CHAPTER 8: KIDS?

NAYA'S P.O.V

Getting married to Talon was one of the biggest decisions I had ever taken in my life and I was pretty sure I was starting to regret it. Not because I was suffering or anything – far from it.

As a matter of fact, I was living more comfortably than I had ever lived. Talon was freaking rich. He had everything at his beck and call and I was benefitting from it insanely. I ate whatever I wanted, no matter how expensive. I had a whole new wardrobe – the wardrobe of my dreams with a lot of amazing outfits. I didn’t have to do any work around the house; Talon had people for that.

But all these didn’t stop me from being bored and lonely.

I was literally the only person in this house. Talon was a workaholic and he hardly stayed at home.

He would leave the house before I woke up and by the time he’d get back, I would be asleep. The only thing I had for companion was the television and my phone and I hated using my phone because every other day, there was always something new about Talon Thwaites and his mysterious wife A.K.A me, in the news. I was starting to lose my freaking mind.

So, it was a relief when his father extended the weekend invitation to about two weeks after we had gotten married. Talon was unhappy about it but we had no choice. We had to go. I, on the other hand, was more than happy to be finally going to a place where I wouldn’t be the only person roaming about the house.

I had expected Talon to stay at home so we could prepare, or to at least come back from work early

– so you can imagine by surprise and disappointment when the doorbell rang and I saw Manuel by the door, telling me, “The boss asked me to drive you over to his parents’ house. He will meet you there in the night.”

I was too shocked and disappointed to even form a coherent reply. I jus whirled around, walked into my room to throw a couple of things inside my bag and dragged it out of the room to the door.

“Let’s go,” I said stiffly to Manuel.

“Let me help you with that,” he said, grabbing the small bag. He dumped it at the back of the car, waited for me to climb in before getting in and starting the car.

As he drove, Manuel glanced at me carefully.

“Naya, are you angry Mr. Thwaites is not here?” he asked and I let out a sigh.

“I'm not exactly angry,” I answered. “I expected him to at least come back early since it’s his parents we are visiting, you know. I’m losing my mind in that house. I have no idea what to do.”

Manuel shook his head. “I wish I could tell you that things would change but Mr. Talon loves working. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.”

I folded my arms across my chest and sunk into the chair. “Whatever. Just drive.”

We got to his parents' mansion few minutes later and honestly, I don’t think I was surprised at the enormity of the house. The mansion was huge and the compounds were decorated with beautiful flowers and fountains. I was more enthralled by the fountain of the lion with its mouth open and water gushing from it. Manuel grabbed my back from the car and led me to the front door. He rang the doorbell and we waited for a few minutes before the door was finally opened by a young woman in a checkered servant’s dress.

“Good evening, Manuel,” she greeted, opening the door wide. Manuel walked in and I followed behind

him.

“Lily, this is Naya, Mr. Talon's wife.”

I gave her a small smile which she returned.

Manuel handed my bag over to her, said goodbye and walked out of the house. Lily asked me, as kindly as she could, to sit down while she informed Talon's parents that I was here. I did as she said, huddling myself in one corner of the house. As I sat there, I glanced around me surreptitiously. If I thought Talon's house was beautiful and ostentatious, then I was wrong. This was way worse. I noticed the artworks on the walls and the expensive pottery table in the middle of the room. The chairs were soft plush that immediately made you sink the moment your butt touched them.

“You are finally here,” A voice interrupted my reverie and I jerked up, my head whipping in the direction of the stairs where the voice came from. The moment I saw Talon’s mother, Mrs. Thwaites, I jumped to my feet.

“Good evening Mrs. Thwaites.”

She blinked, assessing me with her eyes slowly.

“Nadia,” she said.

“Naya-”

She waved her hand dismissively as though her knowing the name of her wife's son didn’t matter. She walked closer to me. “I see you finally took up our invitation.” She glanced around. “Where is Talon?”

“He will be joining us later,” I told her; she nodded.

