Once the door to the room shut behind them, Kelvin flared up. “That was so unnecessary, mum.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” his mum replied in a cheery voice, a practised smile on her face.
Kelvin walked ahead of her to create more distance in case Leila was eavesdropping. He didn’t stop walking till he was at the front of his parent’s room. His mum caught up with him and he opened the door for her.
His dad was reading a newspaper on the single sofa by the tall window when he entered inside. Kelvin forgot all about his mother’s drama as he rushed to his father for a much needed hug.
“Dad,” he said into his father’s chest, crouching so they were almost the same height. He had missed his old man. His father’s green eyes crinkled. All of the kids had skipped out on green eyes except Annie. Speaking of Annie, he was yet to see his sister. “I didn&rsqu
The next day, Leila woke up famished. She barely ate dinner last night because of her mood and she wasn’t looking forward to having breakfast with the whole family. Kelvin seemed to be the only nice person here.A hand snuck into her gown. She peered at her husband and stretched forward to capture his lips in a kiss.“Good morning, baby.”“Morning, my love,” he replied. His fingers wove into her hair, stroking her scalp sensually to elicit a small moan from her. “What were you thinking?”“Nothing. Just hungry.” Light cracked in through the curtains. She rolled onto her back and placed a hand over her eyes. If they were at home, she wouldn’t need to rush to get out of bed except for work. But now, she forced herself to move. Her mother-in-law didn’t need another reason to hate her. Kelvin’s worried eyes followed her movement. She fast walke
Leila was eating slowly. She shoved a spoonful of the oatmeal into her mouth without looking away from the laptop. Kelvin nudged her with his elbow and her eyes flew to him.“Are you okay?” he asked. She had been unusually quiet since his mother left the room. He was glad his mother showed up to apologise because he couldn’t handle the tension between them. Leila dragged the breakfast tray to the centre of the bed. Since she was seated between his legs, he couldn’t fully see her face. “What is it?”“What is what?” she replied. He quirked a brow and she let out a laugh that seemed too forced. “Just enjoying the movie.” The movie he could have sworn she wasn’t paying attention to. He let this slide. Leila finally finished her breakfast and he pulled away so he could be facing her. “Do you have any idea who the guest might be?”“No,” he answered. The guest mi
Mia.Mia was the guest. Kelvin couldn’t wrap his head around it. How dare she invite Mia without telling them? Of course his mother wouldn’t tell him because he would have refused. Where was his dad? He was the only one who could talk some sense to his mother.“Don’t look so annoyed,” his mother chided. She smiled at the lady sitting on her right. “Mia is part of the family and it’s not unusual to have her here.”“She’s married,” he replied through gritted teeth. “She has her own family now.”Leila gave his knee a small squeeze. He drew a breath and squeezed her hand back. They could not get to him. Mia was silent as the maids trooped out to dish the food.The aroma permeated the air but Kelvin had already lost his appetite. He caught Mia smiling at him on few occasions and glared at her.Didn’t she have a home and husband to look after now?
Leila was furious. So that was her mother-in-law’s plan? To bring Kelvin’s ex into the house to seduce him? She had turned down Annie’s offer to relax in her room only to meet that shameless pig talking trash. Who cared about their past?Once they were inside their room, she let go of her husband. Kelvin pinned her to the wall.“My love, just ignore everything she said.” She pursed her lips and Kelvin scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Baby, I’m going to destroy the treehouse. I promise.”“You used to fuck her?” Leila asked.Kelvin gulped. “Yes.”“Hmm,” was all she said.“Leila. My baby. My love. It was such a long time ago. I haven’t touched her since forever.”“But you still asked me to come to lunch without any panties on.” Kelvin’s face reddened. She pushed him and he stepped b
They didn’t do anything fun inside the house but they went into town for their dinner. By the time they returned home, all the anger Leila felt at seeing Mia was gone. But she couldn’t say the same for her husband. He had excused himself to talk to his mother and whatever her mother-in-law told him had put him in a mood.She cradled Kelvin’s elbow. His eyes were clenched shut and the only thing keeping him in the room was her. She touched a finger to her husband’s lips. He peered down at her and some of the anger vanished.“I can’t believe she’s letting Mia stay here for the week.” Leila could believe it. She believed the worst of her mother-in-law. “Doesn’t she have a home to run or something? Does Charles even know where she is?”“I’m sure he does and he doesn’t care.” Charles was an unfaithful leech. Maybe fate had intervened by pairing him with someone of the same
Leila would not stop smiling. She laughed at everything her husband said even if it wasn’t funny. Nothing and no one could steal her joy. Sprawled on the bed, she moaned into the pillow when Kelvin’s hand sneaked into her gown. He teased her panties, shifting it to the side without touching her woman parts. Somewhere along the line, he had moved the table to the end of the bed so they could lie on their stomach and watch the movie together.Her attention strayed from the movie, a story about two young adults in a forbidden relationship. It was an adaption of the book: To Seduce My Stepbrother. She read the book once but she hadn’t seen the movie. If Kelvin wasn’t such a distraction, she would have been able to pay more attention to the relationship between the stepsiblings.Kelvin’s breath fanned her ear. His gaze stayed on her for a long minute but she didn’t look at him. “Are you really watching the movie,
Kelvin returned to his wife as his mother was leaving her. He was on alert immediately. Leila smiled when he arrived. He placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her up the stairs into the house. She didn’t look sad or upset. That could only mean one thing.“What did my mum say?”“She invited us for dinner,” Leila replied. She shifted the basket to her other arm and took his hand. They started the walk to their room. “She was nice today.”And on other days, she could be nice too. But for some silly reasons, she was rude to only Leila. He wouldn’t let it pass till she changed.“Do you want us to go?”Leila paused on the first stair. “Yeah. Do you?”They were inside their room when he finally said, “I don’t know. I don’t trust her not to pull any stunts.”“Let’s just give her the benefits
Breakfast in a big home took more than twenty minutes. Leila learned it the hard way. Cooking with the maids was a fun experience. By the third day, she had become a familiar face in the kitchen. Everyone of the workers had only good things to say about Kelvin.They enjoyed working with the McKenna family and would do so for the rest of their lives if they had a choice. The knowledge eased some of the doubts in her mind about her mother-in-law. They weren’t close yet but they got along. Kelvin’s mother had not made any snarky remarks and Leila was going to take their budding friendship to the next level by cooking today’s breakfast without the maid’s assistance.Leila entered the kitchen with a big smile. Agnes, the chief cook, welcomed her with a hug. The elderly woman was like the matron of the kitchen. Everyone came to her for advice or instructions. She switched off the cooker and turned to Leila.“You look hap