Moreau felt there was something odd after the complex situation between them had subsided. There were no more things to try to bring to the surface. Froy hadn't tried to find an opening since she'd kicked the man out of the room. Or actually, a little preoccupied with some activities between having to take care of the upcoming wedding, as well as one need regarding his uncle's attention.
A few times Moreau had caught Froy trying to coax. Often, perhaps. It was just that Abihirt didn't seem to show any interest. Let alone respond. In the end, the man gave up and decided not to make a significant gesture. Froy was under Gloriya's supervision. Perhaps anyway... times like these were stressful. Good, if that was the case. Moreau would not face any charges. The few days here were better. Even the occasional message from Juan was overlooked. She wanted to tell the man about the incredibly pleasant scenery here. Juan would like it very much. She think She'll take some picturesMoreau blinked for a moment, almost unconsciously making a huffing sound. "What did you make that cake for?" She even had to lose control when she finally asked the question. "It's Abi's birthday tomorrow. He didn't want a party, so I took the initiative to just give him a cake." That was quite a surprise. Moreau had received no hint of anything important from her stepfather. There was nothing conspicuous or she understood a little if it turned out that Abihirt did not have an enthusiastic attitude about tomorrow. "How old is he, if I may know?" asked Moreau just to make sure about some of the things she had outlined as conclusions. Maybe something was wrong, or it was just never the right guess. "33. Why?" Apparently it was supposed to be like that. She hadn't guessed wrong. It was also Barbara's birthday in a few months, so it was a reasonable calculation. "No, it's not. Just curious." Moreau thinned her lips unconsciously after say
The faint clatter of someone's steps behind the door could be heard approaching. Added to that was the jingling of keys that gave away the information there. Someone was about to enter, but some of them had to be wary. Moreau glanced around but found nothing—all was dark, only a few acceptable candles lit. They needed to start the countdown, then when the time came... she would twist the bottom of the confetti popper vigorously. Three .... Two .... One .... The sound of loud popping and paper flying instantly spread throughout the place. "Happy age, Darling. I love you." Barbara's voice was the first to come to the surface after the dark room burst into flames. This was part of the woman's plan. Her husband had been asked to leave for some time with the involvement of Roger, who despite the doctor's refusal, eventually agreed to kidnap and return Abihirt at the appointed time. It was already late. However, they still surprised him in the
"It's getting late. Better get some sleep. I'm going to take a shower." Indeed, on the subject of water. Moreau should underline that the events of the day did not take too long. During the night, the flow had been very strong; just as in the morning, Abihirt had also used the hose to bathe Chicao. The man was now—no, just now—touching Barbara to give her a hint. "Why go straight to the room? Don't you want to eat your birthday cake first?" Her mother's question made Moreau hold her breath. It was instinctive, not caused by anything else. What was quite relevant could perhaps be related to Abihirt's current attitude. "I'll it that tomorrow." The man added as he walked away. Too cold to leave everyone almost transfixed, but also not trying to prevent. "I already told you. Aside from not liking parties, Abi is not interested in being surprised at all. You saw his expression earlier. You'd better disperse." Roger expressed such a statement as
However, Moreau even felt quite shocked imagining her mother's attitude later. Would Barbara eventually get angry, sue Abihirt and then they would fight; stirring things up unnaturally? That wouldn't have happened if one of them would have stepped aside from the argument. There is a validity to Moreau's point of view from her mother's point of view. It was difficult for Barbara to give in. In fact, it seemed impossible to quell the anger after all the effort had been wasted. Or perhaps it would all depend on how Abihirt finished the business left behind. The man had been willing to apologize to her. Maybe it wouldn't sound so bad to do the same for Barbara. Moreau knew in the end that would be the conclusion. There was nothing more and nothing to regret. It would be best if she closed her eyes. Try to sleep. Forget the inappropriate parts. Had neither Barbara nor Abihirt given her the right to comment on their relationship? She wouldn't say anything. The third per
"And why aren't you sleeping?" Such a question was one of the many thoughts that did not reach Moreau's mind. Her shoulders were tense with attention to anything, any detail that might involve Abihirt and how the man stopped short of giving a light touch. "I still don't want to sleep," Moreau said slowly. At least she created a pause around the air. Only the sound of breathing sometimes tried to interfere with things they didn't say. "Good then." Abihirt suddenly spoke too quietly. Moreau's eyebrows knitted together deeply then said, "What's good? I can't possibly serve you here." "I'm not in the mood for sex." There was also no warning that the man would unexpectedly pull Moreau's body onto the bed. An arm that felt solid instantly wrapped around her flat stomach. Questions immediately branched out. Hoping to find an answer as to why Abihirt was looking for something here, making an attempt to sleep, when the man could also take similar action ag
