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
Leila was not allowed into the room even after the doctor came. Her attempts to enter was foiled by the two men at the door. They didn’t look when she cried or yelled. Everything she tried to tell them was in vain.When Mrs McKenna walked out with the doctor, a small smile on her lips, a burst of hope spread through Leila. She waited till the doctor was gone, then followed behind her mother-in-law to her room. Her father-in-law had not shown up, she didn’t know if he was in the house. He would have been kinder and let her in. “Please, I want to see Kev.” Her voice trembled. The fight in her was gone and she would do whatever was necessary to see her husband. Mrs McKenna unhooked her necklace and placed it on the table in her room. She removed the rest of her jewellery like Leila wasn’t in the room. After a few more steps towards her, Leila tried again. “Please. I want to see my baby.”“Your baby?&rdquo
Leila didn’t leave her husband’s side after feeding him the noodles. The guards were missing when she woke in the morning to prepare his breakfast. Kelvin insisted he would only eat what she cooked. His parents were yet to show up and she was hoping they did while she was in the kitchen so they wouldn’t bump into her.Her mother-in-law’s plan to kick her out of their house wasn’t working. She would leave with her husband when he was feeling better. She snuck into the kitchen earlier than usual to avoid the awkwardness of last night. Yesterday when she had requested to make dinner for her and her husband, Agnes and the other maids looked ready to run out of the kitchen.Now, Agnes was the only person in the kitchen. Leila greeted her without expecting a response but Agnes surprised her with a small smile. Agnes was quiet as Leila brought out ingredients to make pancakes.While Agnes prepared food for the family, Leila mad
They stayed like that for a while until Kelvin’s phone rang. Amara.“I have to take this outside,” he told his wife. Having been stuck in the room for a full day, he needed to clear his head and speak to his mother where Leila had no chance of listening.“Are you sure you don’t want to do it here? I won’t eavesdrop,” Leila said. She followed behind him like he was a kid and he was reminded of their first time in the house when he washed and broke a plate. “Kev?”Keeping the door open with one leg, he said, “It’s fine, baby. Just relax, okay? You can start packing up.”Leila gasped. She covered her mouth to hide her excitement but Kelvin knew she was happy with his words. How did he miss it? He genuinely thought she and his mother had put aside their differences. His wife had done her best, joining the maids to cook and do the dishes before his mother requested it of