'Poor children!'
Geneva spoke so bluntly in front of them, with no regard for how they would probably feel, but they had no reaction whatsoever. The middle biological child, Ingrid, lowered her head as she seemed to be the most affected by this. She was the only one with any reaction as she was very sensitive.
Geneva studied Shelby's reaction carefully as they had this conversation but saw nothing unusual. Shelby was used to many absurd situations and did not easily reveal her emotions. This made Geneva feel like Shelby was worth her time at that moment.
"Are you done with the meal?" Geneva suddenly asked, "You should treat your body well and nourish it!"
Shelby lowered her head, and a small smile escaped her. 'Geneva is so weird, but in a good way.' She contemplated.
Shelby then straightened as Gabriel wiggled on her lap a bit, trying to find a good position. With her concentration temporarily on Gabriel, Shelby did not notice that Geneva was sizing her up and conveniently avoided direct eye contact. The table was promptly cleared, but the two women kept quiet, lost in their thoughts. Shelby felt so much out of place, especially with the boy who had attached himself to her like an octopus refusing to let go.
"Grandma, can we leave?" Came the sudden voice of the eldest, who had almost been forgotten after being introduced.
Geneva nodded absentmindedly at Samantha. Samantha turned swiftly and pulled Ingrid, whispering,
"Gabriel, we have to go."
"But why? Mama Shelby is here," he clutched the front of Shelby's top tightly, almost afraid as if he would be dragged from her lap.
"It's okay, Samantha. I'll get him back to you in no time."
The young girl turned and left quickly without sparing her glance or even acknowledging having heard her.
Shelby sighed as she could sense the girl's dislike for her.
'Figures!'
At that time, only the thoughts of the children and their mother were on her mind. No matter how much she thought of it, it did not make much sense. She had even forgotten her own predicament of popping out a baby with a non-existent man. Just then,
'Bump!'
"Ouch!"
Both Shelby and Geneva turned to see a male worker fumbling. He looked like he didn't know where to put his eyes. Looking everywhere but at the two women as he apologized vigorously.
Geneva waved her hand in a dismissal gesture, and the man literarily ran from the room looking so flushed. It was ridiculous.
Geneva seemed to have a hunch about why her worker was like that because she turned sharply to look at Shelby meeting her clear blue eyes. Geneva quickly looked away, too. On one side, she was happy that the new wife she had gotten for her son had an irresistible charm. It was the best weapon to work on her son, but she was starting to second-guess her choice because other people, especially the males, could not function right when she was around.
"Mum!" The voice brought Geneva out of her thoughts as her second son strode confidently to the room.
"Mum, I-" Brad froze when his eyes landed on the back of Shelby. Brad's eyes went as round as saucers. Because Shelby's back faced him, she did not see this. However, she did not want anything to do with her brother-in-law, so she focused on Gabriel instead, busying herself with running her hands through his hair. On the other hand, Geneva wondered what was wrong with her youngest.
"I-"
The memories from the previous night surfaced, and Brad looked at his hands, which had started to shake. The experience from the night before had shaken him to the core. He felt a slight tingle in his hands as if he was having physical hallucinations. Brad had not slept much during the night and only came in because he thought it was late enough that he might not meet Shelby. How wrong he was!
'She's a witch!' These thoughts crossed his mind. He nodded heavily, stumbled back a few steps as if he had seen a ghost and ran! He ran as if he was being chased with his tail between his legs.
"Brad?"
But Brad was already long gone.
"What is wrong with him?" Geneva asked no one in particular but looked hard at her daughter-in-law, whose head remained bowed throughout.
Geneva narrowed her eyes because she knew his son very well and hoped he had done nothing stupid.
"Let's go back to your room if you're done. We need to do something about your wardrobe." In fact, she had sought out Shelby that morning because of that. She had already prepared what she felt were 'suitable clothes' for Shelby to aid her in her task.
Geneva rose swiftly and soon, followed by Katie and even Suzie. They were both outside Shelby's room. Geneva paused, hovered around Ian's door for a while, and then entered Shelby's.
This time, she personally went to the wardrobe and opened it. She grabbed a couple of attires and held them up.
Shelby blushed upon seeing them and turned Gabriel away simultaneously.
"Is – i-s this what she prepared?" She muttered to herself as she got impossibly more embarrassed as more were taken out of the closet. Suzie's expression was just like Shelby's, but as a slightly experienced woman, Katie did not have much of an obvious reaction.
Lingerie, thongs, see-through slips-ons, crotchless one-piece and much similar attire, came out one after the other.
Geneva herself hesitated and looked at them. Initially, she had thought, 'Sexy, does it!' But now, she kind of changed her mind because of thoughts of occurances withing the short period Shelby had been with them.
'Even without these, my staff cannot function around her- The original plan had to be scratched.' She thought.
"Never mind these. I'll leave them here for now. I don't have to teach you how to use them, right?"
"Are these the only -"
"Katie, go get her a few 'decent ones' to walk around the house in, but make sure she has these on whenever my son decides to let himself out of that room."
"W-wear that? And nothing else?"
Geneva shook her head and wondered,
'Why is she so prim and proper with looks that others will kill for?'
"How else do you expect to get that monk out of that room? In a sackcloth wrapped all around your body?"
Suzie muffled her laughter and looked away. "As I said, the task is as simple as it gets. Get his seed and get pregnant! Then all that has been given to your family will not be demanded back!"
Shelby stepped back, startled at the fierce and cold look in Geneva's eyes.
"Only then will we consider you family. For now, you are just an outsider with a task! I can equally find anyone else. You are not the only woman out there who will be willing to spread her legs for my boy. … But you indeed have an advantage, and that is why you are here, despite the ridiculous conditions of your family!"
