Laura's face flushed red with anger as she clutched onto her chest, stumbling backwards a couple of steps. She looked as though she could hardly catch her breath as she glared at me with a fiery blaze swirling within her eyes.
As if on cue, I watched as a familiar figure came running over in an instant, the sound of the hurried footsteps echoing in my ears.
"Laura!" The high-pitched voice called out, her voice laced with concern and worry.
It was Stella who had rushed over to her side, her arms reaching out to hold her and keep her steady so that she doesn't lose her balance and fall over.
"You —!" Laura sneered with a disdainful scorn as she narrowed her eyes into thin slits. "How dare you talk back to an elderly?! At the end of the day, I'm still your mother-in-law!" She yelled in my face, a fierce look masked her features.
A humourless laughter erupted from my throat as I raised a brow at her this time.
"Mother-in-law? You mean ex-mother-in-law," I reiterated this time, my tone carrying a slight edge to it. "Blake and I have separated and I have nothing to do with you or him ever since that day," I stated, my voice cold and distant as we maintained eye contact.
"Aurelia! What is wrong with you? How could you say such a thing to Laura?" Stella butted in before Laura could even say a word. Her brows were furrowed together to form a deep crease on her forehead. "How could you be so heartless and cruel?" She snarled, the words that left her lips were dripping with accusation.
I remained silent, watching as Laura collapsed into Stella's arms in a dramatic manner, eliciting a soft gasp from Stella. "Blake must have been blind to have chosen to marry you!" She called out in an exasperated tone. "Look at you!"
"Laura, don't get too angry, she doesn't deserve it," Stella spat with disdain for me. "You need to take care of yourself, your health is more important," she urged with a knowing look twinkling in her eyes.
She then turned to face me and we locked eyes. "You know her health isn't the best and you still want to anger her? Are you happy now that she's angry and upset?"
I smiled. "Tell me… what did I say exactly that is wrong?" I questioned as I kept my voice steady. "You know… I didn't mean to upset her, right?"
Her eyes widened as she struggled to find the words. "I…I…" she stuttered for a bit with a small frown etched onto her face. "I don't care whether it's right or wrong, you need to apologise to her," she demanded through gritted teeth.
She then turned to face Laura with a concerned look etched onto her face as her features softened significantly. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Don't mind her."
Laura only nodded as her lips curled into a slight smile, she reached out to tap on Stella's hand. "Don't worry about me," she reassured.
Within the next second, her features hardened and she clenched her jaw tightly as she whipped her head around to glare at me. "Even Stella knows how to be polite and she cares for me," she began and my eyes flickered over to see a smirk tugged at the corners of Stella's lips as she relished in Laura's praise. "What about you? All you do is talk back to me and embarrass me and my son. You shameless bitch!" She chided, her shrill voice piercing through the air.
"That's enough!" Xavier's loud voice boomed as he stood between us. "I will not stand here and hear the two of you spout nonsense about my wife," he warned, his voice heavy with a threat as his eyes darkened.
"This is none of your business!" Laura spat with disdain. She folded her arms over her chest with a smug look plastered across her face. "Who are you to speak? I'm lecturing my daughter-in-law and teaching her good manners."
"Exactly," Stella chimed in to support her, putting a smile on Laura's face as she oozed with arrogance. "Laura is just doing it for Aurelia's own good. She needs to learn how to be polite!"
"We didn't ask for your opinion," he snapped at Stella, his aggressive tone startled her this time as she stepped back instinctively, rendering her speechless.
"It's fine, Xavier," I muttered under my breath, a slight smile played on my lips as I kept my gaze on Stella and Laura. "If you think that I'm such a shameless bitch, then shouldn't you be thankful that I divorced your son?" The words left the tip of my tongue and I watched as Laura's face turned red with anger and her jaws were clenched tightly.
"You —!" Her voice shook with rage as her eyes widened. "You should be grateful that my son even wants someone like –!"
"You know… he could always marry Stella," I interrupted abruptly. "Isn't that what you always wanted? You told me this yourself not too long ago," I reminded her crudely.
Beside her, Stella couldn't hold back the smile that was starting to appear on her face, smugness radiating from every inch of her skin. She wrapped her fingers around Laura's arm, tilting her chin up slightly as she gazed at me.
"Don't you use my words against me."
"I just want to see your wish come true. What's so bad about that?" I questioned as they could only stare at me with angry expressions etched onto their faces, unable to say a word. There was a brief pause as silence stretched between us and the air continued to crackle with unspoken tension. "I think I'm being pretty polite and well-mannered right now," I added with a slight smirk on my lips.
A loud scoff left their lips. I turned to meet Xavier's eyes. "Come on, let's go. We need to get you some new clothes," I said as the corners of my lips curled upwards into a small smile.
I whipped my head around to look at them once more, the same smile lingering on my lips. My eyes darted between the both of them until they finally landed on Stella.
"Well, I'm looking forward to your wedding with my ex-husband."
***
"Thanks for shielding the rotten eggs for me, by the way," I said as I turned to look at him while he kept one hand on the steering wheel. I couldn't help but let my eyes linger for a while longer as I admired his side profile and the nonchalant yet serious look that was plastered across his handsome face.
A low chuckle emerged from his throat, breaking me out of my little daydream. We eventually came to a stop at a redlight. He turned his head to face me and our gazes matched as a smile graced his lips.
"It's no big deal," he said casually. "Better me than you, right?"
I couldn't hold back the giggle that left my lips. "I guess so. So what? You are my knight in shining amour now?" I teased as amusement danced in my dark brown eyes and the smile that was etched onto my face grew wider.
"Well…" he mused, his deep voice trailing off. "If that's what you want to call me, I won't stop you," he said, shooting me a playful wink.
"Oh, how could I thank you for your noble deed, good man?" I asked in an exaggerated and playful tone that laced my voice. As soon as the words rolled off the tip of my tongue, I watched as a smirk started to morph itself onto his lips and his gaze flickered down to my lips before looking back up to meet my eyes.
"I know a way," he murmured under his breath.
Before I knew it, he was leaning forward towards me, his hand reaching up to cup my cheek and he pressed his lips against mine.
I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest, threatening to burst out at any second now as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I leaned over and kissed him with equal fervour as my hand trailed down his chest. Feeling the same feeling I felt back then when we kissed, now it all made sense, it was because my heart had known him all these while but my mind didn't.
It wasn't long before a loud honk sliced through the air as the lights turned green. I tried to break away from the kiss but he held me close to him, pulling me in for another kiss. He finally pulled away at the second honk before he drove off with a smile on his face.
Soon enough, I found ourselves parked in the parking lot. He turned down the music, leaving a soft pop music playing in the background as he turned to face me. I looked at him with a raised brow.
"What? Why are you looking at me like this?"
"Close your eyes," he demanded. "I have a surprise for you."