is going to starve to death."This shut them up. I didn't know two people could be so similar. It's probably not the best trait in a friendship.They had been on their best behavior all day and kept out of my way but immediately the sun began to set, they'd been bickering