“Alright, how about I show you your room and you can wash up and come downstairs for dinner,” she said, suddenly turning in the direction of the stairs. I began to follow her, listening to her as she spoke. “Talon’s brother, Nelson and his wife are joining us tonight. You’d be introduced to them.”

“Oh, that is lovely. I can’t wait to meet them,” I answered. We climbed up the stairs and walked till she stopped at a room.

“Here you go. This is Talon’s room whenever he comes to visit. I figured the both of you would want to stay together since you are married, right?”

I forced out a smile. “Right. Thank you.”

“That’s okay, Nora, just call me Karen.”

I gritted my teeth. “It’s Naya.”

She simply shrugged, turned her back and as she walked away, she said above her shoulders,

“Don’t be late for dinner.”

I watched the back of her retreating figure, rolling my eyes at her. Were all Thwaites this pompous and arrogant? First, the son and now, the mother?

I turned to the door, pushed it open and walked inside. I opened my mouth to coo at how homely and cozy the room looked with its soft and plush blanket, the large chair by the side, the beautiful brown curtains. The moment I closed the door, I sunk into the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

I was awoken by the sound of loud, obnoxious knocking on my door. I immediately sprang up of sleep, leading to a pounding headache in my head. “Who is there?” I yelled, unwilling open the door.

“Mrs. Thwaites, it’s time for dinner.”

Oh, shit. Karen asked me to not be late. Shit, shit.

Well, that’s just more reasons for her to hate me. I sprung out of bed, yelled “I’m coming” and began to ransack my bag for comfortable clothing. I eventually settled for a pair of shorts and a light blouse before walking down the stairs to the dining table.

As I approached the table, I realized that there were four people seated. Talon's father and mother, and a couple I didn’t recognize. A young man who looked about Talon’s age, whom I assumed to be the brother Karen spoke of. And, the younger woman must be his wife.

As I approached them, Karen noticed me and said, “Look, the new wife is finally here.”

I ignored the sarcasm in her voice, forcing out a smile at them. “Good evening, Mr. Thwaites, Karen.”

“Naya,” Mr. Thwaites said. Finally, someone got my name right. “You can call me Eric. This is Talon's brother, Nelson. I’m sure he must have told you about him.”

I glanced at Nelson who looked up at me. “A pleasure to meet you,” I said.

He nodded. “The pleasure is mine,” he answered grimly. No smile or warmth in his voice. Wow, did I do something or were all Thwaites just created to hate me? I have to say, though, the Thwaites genes was certainly good and strong. Nelson was almost as handsome as his brother. Almost.

His wife rose to her and hugged me, catching me off guard. At least, one Thwaites is nice to me.

“Welcome into the family,” she said. “I’m Mandy.”

“Hi Mandy, it’s great to meet you,” I answered. She pulled away and the both of us take our seats. I hesitated at first, glancing at the faces around me. Karen was focused on her food, pointedly ignoring my presence while Nelson kept staring holes into my face.

I quickly glance down at the open food in front of me, grabbing a fork to eat.

As I ate, Eric asked, “So, Naya, where is Talon? Isn’t he supposed to be here with you?”

I clenched the fork in my hand as I raised my head. “He is going to meet me here,” I replied. “He is busy at work.”

I heard Nelson snicker at my reply and it brought a frown to my face. I could see that Eric was displeased at my reply but he said nothing, simply turning to Nelson and starting a conversation with him. Soon enough, Karen and Mandy joined in the conversation and I was sat there, an outcast, chewing slowly, trying to follow their words. Eventually, I gave up, letting my mind wander away until…

“So, Naya, have you and Talon thought about having kids?”

I choked up at Eric’s words, spluttering and coughing. I grabbed the nearest glass of water and downed it in one gulp. I sucked in a deep breath of air, my eyes wide as I replied, “What?”

“Kids? Have you and Talon thought of having kids? When will you have kids? It’s very important that I get an heir,” Eric repeated as if it wasn’t weird to ask someone who had just been married for only two weeks when they planned on having kids.

