Chapter 42
K 78%
At the dining table, Mom, Dan, Kaiden, and I were all having dinner. This might sound like a normal family dinner, but it was like the sun rising from the west for us because, except for the strict family outing dinners, Kaiden rarely joined us.
The plates were clattering dimly as everyone focused on eating with elegance, as if it wasn’t a family dinner but a professional party dinner. Not that I love making sounds while eating, but neither was eating elegantly my thing.
Kaiden cleared his throat. It could have been a simple task, like actually clearing his throat, but I somehow lowkey felt that it wasn’t the situation. It felt more staged than natural.
Despite an urge to look at him, I ignored him, instead spearing a piece of broccoli with my fork and pretending it was the most interesting thing in the world.
He cleared his throat again, louder this time, as though trying to break through my bubble of indifference.
Yup, I ignored him again. I have a name, Lucy Hailstone; he can simply call me if he needs me to focus on him. Or maybe he was just simply clearing his throat, and I was being too delusional.
But then, he finally broke his silence.
“Lucy,” he called, his voice smooth but deliberate, like he was testing the waters.
Maybe I wasn’t expecting that because it kind of made my heart skip.
“Ye… yeah?” I retorted, nearly choking on my words as I glanced up, startled by the sudden attention.
“Pass the parmesan,” he said, leaning back casually in his chair and gesturing vaguely at the table.
“Parm… parmesan?” My hands hovered awkwardly over the table, hesitating as my eyes darted frantically over the array of dishes. Spotting the small container, I grabbed it hastily, my fingers brushing against its cool ceramic surface. “Here,” I said, thrusting it toward him with a little too much force. “Take it.”
I avoided his gaze, but my movements felt stiff, betraying my unease. It wasn’t that I minded the interaction itself. No, what irked me was the weight of Mom’s stare, burning into the side of my face. Ever since the sex dream scandal, she’d been watching me like a hawk, dissecting every gesture I made toward Kaiden.
And God, I hated that judgy look on her face–the one that people make when they see a hooker.
“Thanks!” he said, a faint smirk playing on his lips, his hazel eyes sparkling mischievously.
Mom was looking at us one by one, her gaze sharp and lingering like a detective sizing up suspects. God! Why would she think that, out of all people, I would have an affair with my stepbrother? Does she really think I am like that? Someone with no morals?
I shrugged at her, raising my brows and narrowing my eyes, silently asking, “What? What do you want?” My fingers lightly drummed against the edge of the table, betraying my growing impatience.
She mirrored my shrug, tilting her head slightly with a feigned look of innocence, her lips curling into a faint smirk as if to say, “Nothing, I’m just looking. Did I do something wrong?”
I rolled my eyes, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying something snarky. There was no use arguing with her. She never had and never would admit her faults or mistakes.
Maybe because we are ‘mother and daughter,’ we didn’t need voices to communicate with each other. Just expressions and gestures were enough for us to hear each other and communicate.
1/9
Chapter 42
78%1
(+58)
After dinner, I was walking toward my room when a hand shot out from the corridor and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the shadows.
I yelped, my heart leaping into my throat.
“What the hell” I started, expecting to see Kaiden. But I was wrong, and for some reason, I felt a tiny, unwelcome pang of disappointment. “Mom?!”
“Yes, me!” she said, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. “Whom were you expecting? Kaiden?”
I blinked, my stomach tightening as if she had struck a nerve. How does she always know?
“Wh–stop assuming. I wasn’t expecting anyone except for a monster who feeds on her children’s bone marrow,” I shot back. sarcasm dripping from my voice. “However, for the first time in my life, I got something bigger than expected.”
“You think you have that ‘T’m so funny‘ knack, right?” She raised a brow, her lips curling into a mocking smile as she crossed her arms. “But you know what? All you have is ‘I’m so annoying. Please annoy me more because if you don’t, then I will.” She mimicked me, her tone exaggerated and dripping with disdain.
“Is that why you pulled me here? To show your hidden talent?” I asked, raising my eyebrows and crossing my own arms in defiance.
She dropped her hands to her sides, her expression shifting to something sterner. “No. I pulled you here to warn you.” She jabbed her index finger in my direction, her nails sharp and polished. “Stay away from Kaiden.”
“I am staying away from him. In fact, I am dying to stay away from him,” I replied, tossing my hands in the air. “It’s you who forced me to go to school with him.”
“If it wasn’t Dan’s choice, I wouldn’t even have gotten you out of that boarding school. Let the rest be ants in front of a mountain,” she said, her voice icy and detached.
“I know. It’s always your husbands that make decisions for me. What should I wear, what should I read, what should I do, what should be my NAME.” I elongated the word ‘name,‘ letting the weight of it hang in the air. There was a story–a dark and dirty one–behind it. Yes, she once even changed my name just to get on the good side of her previous husband and secure a marriage proposal.
“Enough!” she yelled, her voice cracking slightly as she clenched her fists. “I am your mother. I did that for you.”
“Really?” I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “That’s what you say to yourself?” My jaw tightened, and I bit my lips in frustration. My heart felt like it would rather burst like a water balloon than endure my mom’s narcissism. “If it was for me…” I stepped closer to her, my voice dropping to a low, tremulous tone. “Why did I end up getting molested?”
To be continued…
A
