Justin arrived home late in the night. His father was still in the study while his stepsister was nowhere to be seen.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in," his father's voice said.
"Am back, father " Justin said.
Richard nodded but did not look up from his documents. He was so immersed in them that he didn't even hear what his son was saying.
Justin being ignored as always decided to leave after saying goodnight to his father.
He walked up the stairs and headed to his room. His father was a greedy old man who didn't know when to stop.
Justin wanted a change and he was willing to give his all to get it.
He wasn't willing to go back to being a puppet for his parents or his father. He wanted a home and people who loved him and that seemed to be with Rose.
He remembered the gifts they had shared and smiled at the package he came holding.
He had been surprised when he saw Rose give him a gift when they were sharing presents.
She had served out all her presents to each one of her friends and family. Then held one and gave it to him.
"I didn't know if you would come but I got you one too " she had said.
Justin had felt so happy when he took it from her hands. He wanted to open it but waited until he got home.
He sat down on his bed and opened the present he had got from her.
He slowly unwrapped it revealing what was inside. It contained a limited edition watch. He had a lot of watches but this one felt different.
It was beautiful and precious to him, he held it up close admiring its flawless body. He loved it that he couldn't wait to put it on.
He placed it back into the box and kept it in his wardrobe.
Ralph and Alex woke up first the next morning, helped Dorothy to make breakfast as they waited for the others to wake up.
Sean and Irene soon came downstairs.
They helped set the table, but the owners of the house they were in didn't make an appearance.
"Did they sleep late last night?" Alex asked.
Sean sneered when he heard the question while Irene smiled.
" Yeah they did " was all she could tell the others.
Sean took his seat at the table and started having breakfast. The others followed deciding not to wait for the Sleepyheads.
"My brother is an early bird, isn't it weird for him to be still asleep?" Alex asked
"It's stopped being weird when he got married and had a kid," Sean said.
"Maybe he doesn't want to leave Rose alone in bed," Irene said.
Sean gave her a glance that made her smile again.
"He changed a lot " Alex added.
Feeling agitated Sean spat out, " Yeah he did, all he does is think about Rose all day and night. I mean it's not a bad thing but he should control himself in front of us. They act like they are still teenagers but they are not, they have a kid and they are married, they should act like it "he breathed.
Arthur and Rose who had arrived just in time to hear Sean's outburst looked at him.
" Change isn't a bad thing," Arthur said in a calm voice as he took his seat.
They all turned and looked at him, Sean took a sip of his tea.
"Am sorry about last night, Sean. I think I drank too much " Rose apologized
Arthur smiled, " I should have guessed what made you angry. It because of last night, but I guess we can't be sorry it is our house after all," said Arthur.
Sean placed down his fork and looked at Arthur.
"I just lost my appetite," he said as he got up.
The rest laughed at him as he got up and left the table.
"Don't mind him, he's just acting out " Irene said.
After breakfast, Alex and Ralph thanked Arthur and Rose for having them and left for home.
Sean who had disappeared during breakfast finally showed up. Irene and Rose were in little Arthur's room.
Arthur was in his study so Sean went there.
"Finally cooled down?" Arthur asked.
Sean took a seat and watched his friend reading documents.
"No just came back to see what you guys were doing " he lied.
"Sorry about last night " Arthur apologized.
"It's okay, it's your home after all. And since I know how you love Rose am not surprised by your actions anymore " Sean told him.
Soon they were talking about Richard and his mysterious plans.
"They are all his children so if he wants to use them to get something, it has to be big for him to accept such a deal " Sean explained.
"But why would he need all his three children to get it and who is this mysterious person behind the scenes?" Arthur asked.
They tried thinking about it but failed.
Justin had told them everything but it still felt like Richard was hiding something from them.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
"Come in," Arthur said.
"Sorry to interrupt," said Rose as she walked in. Irene followed holding little Arthur.
"I wanted to tell you that tomorrow, Samuel is coming over with Vanita to spend the day here " Rose announced.
"WHAT?!..." Arthur shouted for the first time. Sean laughed as he heard the announcement.
Rose smiled as she nodded.
Calming down Arthur asked why they would spend a day at his home.
"I wanted little Arthur to have some fun before the holiday ends, with us here "
Arthur fell silent as he watched his friend mock him with sounds of kissing.
"I bet Vanita's dad still wants to continue where he stopped, " Sean said as he pretended to kiss the air.
Arthur's face folded as he watched the women laugh at Sean's actions. Knowing what he meant.