Tessa was in her element, practically bouncing from one end of the mall to the other as she “explored” what she called the best-hidden gems in the area. And I had to admit, her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself laughing along as she pulled me into one boutique after another, insisting that I try on everything she liked. After finally finishing our spree, Tessa waved her hand dismissively and called over her chauffeur to have everything she bought sent to her house. “Now that that’s done,” she said with a mischievous grin, “let’s go for a swim.”“A swim?” I raised an eyebrow. “Where?”Tessa’s smile grew wider. “You’ll see. I have a surprise.”Before I knew it, we were heading into an elegant hotel nearby, one of her mother’s properties. Tessa greeted the staff like an old friend, and within minutes, we were at the private indoor pool. The pool area was stunning, with warm lighting that reflected off the still water, casting gentle ripples of light against the wa
“I’m sorry to ask this question, but it’s your mother’s brain short circuited?” Christopher asked me and immediately, Tessa and I burst into a peak of laughter and almost crash into each other while at it. Christopher has me rolling in a belly laughter with his question, so much that I forget my sadness for a moment. “I’m sure I had clearly warned her not to bother you, especially with matters that concerns your sister, but it seemed like my warning did not get across to her,” Christopher continued, his gaze darkening further. He didn’t seem to find the situation funny. Tessa finally controlled her laughter and said to him, “Go ahead with whatever choice of words you want to use for Emily’s Mum, she will never be offended by it.” I shrugged, totally carefree about it because at this point, there is no dignity left to savage. Even I want to sometimes know how my Mum’s brain functioned. I mean, how could she call to tell me about Brenda? Did I ever mistakenly tell her to keep
Christopher is right, I need more energy to face my enemies, so I pick up my cutlery and continue eating, but who would have known that I would throw everything up after that?“Emily, are you that upset?” Tessa asked as she uncapped a bottle of water and passed it to me.I took it from her weakly and used some of it to rinse my mouth before handing it back to her.“Trust me, I’m trying to be strong here, but it looks my system recognizes that I can’t pretend anymore,” I said, looking Tessa in the eye.She noticed how tired I was and grasped my arm before helping me out of the washroom.“If you don’t want to go back home, you can follow me to my place. Emily, you know I hate to see you like this,” Tessa said to me with a tinge of bitterness in her tone. I can tell that she’s a little upset with me for exerting myself, but there isn’t much I can do.I don’t want to start staying away from the house once the situation is unfavourable for me because I don’t want to give Brenda any l
Mum supported Brenda by wrapping one arm around her waist while the other hand held her by the arm. As I took in the scene before me, anger overwhelmed me.Brenda looked so frail, and I wonder the reason she chose not to stay in her bedroom and insisting on coming down for dinner. Maybe she was expecting to see me so she could show me how well she’s being taken care of.I know Brenda like the back of my hand, even if she was dying, she would always find a way to incur pity from others. She was very good at it.Brenda just got out of the hospital after undergoing a serious surgery. If it wasn’t for her insistence, she would have had to spend more time in the hospital. But now that she had forced her way back home, she was not supposed to make vigorous movements when her body wasn’t ready.Mum would never force her to come down for dinner, so that leaves Brenda on the spot for orchestrating all these.I feel very tempted to tell her to her face to stop incurring pity by making ever
By the time I was done, Mum had already exhaled more than five times. And I don’t doubt that she is relieved that didn’t let Christopher in.In her mind, she’s still probably thinking that I am unaware that he warned them against me.“Next time, don’t drive out special guest away, no matter the time of the day it is,” Mum said with her gaze on me. “Christopher is your fiance, and will soon be your husband. In fact, he’s my son-in-law already. You have to treat him with respect. This is his second home now. Understand?”I nodded in compliance at Mum’s statement. I bet she is relieved that her head is still attached to her neck. The tinge of nervousness in her tone, already gave her away.“Tomorrow, shampoo your hair and put it in a ponytail, it will make you look simple and homely,” Mum instructed.I believe that she is trying to turn me into a traditional wife just to suit the Moore family’s core values. Although I don’t have any problems with that, but I hope Grandpa Moore would
I met Christopher outside the restaurant and together we walked into the restaurant, holding hands. He confirmed that I was really fine and wasn’t being bothered by my parents as he led me towards our table. “I need to make sure no wrong would come to you under my watch otherwise I won’t be able to forgive myself,” he explained as he pulled out a seat for me. “I understand,” I said, smiling at his kind gesture. “And I appreciate your intentions. Thanks to you, I can breathe after several years mistreatment.” Christopher’s smile warmed me up and after a while of staring at my face, a move I didn’t quite understand, he told me that our breakfast was buffet style and we had to actually serve ourselves. I had to hold back from asking him why we wasted all that time for. Somehow, I think this buffet style is just his way of trying to see more of I like to eat. Christopher can be very intentional, and he deserves his flowers. I mean, he deserves a reward of his kindness. Christop
Mum had already called me more than three times before I could finish packing and go down to the underground parking lot to pick up my car. There are still three hours and twenty minutes left before the time the Moore family would be coming around, but it seemed like she couldn’t wait already. When Mum called me for the fourth time, I had already driven out of the parking lot and hit the expressway, and only then did I connect my phone to my car’s Bluetooth before taking her call. “Where did you keep your phone all these while I’ve been calling you, or did you see them and deliberately ignored me?” She asked, sounding pissed at the other end. I ignored Mum’s rants and directly tell her that I was on my way home. “I’m on my way home, did something happen?” Mum ignored my question and directly asked, “How many minutes away from home are you?” “I wouldn’t know. I just left the office,” I replied curtly. Then I heard Mum inhale sharply from the other end. I knew what was she wa
A subtle frown appeared on Mum’s face at the command Dad had given. “Why is that? Brenda is a part of our family, why do you want her to stay in her room when the Moore family arrives?” “You are always taking things too far. Did I say that Brenda isn’t a part of our family? She is our daughter, of course, I wouldn’t short-change her!” Dad said, looking offended. He was clearly unhappy about Mum’s insinuation. “Our daughter had just returned home after going through a serious surgery and according to her doctor, she is not allowed to be moving about. Stress should be far away from her,” Dad added, staring at Mum squarely. “Tell me, what would you do if she were to faint in front of the Moore family? How will we redeem ourselves?” Dad’s question had Mum sealing her lips and the hard expression on her face, softening.She must have thought that made a lot of sense since getting the More family’s favour was more important.“Brenda has fainted in front of them before. Imagine how t