Memories of the video Bacon displayed on the wall that day popped into Laura's head.
Slowly she turned and looked at her surroundings. The curious faces of the onlookers made her tremble.
The thought of Joanna displaying the video in public as revenge made her legs go weak. She staggered two steps backwards almost losing her balance.
"What is it?" Rafael, the guy by Laura's side, demanded, seeing her pale face.
"Since you are fond of stating the truth, I am sure you will love what I am going to show…,"
"Stop spewing nonsense," Laura yelled, not letting Joanna continue with her words.
"Besides I don't have even a minute of my time to waste on you…,"
"Some minutes ago it looked like you had the entire time in the world to wait so, may I ask what happened…," Laura grabbed her boyfriend's hand and stomped out of there in shame.
Joanna smirked watching her stepsister departing back.
[How dare she think she can win against me when even her gutsy mother can't. It's her fault for overestimating her capabilities]
Joanna grinned as she held her little brother's hand and walked away.
Chris watching everything inside the car let out a sigh of relief.
"It's such a relief to see that she has grown so much and can defend and protect herself now. Sir will be very happy to learn about this," He muttered and watched the two siblings until they weren't within his eyesight.
After they had gotten far away from the scene of the commotion Rafael whisk his hand out of Laura's firm grip.
"You said you wanted to teach your step-sister a lesson for going against you and your mother so many times so what was that back then?" Rafael demanded in anger.
"Why did you leave without harming a hair on her body…,"
"I wanted nothing more than to rip her mouth and break her bones right there but what can I do when she has leverage against me and my mother?" Laura questioned. Her face was red from anger.
"Does she have leverage against you and your mother?" Rafael asked in confusion.
"Also, what did she mean by what she said about Bacon or whatnot earlier?" He added.
His question caught the angry lady off guard. She was so scared and as such couldn't look him in the eye.
"Laura, why is it that you can't look me in the eyes?" He asked and tried to lift her chin but she tilted her head sideways.
At that moment he realised that something wasn't right.
"Are you perhaps hiding something from me…,"
"Let's go now. We will be in big trouble if someone recognises us and reports it to my parents," Laura said. She held his hand and pulled him along with her
The way she acted further proved Rafael's suspicions right.
Although he could tell she was hiding something from him, he decided not to press the issue further.
He doesn't have every day to spend with her and as such he chose to cherish this moment instead of letting anything ruin their private time.
When Joanna reached the floor where her family resides she was amazed to see Adhara standing in front of the elevator after the elevator dinged.
On getting a glimpse of his mother's face Anthony's grip around Joanna's hand tightened.
He shifted and tried to hide behind her.
"You are a big boy now so why are you hiding?" Adhara scolded and reached her hand to drag Anthony out of the elevator but he shrieked back.
"If you were bold enough to choose your Big Sis, shouldn't you also exhibit the same level of boldness in owning up…,"
"He is afraid you will spank him so you can't blame him for acting this way," Joanna, whose hands were still on the elevator buttons to prevent it from closing, cut in meekly.
"But I have no intention of doing that," Adhara retorted and continue looking at her scared son.
Anthony found the confidence to look his mother in the eye after her last sentence.
"Really?" He asked still in doubt.
He has never done something this severe but got scolded and spanked by his mother and big sister. He couldn't bring himself to believe her words even though she looked serious.
"Yes, so come on now", Adhara said and spread her hands.
Seeing how her son wouldn't let go of her sister's hand made Adhara wonder how terrifying she must have been to make her son so scared of her.
"Go on now, little rice ball. I know you are braver than this. Also, Big Sister is here to protect you so, why should you be scared huh?" Joanna said and winked at the boy clutching her hand tightly.
After coaxing him a bit the little boy of ten years found the courage to step out of the elevator to join his mother.
The three of them made their way towards their rooms. When they reached Laura's room Adhara paused. She turned and glanced at Joanna.
"Laura is studying at a friend's place and is gonna spend the night there so you can sleep over in her room," Adhara informed in a soft tone.
"Oh, so that is what she told you guys, this is getting interesting," Joanna chuckled.
"What did you say?" Adhara asked, not understanding what Joanna said.
"I said that Laura would be furious if she discovered this," She blatantly lied despite knowing Adhara heard her first sentence.
"Mum, you know I can't sleep without Big Sis by my side…,"
"You are gonna sleep beside Mum and Dad today so don't worry," Adhara said and pulled the reluctant Anthony along with her.
Joanna placed the card on the door's knob and the door opened. She entered the room after taking a long glance at the door of the room Adhara just entered.
The first thing she did after getting herself familiar with her stepsister's hotel room was to freshen and change into one of her sister's pyjamas.