*********
Thank you so much to all for your votes and comments! I hope we can keep it up ^_^
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
'What advantage do I have?' Shelby wondered after the three women left her. Suzie stayed temporarily to put the wardrobe back in order but also left soon after.
But soon dismissed the thought after all, she had no way to get the answers to those thoughts at all.
"Gabriel?" Shelby glanced casually around her room but did not find the boy who had been with her. In all the ensuing embarrassing situation of going through explicit lingerie that she had never seen before, she had forgotten about him.
"Gabriel? Where are you?" She looked around quickly and found him seated on the floor just outside Ian's room.
Crouching by him, she softened her voice and asked him, "Hey, why are you here?"
"I'm keeping daddy company!" Came his small and adorable voice.
Shelby smiled.
"Well, that sounds nice! Do you mind if I join you?" But he asked,
"You too, Mama Shelby? Daddy doesn't want to see you too?"
"Huh?"
Gabriel did not respond and lowered his small head onto his raised knee to balance it.
"It's okay, Mama Shelby. I always talk to Daddy here. I know he hears me. He will hear you, too. Maybe he will come out if he hears you talking to him."
Shelby wondered what the boy's mental state was for him to say such things. She ruffled his head and sat down on the floor by him. Gabriel raised his head and looked somewhere behind her once again. Shelby had almost forgotten the episode from when she first met the boy the day before. Following his gaze, she turned to meet the empty space and sighed.
"Do you still see someone behind me?" She asked softly. Gabriel perked up. 'Mama Shelby really believes me?!'
"Yes, I do. Is he here now?"
"Yes!" He nodded vigorously. Shelby looked around the brightly lit corridor but saw nothing. Not even any shadow! However, the boy's behaviour did not look like he was lying. He had to be a very good actor to do what he was doing. But since she did not know his character, she decided to go with her gut instinct.
"What is the man doing?"
"He is just staring at you…"
"Staring?"
Gabriel nodded, "Yes, Like a bodyguard."
"Really?" Shelby turned around, a little hesitant. She wouldn't have believed this from the child and taken it as child talk, but she had experienced something outwardly when her accident occurred a few years back. From then, Shelby knew that there were unexplainable occurrences in the world. This was what prompted her to continue asking Gabriel.
"Yes."
She kept quiet, lowering her head and pondered briefly.
"Then, Gabriel, let's think of him as mama's guardian Angel …"
"Really? Can he also be called Gabriel? Since he is an angel?"
Shelby burst out laughing despite the bizarre conversation.
"I guess... he could be," Shelby said, gazing back at the empty space.
"He said that his name is Murry!"
"He talks?" She asked, amused.
"Yes, he does!"
"Okay…." This just got a tad bit weirder.
"Is he the same person you saw yesterday?"
"Yes, Mama Shelby."
"Hmmmm…. Well, say Hi to Murray for me then, Gabriel." Gabriel turned to that direction again and then,
"Uncle Angel Murray, Mama Shelby says Hi!"
Shelby burst into another round of laughter. 'This place is going to be interesting after all….' She thought as she glanced at the still-locked room behind her.
"Let's get you back to your room then."
"You don't want to play with me again, Mama Shelby?"
"Of course not, Gabriel; I want to take a look at your room. Will you show me?"
Gabriel got up and pulled Shelby by the hand and started moving. She followed closely to a remote part of the home. It was the furthest from her and Ian's wing.
Shelby followed Gabriel in, only to stop abruptly. For such a calibre of family, she had assumed that Gabriel would have his own room, but a large room with three beds in it greeted her.
"Gabriel! Why are you now coming bac-"
Samantha stopped short and glared at Gabriel. Gabriel hid behind Shelby, who now felt awkward at the intrusion.
"Ermmmm…. Is it okay that I came here? Pardon me for the intrusion."
Samantha placed her headset on and covered herself with her blanket.
"I guess that is a no," Shelby muttered to herself and turned to Ingrid. Ingrid pushed her glasses up and lowered her head so much that her nose nearly touched her chest.
"Mama Shelby, come and see…" Shelby followed Gabriel to his bed and frowned heavily. The room arrangement was bizarre. She studied the three children carefully but did not interact much with the two older ones. 'It takes time,' she thought.
However, if Shelby had any second guesses about the children's lives on the estate, it got clearer that evening at dinner. Many things were a bit off. First, she was given a maid, Suzie, when she entered the estate but saw no one like that by the children. In her opinion, the children would need such a person more than her. Her little time in their room showed that Samantha did all the necessities too.
That evening, she was at the dinner table with Geneva, Alex, and Brad, but the three children were nowhere to be found.
She couldn't be bothered about Brad, who could not look her straight in the eyes but was puzzled about why the dinner was halfway through without the children.
"Where are Samantha and the other two kids?" She dared ask. The atmosphere froze a bit.
"They usually eat in their room!" The finality of Geneva's statement made Shelby swallow any follow-up questions. As to why the kids would eat in a room that was their everything was a little disturbing for her.
Just then,
"Mama Shelby! Look at what I found!"
Gabriel's little feet carried him as he ran into the dining area, but he bumped into a tall side table with a vase.
A loud crash ensued. Shelby placed her cutlery down quickly, but before she could utter any word or get up, "Get him out of my sight!" Alex's cold voice sounded in the quiet room.
She turned in time to see the guilty-looking boy surrounded by the broken bits of dangerous porcelain. Shelby was so startled by Alex's tone that she unconsciously looked around the table. What she saw further shocked her!
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Thank you so much to all for your votes and comments! I hope we can keep it up ^_^
I wonder what she saw!
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