3

.........

Immediately Mariah had paid the amount requested by the doctor for the continuation of her little brother's treatment, her mother had called her, ordering her to go home immediately.

All through the way home, Mariah had been restless. Her family were never the picture perfect family anyone could wish for, well they were the picture perfect family to the outside world but not to Mariah or her brother.

Anytime she was called home, Mariah would be forced to remember all she had gone through as the useless illegitimate daughter of the hall family.

Even her own mother abandoned Mariah, acting like they never existed, instead she took a liking to Emilia, Mariah's step sister and the legitimate daughter of the hall family.

Her mother never cared about her dying son who was still left carelessly under the brutal hands of amateur doctors.

The last couple of times Mariah had been home, Emilia had gotten into a PhD program, she’d adopted a stray dog, and she’d won a local volunteering award. It was just too much to compete with. While Mariah had no such accolades to share.

..........

“Just smile, Mariah.” Mariah muttered to herself as she grabbed her bag. “It won’t be so bad. Who cares what great news Emilia claimed she has now. Grin, pretend to be happy and leave as soon as you can.” Mariah mumbled and walked to the front door.

“Mariah, you’re here.” Mariah's mom opened the door before She could even ring the doorbell. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“I’m here.” Mariah grinned at her and made a face. “No need to sit around and wait anymore.”

“That’s not funny, young lady.” She shook her head.

“Now come in.”

“I’m coming.” Mariah rolled her eyes, dropped her bag in the hallway and took a deep breath. She already knew it was going to be a long weekend.

Her mom was never nice to her, why the sudden change of attitude.

Seeing her mom all happy and excited was quite scary for someone like her who has experienced different kinds of scenes.

Her mom was wearing one of her Sunday Church dresses. That meant she was excited and that whatever Emilia had done must be special. Maybe she’d saved someone from dying. Maybe she’s found a cure to the common cold. Maybe she was moving to the North Pole. Mariah grinned then. That would actually be amazing news.

“Are you listening to me Mariah?” her mom frowned as they walked into the living room.

“Of course, mother.” Mariah smiled at her and took a deep breath.

“I want you to meet our guest.” She nodded towards the couch and that’s when time stood still. It literally stood still, as mariah saw the hot guy she just shared a night with sitting on the couch with her step dad, a cup of tea in his hand.

“Hello.” He stood up and smiled at her, as if he didn't just had a one night stand with her last night.

“Hello.” Mariah said softly, het face red. Oh my God, why was he here?, Had he told her parents?, Oh God, why, why?

“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Nathan.” He walked over and shook Mariah's hand.

“I’m Mariah.” Mariah shook his hand as if she didn’t know him, but she knew he had to have felt the jolt of electricity that had passed through them as they touched.

“Nice to meet you Mariah.” His eyes teased her . She wanted to ask him why he was here, but her parents were there, watching them. She didn’t think they’d appreciate her asking him if he was some sort of stalker.

“You too.” Mariah squeezed those words out.

“You have something on your ear.” He leaned forward and she felt his fingers brushing the top of her ear. Then she felt his breath in her ear drum. “Now I have a name to put to the face when I think of our night together.” He said huskily and she felt the tip of his tongue on her earlobe.

“What are you doing here?” Mariah asked softly, a smile plastered on her face for her parents benefit. Did he track her down because he wanted this to be more than one night?. Her heart thudded as she wondered about his appearance. Had she made that big of an impression on him?

“What would you like me to be doing here?” He asked softly, his eyes not leaving hers as he studied her face.

“I...” Mariah stumbled as she stared at him, all of a sudden feeling faint and excited at the same time.

“Mariah , I see you’ve met Nathan.” Mariah's step sister Emilia ran into the room, a huge smile on her face and her blonde hair bobbing around her shoulders. Of course she looked as perfect as she always looked, not a hair out of place.

“Yes.” Mariah nodded. “I’ve met him.” she smiled awkwardly and looked to the door and watched as another man walked into the room.

“This is Nathan's brother, Desmond.” Emilia nodded towards the other guy, who looked like a more handsome and sweeter version of Nathan.

“Hi.” Mariah smiled at him warmly. “It’s nice to meet you Desmond.”

