The sudden awkward silence was glaringly obvious. Ha. You all wanted in on my love life, so there you go.
This time, I blatantly looked at Alexa. I'm sure my look says, "You asked for this," but maybe more squinty. The sun wasn't exactly helping me look more menacing.
I had been hungry, threatened, and royally pissed in less than an hour, so I hadn't had the time to digest how disgusting all this was. At least they didn't dare to invite Jasper over to our house. Now, that would've been a prelude to a murder case. My dad's a level-headed man in all aspects, save for his one and only daughter.
It may look like Jasper's cheating and Alexa's general shittiness has gone completely unchecked, but that's only because Aunt Ingrid has populated our "family" with so many of her extended relatives. So, of course, they'd support their darling Alexa.
Heck, they'd probably support her even if she'd decided on some sort of incest or even Beastiality. She's their ticket into the Thornhills, after all.
But my Dad hasn't forgiven them for it.
Short of banishing them from this family, which only Grandpa could do (for now), Dad had stripped them of managing rights for companies that he loaned them. Now, they're back working with Grandpa for businesses owned by the clan.
Oh, they were furious upon being booted out.
In fact, only my uncle, Alexa's dad, left on his own accord. Maybe unable to take the shame of their scandal.
At first, dad threatened to cut ties with the family if Alexa and Jasper weren't sanctioned. It was the first time I saw him that livid, and my mom fully supported the idea.
We'd only miss Grandpa from the "family". Our personal assets and businesses had already rivaled the fortune of the clan held by Grandpa, so we had nothing to lose.
But I was being too nice.
Or maybe, too stupid.
I didn't want this to further stress out Grandpa, so I waved it all off.
Who the fuck would've known that this bitch and that son of a gun Jasper would continue to flaunt their relationship as if they were in a blessed union.
Considering their loss from this cheating debacle, it's no wonder they kept sticking to the Orwells like glue. Maybe that was why we all assumed that she was obsessed with Jasper.
But looking at her grinding her teeth while conniving with Sasha the snake over there, I realized that maybe she's obsessed with me. Well, not me, per se. But with whatever I have.
I'm not as conceited as Lucian to think that it's me, myself, and I. But if all she wanted were Jasper, then she wouldn't have tried seducing Rina and my parents into her camp.
I've been openly staring at Alexa now, not even trying to hide my disdain for all this.
My turf, my people.
If not for the sounds of footsteps, I would've been fine with continuing this til tomorrow.
But then I looked, and thankfully I did because something was charging towards me. Big, white, and fluffy? I was momentarily confused until a bit of floof got into my mouth.
Ahhhhh! "Chester!" Fuck everyone else, the real important visitor is here!
"Who's a good boy?! How's my baby?" I was so happy that I was out of the seat when he charged, patting his coat everywhere and putting my face flush into his floof.
With a "woof" here and there and his tongue happily hanging out, Chester flopped on me. He used to fit on my lap, but now he's sprawled all over me. And I do not mind one bit.
"If I didn't know any better, one would think he's the boyfriend." Leaning on the door frame in all his glory was a very casual Lucian.
He's always been tall, but looking up at him from the floor has given me a different perspective. His broad shoulders, perfectly messy jet-black hair, and those hazel eyes bordering on golden under the sunlight just hit differently.
Now, he'd be perfect, provided he kept that mouth shut.
Boyfriend? Oh yeah. He's supposed to be my boyfriend.
Future husband if we're really being technical.
I got up from where I was being mauled (loved), only to surprise him by latching on like a dutiful girlfriend who's very happy to see her boyfriend. See? I can do it too.
I knew that people had been greeting each other around us while sneakily watching me and Lucian.
With Rina for a best friend, I can tell.
That's the look of someone pretending to mind their own shit but is really eating up gossip like there's no tomorrow.
With a chuckle and his arm snaking behind my waist, Lucian whispered, "I see that you've made up your mind."
Looking up at him with a soft smile plastered on my face, I responded, "I'd love to say that she gave me no choice, but I won't."