There was something odd. Moreau wished she could keep walking towards the kitchen table, where her mother was smiling happily with the man there, who had spent another night sleeping and then disappeared from civilization—even before she could shoo him away or at least suddenly jolt awake to face the unexpected fear. Moreau had to admit that things were very well organized. Just not much about what was relevant last night; certainly not what she would call odd. Not about the familiarity there, but the striking difference on her stepfather's face. Abihirt's jaw looked clean. It really was. How the new look made the man look much younger. She wondered... could this be influenced by last night's statement? Which then had a harsh effect when her stepfather finally decided to shave? Moreau felt like laughing at the comparison in her mind. It certainly wasn't true. She didn't want to be big-headed. Might as well try to be fair, walk closer, come over to the kitchen tabl
Moreau did not want to make eye contact any longer. She quickly looked down as she brought the bowl of stacked strawberries closer. The right amount of sourness and sweetness would be a complex blend—describing how the position here was. Again. Still playing the role of the third person who has to watch her mother and stepfather connect too closely. Suddenly Barbara's cell phone on the dining table vibrated. The woman turned her head briefly. A slight smile was revealed there, although there was something serious that should have been understood immediately, but her mother did not. Moreau had trouble swallowing the piece of cake down her throat as she studied every detail of the expression on Abihirt's face. "I'll go to the backyard first, Darling. Wait here for a moment. The appointment won't be long." As if in a hurry then Barbara dropped a light peck on her husband's jaw. Moreau unconsciously thinned her lips when she realized how cold Abihirt's expression was,
This would be the last day in the countryside. The noon was for a bit of relaxing, and the afternoon would be about making preparations; packing clothes into suitcases or various other necessities. Moreau didn't think it was a bad idea, but it was a little odd after a breakfast that was too much of a surprise. She had not noticed Abihirt's presence since the last time the man had left the kitchen. Barbara hadn't said anything either, other than seemingly wandering around with a cell phone in hand. Like she was too busy. Just too much and suddenly ended up here. Sitting across from her, though Moreau didn't make a sound. Only occasionally found the woman smiling happily. She quickly looked down, absentmindedly swiping through the phone screen. Juan didn't look like he was going to reply to the message just yet; just now... Moreau sent a photo of the view from the green grass. Perhaps it intrigued her a little to open her stepfather's profile. Abihirt had been ina
Now Moreau's attention quickly fell on the surface of the soft mattress, where some sinister image of her mother and stepfather's romance continued here like something painfully incarnate. She never wanted to be caught between potentially painful things. Six months had not yet been completed, but Moreau was already overwhelmed—not by how Abihirt would be rough in bed; but rather... she felt; sort of bound by the urge not to share the man with anyone—not even her mother, though Barbara was the most entitled. This was very wrong. Moreau recognized that. Just couldn't control the forbidden ego when the survival instinct had taken over. She was afraid this would end up worse. More painful; like having to plunge into more violent feelings—then, there was no way out. "Are you going to stay there until sunrise or until your mother comes home?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice almost sounded like something urgent—demanding Moreau to be dragged to the surface, so she had
Now Moreau was seized by the same tension as earlier. Her eyes moved restlessly, hardly knowing that she had a purpose here. Things were not in good order, though that was why they still needed a reason. "Chicao made me chase her all the way to my mother's room. That's all." Yes, that was it. She did not feel obliged to explain things to her stepfather. "It's not because you secretly did something to me?" Woefully, Moreau could not think straight. In the end she knew Abihirt would not hide the man's knowledge long term. There were no answers. None could be found. Moreau swallowed harshly again. Suddenly her tongue was very groggy. Afraid that Abihirt would ask her something that was still relevant. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Fortunately, no. This time Moreau was a bit adept at controlling something inside her that was so gray. "I was just watching. Wanted to go to my room, but Chicao wandered off with a bell around her neck," and replied almost
Moreau felt her entire pulse and heart forced to speed up. The loud voice in her chest was pounding. She gasped for a moment. Stunned. Almost too afraid at the thought of having just been caught doing something forbidden. Abihirt would probably be angry anyway, the man still seemed to be trying to understand the situation around him. Still learning things... where the inappropriate part was finding someone else here. Something like a new event. Moreau continued to watch every single thing Abihirt did. Staring nervously and swallowing quite hard; hoping not to hear a throaty sound like a big splutter. "What are you doing here, Moreau?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice resembled a croak, as if the man had been completely immersed, so it took a while to recover a lost memoir. In fact, with the remnants of sleepiness still pervading, her stepfather would blink a few times, rubbing his rough face, then Moreau would find the man would not leave eye contact between them.