Then Mariah looked back at Emilia, confusion setting in. “Not to sound rude, but why are they both here?”

“Mom and dad didn’t tell you?” Emilia looked excited as she grinned at Mariah and then at their proud parents.

“No, that’s why I’m asking.” Mariah was impatient in her confusion.

“I’m engaged.” She squealed and showed Mariah her engagement finger. A huge diamond sparkled on her finger and Mariah stared at it feeling very impressed, if not slightly jealous.

“Congratulations.” Mariah gave her a quick hug and turned to Desmond. “And to you too. I’m happy to welcome you to the family.” Mariah grinned as she gave him a hug as well. Mariah could feel Nathan's’ eyes on her and her stomach flipped. 

Oh my, had she just slept with her sister’s fiancé’s brother? Oops. Mariah flushed as she stepped back from Desmond.

“Oh no, the congratulations aren’t to me.” Desmond laughed. “I’m not the one that’s engaged.”

“What?” Mariah's face turned white as she turned to look at Desmond. Oh my God, no!

“Desmond's not my fiancé silly.” Emilia laughed and Mariah watched as she put her arm through Nathan's and grinned at Mariah. “Nathan's my future husband to be.”

“Oh.” Mariah's eyes widened and she took a step back as she felt the world spinning around her. Oh my God, it was worse than she'd thought.

“Yes.” Nathan's eyes searched hers. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Aren’t you happy for me, mari?” Emilia bounced up and down and she felt sick to her stomach. “We’re all going to be one happy family.”

“Uh yeah.” Mariah nodded demurely. Should she tell Emilia? Her brain was screaming at her. What could she say? She had sex with her step sister's fiancé last night. “Congrats. That’s amazing news.” Mariah looked back at Nathan and his eyes were still on hers.

“We meet again.” He said softly as he walked over to mariah who in turn glared at him.

“Huh?, Have we met before” Mariah said softly as Emilia walked over to talk to Desmond with Mariah's parents.

“You are quite amusing, pretending to not know me after the hot but passionate night we spent together.” He winked at her as his hand ran down her back and over her ass gently. “But am quite curious as well.”

“Don’t touch me.” Mariah hissed and stepped back. “You’re engaged to my sister.”

“It’s not what you think.” He said slowly, his eyes piercing into hers.

“I think you’re engaged to my sister, what part of that do I have incorrect?”

“Come to my room tonight and I’ll tell you.” He smiled a confident smile and took a step back. “I’ll tell you all the things you want to know.” 

Her breath caught as he brushed his hair back and leaned forward. “And I’ll teach you all the things I never got the time to show you last night as well."

his slender fingers brushed her shoulders, trailing it towards her slightly exposed cl3avages.

“How dare you?” Mariah gasped.

“I dare many things Mariah hall.” The smile was gone from his face as he stared at her. “You’ll see that this is just the beginning of the many things I dare to do.”

........

Oh God, it will never feel right saying that. Saying the words her ‘sister’s husband’ knowing that he’s her one night stand, is awful. Slightly titillating, but still awful. She knew, she knew, so awful. How can she think that’s even vaguely exciting? How can a part of her still feel so alive knowing that the man in the living room was her lover; albeit for one night, but still they had sex a lot in that night. 

And when she say a lot, she meant a lot. Though, she suppose it’s not a good idea for her to brag about that right now. 

Mariah could barely believe it by the way. How is Nathan engaged to her sister? How do they even know each other? And what sort of cheating dog was he if he’d cheated on Emilia with her? This was such a mess. How was she going to go to their wedding, knowing that she’d had sex with the groom at the last wedding they'd both attended? And would he be expecting a repeat, like some sort of sick reunion sex. 

She knew fully well that she wouldn't be able to remain at peace after the damages that had been cashed.

Her brother was receiving treatment, yet, she felt like her problems had just begun.

They had a one-night stand that was now made more complicated by the fact that he was a dirty scoundrel.

Mariah walked to the bathroom quickly so she could wash her face with cold water. She didn’t want to think about the things he’d done to her. 

Mariah stared in the mirror at her reflection and she could see the embarrassment in her eyes as she thought about the fact that she had sucked on her sister’s fiancés balls and liked it. There was no way she was going to tell Emilia about that.