Now, with a serious face, probably looking a bit murderous, I hush into his ear. "This time, I chose you. So don't fuck with me."
I could ignore much of Jasper's indecency because I had no involvement in deciding on his existence. But this? If Lucian much less attempts to use that dick of his elsewhere, he might as well count it gone.
We can do a contract marriage with clear delineations. But cheating would be my bottom line.
Once would be a shame on him, but twice would be a shame on me.
"There, there," patting my head softly, "your claws are showing." He comforted, with a smirk evident on his lips.
"We'll talk about this later, so just focus on enjoying the show". A bit husky from whispering.
To the people watching, we probably look lovey-dovey. I've practically hinged everything on this, so I'll act first and vomit later.
It's not that I felt anything revolting about this. A very fresh and minty scent emanated from him, probably his body wash. Being this close to him erased the strong floral perfume spread around by Alexa.
I got his point, so I steeled myself before turning around, still leaning on his embrace.
Just as expected, we've got different expressions. It would've been nice for a full expression pack.
Now I'm concerned about the elders. I was being mauled by the dog earlier so that wasn't on me. But now that things have seemingly calmed down, I can't delay the pleasantries lest I risk disrespecting them all. So I tug at Lucian.
I went around greeting the recently arrived visitors and Lucian had the mind to greet my parents and my Grandfather.
"Eli, it seems like there's much to talk about." Aunt Serena smiled sincerely and lightly squeezed my arm.
I smiled back and avoided using actual words until we got a grip on our story.
"But let's do that another day, go and eat first." She knows how I am, and I laughed at the thought of getting caught hungry.
Uncle Lyle was even easier. Just ruffling my hair as he's been doing all my life.
I knew I should be looking at Alexa, but I figured it was more important to check whether Lucian was still alive.
Shaking hands with Grandpa while getting a pat from my dad.
Well, he hasn't been shot.
That's a plus.
A bit too far for us to hear, Aunt Serena pulled me towards my family. And considering how we're all eye-balling each other, I think we all know that something was up.
So, deciding to use the smartest move, I abandoned Lucian and sat on the floor to tend to Chester.
Truly the best boi.
From here, I could get a good look at the seething Alexa, who was being comforted by Sasha, her maternal cousin. She's technically unrelated to me, but that's apparently not for me to decide. So, she's always been Alexa's built-in shadow.
Peace has always been fleeting in this family. Aunt Ingrid sauntered up to us quickly.
She's probably not here for me but for my new partner-in-crime and his illustrious family.
Aunt Ingrid probably realized that her daughter was too shocked to move, so she's muddying herself here.
With a smile so fake that it was painfully obvious, she decided to greet me: "Congratulations, Eli! We've always known that you've had it in you!"
"Had what?" I couldn't help but ask, knowing that she probably thought I'd take her condescension sitting down.
Well, I am on the ground, but who fucking cares.
"Oh, you know what I mean," flicking her hand coyly.
I don't even smile in response to that. Awkward right?
"We've been very concerned about you. After all, it looked like you hadn't recovered. But look at you now! You managed to do it in six months!" As if she wasn't spewing curses upon curses, Aunt Ingrid continued testing her luck.
"At least now you wouldn't be going after someone else."
There wasn't even any need to look at my parents. I could feel the crackling from where I sat. Even Grandpa couldn't help it, so he firmly called her reproachingly. "Ingrid!"
"That's on me." I didn't expect to hear Lucian, so I whipped my head towards him as he continued.
"If I had managed to finish settling my business even faster, then she wouldn't have had to deal with anything unsightly." His words were sharp and clear, as if intended to slice through Aunt Ingrid.
"Also, I don't think there's anything to recover from. Wasn't it a blessing to be able to rid herself of the trash?"
Oh shit.
Lucian seemed to be glowing from this angle.
"Though I'd have to commend you for being eco-friendly. Readily collecting trash and recycling it? Really admirable."
And for a very short moment, I felt my lady bits clench. Don't judge me.