“Yeah.. I mean...” I blinked, unsure of what to say. A glance at Nelson and I could see a small smirk on his face – not a charming kind of smirk, no. It was more like a devilish smirk. A wicked one. I quickly looked away from him, composing myself. “I mean… yeah, we… we talked about it, I think. We are still talking about it.”

“You both need to hurry up about it. I’m not getting any younger and neither is Talon’s mother. We would love to see our grandchildren.” Beside him, Karen let out a derisive snort at his words to which he threw a glare at her.

Okay, this family was utterly and completely nuts. “Of course, Mr. Thwaites… Eric. We will talk about it.”

Having suddenly lost my appetite, I rose to my feet and said, “This was a lovely dinner, Eric, Karen. Thank you. Nelson, Mandy, it was very lovely meeting you. Goodnight.” Saying so, I walked away from the dining towards the stairs.

***

I came downstairs almost an hour later, around nine, to get water to drink. Talon wasn’t back yet and I wasn’t surprised. Twelve o'clock in the morning was the earliest Talon had ever returned from work since I started living with him.

I walked to the kitchen, glad that no one was around to question me – not the servants or Talon's parents. I grabbed a bottle of water from the freezer, drank out of it and decided to take the rest with me to my room. As I walked out of the kitchen, I bumped into Nelson.

Ugh, spoke to soon.

“Hey,” I said, in the most pleasant tone I could muster. Then I side-stepped him and began to walk away.

“Naya, right?” his voice stopped me.

“Yeah.”

“Congratulations on your wedding to my brother,” he said. I wish I could say I heard warmth in his voice.

“Thanks.”

“You both make a cute, little couple, don’t you?”

he asked and this time, he didn’t bother to hide the mockery or tease in his tone. When I glanced at him, his lips were tilting upwards in a mocking smile.

“Thank you?” I was so confused about what to say.

“You know, I never thought I would see the day my brother would fall in love or get married,” he continued. “But I am just glad that he was finally able to find love. We always thought he was unlovable, you know. He is uppity. We didn’t think anyone would be able to love him for who he was.”

I gritted my teeth, starting to get pissed off by Talon's brother. He was obviously trying to goad me. “Well, I love my husband for who he is.”

“Oh, I know, I can see that,” He waved his hand dismissively. “Otherwise, why else would you have married him?” As he asked that question, he narrowed his eyes at me, making my heart skip a bit.

“What the hell do you think you are doing??” Talon’s voice shockingly interrupted us.

I let out a loud gasp, turning in his direction in shock. “Talon! You are early!” Even I could hear the relief in my voice. If I had to stay one more minute with Nelson and listen to his crap, I’ll probably lose my temper.

Talon ignored me, glaring at his brother. “What are you doing?” he demanded again.

Nelson gave him a slow, lazy smile. “Oh, nothing. Just talking to my new sister-in-law here,” he answered.

“Well, she obviously doesn’t want to talk to you. So get the fuck,” Talon spat out angrily, grabbing my arm and dragging me up the stairs. I kept mute as he pulled me along. I was just glad to be away from Nelson. He didn’t let go of my hand until we got into the room. He pushed me in, walked in and slammed the door close. “Stay away from my brother,” he said in a grin and gruff tone.

I nodded immediately. I didn’t even want anything to do with Nelson, anyway. He rubbed off me the wrong way. Talon observed me for a minute, then, he whirled around and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Releasing a loud sigh, I sunk into the bed, my mind returning to the conversation during dinner.

Talon's father seemed really serious about me having a child. Well, if that was going to happen, it should happen soon enough. We should just do it and get over with because I was currently starting to overthink it.

But did I want to have sex with Talon?

Oh who was I kidding? The first time I saw Talon, I wanted to jump in his bones. He was an attractive man… until he opened his mouth.

Anyway, if we were going to have a child, we should just do it and forget about it.

I glanced nervously at the bathroom door, hearing the sound of the shower. Should I tell him about it when he comes out? Should I tell him that his parents are starting to goad us about kids, however socking and creepy it was, and that I was thinking we should just do it and get it over with?