No idea what made such a distinction. She was sure there were many secrets inside Abihirt and wanted the man to let them out, but her stepfather chose not to try just once. Perhaps it wasn't as if Moreau knew that Abihirt was sick enough of Barbara's infidelity to decide to retaliate in a more devious way. Her position was on the line. Moreau understood how she had been used as an outlet. Just couldn't help herself when she started to like the man. Idiot. She smiled bitterly at the thought of buying foolishness. Abihirt would not try to fall for another, while only towards Barbara was the man so in love. It was, sort of, a thing; truly pathetic. Silently taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Moreau tentatively extended a fingertip to simply brush across her stepfather's upper arm. Feeling every touch there, was probably what Barbara did most often anyway. There was still no specific reaction where the man's hand remained flexed in a position forming the angle
The corner of Moreau's lips twitched faintly. No idea why this felt like something that seemed to give her leverage. Barbara really knew how to charm Abihirt, while she had never given the slightest thought to simply seeking the man's attention. It felt unnecessary—perhaps, and a little inappropriate. "It's nice to be petted by your master, doesn't it?" Still lightly stroking Chicao's soft fur. Moreau tilted her face slightly as she thought about things. She wasn't talking about the touch of Abihirt's hand on the man's pet—just something that came closest—when they started to want each other; venting everything they held back, even if it was a big mistake; as Chicao suddenly twisted her body. Almost simply making a circular pattern, following the tail that was also wagging. However, Moreau never expected Abihirt's dog to run away immediately. "Wait, Chicao. Where are you going?" The prospect of where Chicao was headed was terrifying. Moreau didn't want them t
There was not much to do after Barbara left home. It's worth pointing out that Moreau still took a disobedient course of action—deliberately deciding to watch until quite late with so little interest in climbing the steps, but she had to. She and her mother did not strike up much of a conversation after Barbara's last statement at the dinner table. Their complicated relationship could not be said to be entirely at fault, though it was. Moreau couldn't expect things to go well, while they knew Barbara always wanted what she thought was right—then never wanted to try to take the place of simply standing in someone's point of view; no matter if it was wrong or not. It would have been the worst decision if Moreau hadn't expressed all the disgust in her mind, because after all, they knew what finally made Barbara stop from wanting to see Abihirt's expensive watch in person. The man is sleeping .... There was something Moreau could not describe when thinking back
Dinner would not have been so awkward if the events of the previous afternoon had never happened. Moreau had just sat directly in front of Barbara who had said nothing, even though the woman knew they had resolved the conflict by hanging perhaps, but there was really nothing more to talk about. She didn't think owning expensive things was a mistake. Or perhaps Barbara was waiting for someone else. Moreau just realized Abihirt was nowhere to be seen. Normally, the man would have been at the dinner table earlier; keeping Barbara company. Strange. If she had to admit something; she was still interested in just taking a step back—about the man's pale face when he persuaded Barbara to leave her room. Perhaps the correlation between the two was quite plausible. Moreau silently exhaled air from her lips, a little accidentally noticing that Caroline had prepared a special dinner—a healthy meal for the man who was not present here. The woman hadn't even left yet. Had it not bee
There was something odd about her mother's statement. Moreau didn't think she had ever reflected anything to the woman, but the knowledge in Barbara's mind seemed to have gone beyond the point of simply taking the silent action of monitoring things. "Since when and how did you know my account balance?" asked Moreau to make sure her mother was really going to post a confession. It didn't matter if Barbara ended up snickering before the woman got started. "Ever since you started being a rebel, and I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm still your mother." There was certainly no justification for the status between them. Moreau understood that her mother was trying to appear in control. She just didn't like her exaggerating things. Exaggerating things where Barbara barely had the right to simply take the long view. "I'm adult enough, Mom. All the money in the account is my money. You have contributed nothing and you have even violated my privacy." Still in
"Looks like you're shopping in bulk, Moreau ...." There was no impressive information when Barbara suddenly appeared after opening the door to the room a little rudely, then stood proudly with her arms folded in front of her chest. Moreau would not deny it as she stared straight in her mother's face. There was no smile. Instead, there was a cynical tendency, as if it had been in place before Barbara had set foot here. Moreau silently snorted. It was quite surprising and strange to have her mother come unexpectedly. That woman shouldn't know anything, but perhaps it was just a habit; showing up; commenting; and saying inappropriate things. In any case, she was too lazy to deal with her mother. Knowing there would be more serious problems if they eventually crossed the line. It could end up as a bad prospect to say that all of this was bought by one person. Moreau had refused when Abihirt offered something more. She just didn't want to. Coincidence—indeed; th