Chapter 29: Creak

In the Wendover house, Clara beamed happily as she hung up the phone after speaking with her son. Even though the contents of the conversation were anything she should be happy about. Rocky was still angry and sought clarity from his mother but gave up halfway and talked about school with her. Clara was impossible to reason with sometimes.

He sometimes wondered if there was anything mentally wrong with their mother.

On the other hand, Clara was in her own world as usual. She was happy because her daughter was married to the man she liked, and she also got to meet Geneva to the envy of her friends!

Clara was now very popular in her social circles, and her phone had been ringing off the hook since after the wedding.

"It's all because of James! I bless the day I met this man who has turned my life around! What would I have done if I had not met him?" She asked herself, then stood abruptly.

"Let's go see what James is doing."

In his study at that time, James was angry. He did not know why. Even though the thorn in his flesh had left his sight probably forever, he felt furious. It all started when he had been editing the first batch of photos the day before. Looking at the picture of the supposed 40-year-old widow, he felt irritated. He had agreed to the marriage between the families because of the benefits and because Ian was much older and rumoured to be seriously ill. But his heart sank when James received a picture of Ian, taken years prior.

'What is 'old' about this person?' He had expected a fat and at least slight pot-bellied man, but Ian looked every inch like a vigorous young man in his prime. James was not familiar with the Thornston circles, and Ian did not appear in the media much. James swiped through all the pictures on his work computer and felt himself harden at Shelby's overall look for that day. His hand hovered on the video of Shelby's dance, and he closed his eyes tightly. But the seemingly innocent but erotic-like dance remained imprinted in his mind.

"Fuck!" He cursed out loud.

"What is it, James?"

He immediately minimized the video and turned to look at his wife with a smile.

"What made you curse out like that?"

"You, baby!"

"Me? What did I do?"

"I can't get the thought of you out of my mind! And I have work to do!"

"That problem can be easily solved, right? Why curse? …when I am within reach?"

"You are right!" He turned in his swivel chair and pulled Clara onto his lap. His hard member poked Clara, and she shrieked.

"You naughty man!"

"Naughty only for you, my dear Clara! Now be a good girl and make it worth my while!"

Clara giggled. Even though they already had a child in medical school, the duo behaved like newlyweds, and all were used to them.

James helped Clara up and lifted the hem of her skirt above her waist.

"I love it when you are so easily accessible with no underwear," he whispered to her, easing his hands between her folds to find her already wet. He released himself from his zip and pushed Clara on his already hard member with her back facing him…. Just the way he liked it!

"Ah!" Clara grunted as she moved vigorously in sync with him. James closed his eyes, the scene of his stepdaughter's dance playing in his head, and he savoured her mother.

***

It had already been six weeks since that day when Shelby met all the kids for the first time, and within that time, she had seen more than she wanted to in the Thornston estate. The dinner that day had been a big eye-opener for her. The three kids were treated like outsiders in the home of their supposed father. It was true that they had no blood relation to the Thornston family, but still, she could not accept how they were treated.

Unfortunately, Shelby had no power to change anything in her new home. She, herself, was walking on thin ice.

This was because a whole month and a half had passed, and Shelby had never seen her husband except for the first night that she heard his 'scream.'

As the days rolled by, she wondered what was about, but nothing came to mind. She had a lot to think about but had received no answers on anything yet.

In her bathroom that evening, she submerged herself in her bathtub and held her breath for a whole minute before coming out to take in huge gasps of breath. Shelby wondered about the man Gabriel had supposedly seen around her, the children in general, as well as how to get at least a glimpse of her husband. The questions bursting in her mind were so many, 'How do I do this vs. how can that happen….' And many more.

She stepped out of the bathtub and quickly put on her bathrobe. Shelby couldn't help but look around warily. After her talk with Gabriel, she couldn't help but overthink. She tried to make the times she was naked less and less… after all, she was unsure who was looking.

She walked to her wardrobe and picked out a pyjama. Thankfully, Katie and Suzie had refurnished it so that there were now more decent clothes.

She pushed the lingerie to the back and settled for the comfortable clothes instead. Even though by decent, it meant that only a few fully covered her. Most of the rest bared out different parts of her body. She was not yet allowed to go out of the estate, so Katie had been the one to oversee this.

Shelby stepped out of her room in her lacy pyjamas and stared at the closed door. For these weeks, she had 'seen' many failed attempts to open this door and wondered if something more was at play here. She had followed Gabriel and was usually sat in front of the door talking to the person who never responded.

She sighed and turned back to her room but stopped. Her curiosity got the better of her on this day. Shelby stepped close to the door as if something was urging her. Shelby placed her hand on the door handle and shook her head.

"What am I thinking?" She muttered and turned to return to her room, only to hear a 'click' sound. She whipped her head around to see the door creak open!

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