"Hello Luke!" Adele greeted the boy when she saw Elise talking to him. She saw them having a conversation on the sofa while she was walking down the stairs and decided to come over. She couldn't understand why Elise still try to get close to the boy even if she already told her he wasn't Leo's son.
"Mom, can I join in your conversation?" She asked. She saw Elise turned to the boy as if asking for his consent so Adele turned to Luke at once. "Luke, can you let Aunt Adele join you?"
Luke frowned. "I only have one Auntie. Her name is Laura." the kid replied. "You're not my Auntie." he added.
That was the scene Leo witnessed when he came home. While Charmaine and Laura was busy preparing dinner, Luke was with his Grandma and Adele in the living room.
"Luke, don't you think you're being a little rude?" Leo told the child after entering the living room. He walked in picked the child up from the sofa and then turned to Elise who was still sitting there. "Please excuse us mom. I just need to have a word with my son."
Elise nodded and so the father and son went upstairs together. Adele watched them leave. She was originally annoyed by the child's attitude, but after seeing Leo standing up for her, she felt thrilled. She hoped for that kid to get a good amount of scoldings!
"Mom, you still like the boy?" Adele asked as she turned to Elise. "You don't mind that he's someone else's child?" she added.
"Stop saying that. Leo already told me the truth. Luke is indeed his child. Stop saying nonsense about him." Elise reprimanded her before standing up and turning her back on the stunned woman. "I'll go check on the girls in the kitchen first." she uttered before walking away.
Adele frowned. Did Elise just scolded her because of that b*stard? He wasn't even adorable at all. He looked like Leo though, so maybe she'll spare him... but that's only if he's willing to cooperate. She doesn't mind getting rid of him if he gets in her way.
***
"Did you take me here to scold me? I'm telling you, I'm not going to apologise to that woman!", Luke stubbornly said as he turn his back on his father after climbing on his bed. If it's for that woman, he will never listen to his dad!
"What? I didn't say you should apologise to her. I took you here because I have something to ask you about." Leo responded as he approach the child and sat on the edge of his bed. "How's your mommy's mood? Was she upset or something?",he asked.
Luke slowly turned to his dad and gave him a side glance. "What is it? Did you just do something bad?",he asked with eyes full of suspicion.
Leo averted his eyes. "Of course not. I was just randomly asking." he replied. "So what is it? How was her mood?" he repeated.
"Good. She's helping Aunt Laura in the kitchen right now. If something upsets her, she would be sulking in the room and pretend to be ill." the boy responded honestly. Charmaine was always like that. It rarely happens as she's naturally a cheerful person but when she gets upset, she really lock herself up until she starts feeling better.
Leo nodded. He was not very good with women and he was a bit worried with what he witnessed this afternoon. Adele has definitely gone overboard and Charmaine has all the right to get furious. Who in their sound mind would confront their crush's wife like that and demands that she hands him over to her? That didn't make sense! What exactly happened to Adele? She wasn't that forceful before!
"When will that woman leave?", Luke asked all of a sudden.
Leo turned to the boy and with a cold expression, he uttered. "That woman has a name. She's Adele. You should call her that. And I don't know how long she's going to stay here but you can't treat her that rude."
Luke frowned. "Do you like her? You're being too nice to her! I'm telling you, if mom divorces you, I'm not going to stay with you. I'll choose mommy." he threatened him with a glare.
Leo sighed. Was he really being too nice to Adele? She's family so isn't it a given that he tolerates her like his other siblings? "Luke... she's my step-sister. If I throw her out, my mother will surely be unhappy."
"Your mother? Then what about mine? That woman was making my mommy unhappy, too and you're not doing anything about it!" Luke argued.
Leo was put into silence. He can't believe he has to hear this from a child but the kid was right. He was neglecting his wife's feelings for a step-sister, what kind of a husband would do that? Guess everything that happened was his fault. He had been treating Adele very good that it mislead her into believing that he liked her when the thruth was he was only doing that for his mother.
