Lucy winced from her sudden change of behavior and slowly nodded again.
" Good girl, now__" Vivian's eyes snapped to the door which was suddenly opened before she could finish her sentence.
"Wow Viv, what's with the new look. "Zach sauntered inside with his signature smile and sat on the small couch opposite the bed then raised one leg atop the other.
"Hehe, did you get plastic surgery,?" He added tauntingly and brought out his phone.
Vivian raised an eyebrow and glared at him. " And what has that got to do with you, ?" she scoffed, not expecting him to realize at first glance as she had spent a lot of money to make it look so natural.
Zach chuckled and showed her his screen which had her old picture on it. " I remember your nose does not look so upright before . . . how did you__"
" Zach!!!, get out of my room." Vivian touched her nose subconsciously while glaring at him.
When Lucy saw that Vivian's attention was completely drawn to Zach, she used that opportunity and slowly stood up, trying to escape out of the room when she was instantly pulled back again.
" Little cat, where do you think you're going,? . . ." Zach chuckled mischievously.
" I can't find my gamer controller, any idea.? " he added with a raised brow. He remembered he had left his newly bought videogame accessories in the mansion and found one of them missing this morning.
Lucy looked at him with a gasp. She remembered the broken controllers in her room and did not dare to meet his eyes.
" Wait. . . I know that look. . . Lucy don't tell me you broke it again!!!." Zach shouted exasperatedly and made a mental note to always lock his room after leaving the mansion in the future.
" Let go. . . l..let go of me!!!, " Lucy screamed and wriggled her hand from his tight grasp fruitlessly.
_____
Carl who was striding through the hallway stopped with a frown when he heard Lucy's shout coming from Vivian's room.
His expression darkened and he turned toward the door.
_____
Vivian was sitting on the bed and enjoying the show in front of her with a slight smile, then subconsciously glanced at the door and saw the doorknob turned.
She quickly stood up and dashed toward Zach then harshly yanked his hand off Lucy's. " Hey. . . aren't you ashamed of bullying your little sister,? Hmph, " she scolded then examined Lucy's wrist which had turned pink from the hard grip. " Little sis, are you hurt,? Is it painful,? " she asked softly with an anxious face.
Zach's eyes widened in disbelief and he stood up from the floor which he landed on from the hard push. " Hey Viv!, you. . .you__" he pointed his hand at her then saw his brother glaring at him from the side of the door.'when did he enter. . .' he wondered nervously with mouth agape not able to finish his sentence.
" Big bro, " Lucy cried out and ran into her brother's arms.
" Big brother. . ." Vivian stared at him expectantly with a smile. " Don't mind him, he's being childish quarreling with a little girl over a game console, " she added softly with a smile then patted Lucy's hair who was in her brother's arms.
Carl ignored her and gave Zach a hard glare then walked out of the room with Lucy, and Vivian also followed behind.
Zach gave Vivian's back a glare and sighed exasperatedly, thinking about the kind of punishment he was going to receive from his brother this time. He picked up his phone which had fallen down and also walked out of the room.
_____
Inside the living room, Carl sat on a sofa facing his father and stepmother with Lucy still clung to him tightly.
" Son, do you have something to tell us,? " his stepmother asked softly with a smile.
" Mm. . . I'll be going on a business trip tomorrow, " Carl replied softly.
" Which city are you going to this time,? " his father asked with a frown.
" City X. " Carl stared at him expressionlessly.
" How long will you stay there.? " his stepmother stared at him expectantly.
" One month, " he replied and everyone in the room gasped except his father.
" Big bro. . . please don't go. . . no, take me with you. . . pls pls pls." Lucy stared at him anxiously and clung to him harder. She had planned to follow her brother home. But if he went on the business trip, the house was going to be hell for her.
Carl looked down with a slight smile and patted her head, then softly said, " Be good. "
Lucy nodded slowly and looked down with a pout. " But big bro__"
" Come on little sis, it's just a month trip. . . I'm sure big bro will bring you a huge present, " Vivian said softly and pinched Zach who was sitting beside her on an adjacent sofa.
Zach winced and muttered something under his breath, then looked up. " Yes Lucy, Viv will take very good care of you, " he seconded her while emphasizing the 'very good care of you' with a mischievous grin.
Lucy cowered and pulled her big brother's arm with a whine. " Big bro pls__"
" Lucy!!! " her mother glared at her and stood up then grabbed her. " Don't bother your big brother. . . and stop behaving like a little child, " she said exasperatedly and sat down beside her husband again while Lucy whined helplessly and ran upstairs.
Carl watched her back and thought maybe she was afraid of Zach bullying her in his absence then made a mental note to take care of it.
" Why the sudden trip? " his father resumed the discussion still with a frown. City X was so close, he can handle everything from here. Was he trying to get away from Vivian?
" Henry!" his wife scolded, seeing that an argument was about to brew up between the two. She turned to Carl with a smile." Have a safe trip son, make sure you don't overwork yourself and take good care of your health. . . okay?."
" Mm." Carl nodded with a smile then stood up and glared in Zach's direction who cringed and quickly followed behind him.