After Elise divorced his father, Leo witnessed how devastated his mother was. She had been sad and gloomy until she met Franc Weber a year later. From then on, she started genuinely smiling again. In his young heart, he wished for his mom to become forever happy, and that's why he did everything to get along with the Webers. He thought if her mother's marriage failed again, his mom would be crashed once more, and she didn't want to see his mother cry again each night. So Leo treated everyone in the Weber family with great care. He even scolded Laura whenever she fights with Adele. He humbled himself before the arrogant Geoff and he obeyed Franc's every command. Was he wrong? If he wasn't, then why did all his efforts only bore disputes?
"Daddy, lend me your phone." Luke told his nonplussed dad.
Leo regained his focus and turned to Luke. "What for?" he asked.
"I'm going to call my uncle Drei. He knows how to make my mommy smile." he replied with a snicker.
Leo came closer and ruffled the child's hair. "I get it, alright? I'll talk to Adele about this." he said while frowning at his kid. How dare he threaten him! As if he can memorize the guy's number! But.... can't he?
***
Everyone ate dinner together except Leo who stayed in the bedroom. Carrying a tray of food as she went upstairs, Charmaine wondered what was keeping him so busy. The moment he came home, he went straight upstairs and didn't come down to greet her. There shouldn't be any big problem in the office, right?
When Charmaine opened the door, he found Leo sitting on the sofa while tinkering with her laptop. What was that? Was he trying to spy on her?
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Leo was startled. His fingers paused for a bit but he didn't look back. He just continued fiddling with the computer. "I'm connecting the house security system to your laptop so you can have access on each room anytime you like." he answered while his fingers work on the keyboard incessantly.
Charmaine walked closer and put the tray of food down on the coffee table before checking on what Leo was doing. That was the important thing he busied himself about? It's like saying, 'come spy on me but you won't get anything.' It's funny!
"Why don't you eat your dinner first before it gets cold?" Charmaine suggested. "There's actually no need for that."
"Just a little bit more. I'm almost done." he replied.
Charmaine sat beside Leo and silently watched him. He's more good looking when he's working on something. How can she blame all those women who covetted her husband? He's just too good of a catch!
"Done!" Leo exclaimed as his fingers stopped. He turned to Charmaine but he caught her staring at him. He smiled, leaned closer and gave her a swift kiss. "What is it?"
Charmaine remained unfazed by his teasing. She just continued looking at his face. "Do you trust me?" she asked while wearing a solemn expression.
"Of course I do!" he replied. "I trust you." he added.
Charmaine nodded. "Then I'll trust you, too." she responded. "I'm going to ask you a question and you have to answer it honestly. Whatever you say, I'll take it as the truth."
Leo was baffled but he agreed anyway. "Try me." he said.
Charmaine lowered her head, took a deep breath and then glanced again at his eyes. "Have you ever liked your step sister? Do you still like her?" she asked.
Leo didn't break eye contact. With a straight face, he answered the question after a few seconds. "She was my step sister. I tried my best to like her because she's my mother's step-daughter. Never in my life did I have any romantic feelings for her."
Charmaine studied his expression. He seemed to be telling the truth but... "You do know you're quite dense right? Is there a chance you were oblivious of your own feelings?" she added.
Leo lifted his brows. The answer is yes, but not to Adele. "Alright. I admit that.... I was kind of stupid when I was young. Still, I can tell you honestly that I never wanted her in my bed." he replied with a foxy smile.
Charmaine furrowed her brows. "And so?" she blurted with a perplexed expression.
Leo answered him by grabbing her by the waist and kissing her passionately. He didn't stop until Charmaine was almost out of breath. When he finished devouring her lips, he stared at his wife's red face and chuckled. "I was saying I've never wanted anyone other than you. You're the only woman I dreamed of conquering in my sleep."
Charmaine was speechless. That statement was just too shameless!