Loredana introduced Tiana to her, “She’s Charles’ newly-wed wife, Tiana. She’s a good girl.”
Theresa nodded and replied, “She does seem good, yes.”
Very naive, too.
When they reached Theresa’s room, Loredana got her a cup of water and said, “Take your meds.”
Theresa ate the medicine and replied, “You guys go do your stuff, I’ll head to sleep.”
Loredana nodded, “Just call for me if you need anything.”
“Call for you, nah. I sure as heck don’t want Mr. Mendelsohn to hate me. I’ll call for Coral, or the new maid.” Theresa pursed her lips, “Your husband would turn me inside out if I trouble you.” Loredana glared at her, “Yeah, yeah, just sleep already. You keep talking nonsense all day long like a certain someone called Armand.”
When Theresa heard the name Armand, her mood immediately soured as she replied, “I’ll sleep.”
Loredana tucked her blanket in as she apologized in a soft voice, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to mention him.”
“I know, you should rest earlier, too. Don’t let my godson tire you out.” Theresa was not angry, she was merely unhappy when she heard the name Armand.
Loredana acknowledged her with a little laugh.
She closed the door to Theresa’s room after Tiana and her had left the room. She asked Tiana, “Have you had dinner yet?”
Tiana shook her head in response, “I haven’t. I’m worried about Charles, so I can’t eat.”
“You need to have a full stomach to have enough energy to wait for him. There’s some leftovers here that you can eat.” Loredana said to Coral, “Get me a clean bowl!”
Coral brought them the bowl and said, “It’s a rare occasion that everyone was able to get together for a meal, it’s just sad that it was interrupted so abruptly. See, there’s so much food leftover.” Tiana lowered her head, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Alisa wasn’t talking about you.” Loredana comforted Tiana. Alisa was not really picking on Tiana, she was merely stating the truth, which was that the dinner was interrupted, and was feeling down about it.
Loredana got her some food and said, “Eat something first, you wouldn’t want Charles to worry about you, do you?”
Tiana picked up some chopsticks and ate the food that was given by Loredana.
She did not want Charles to worry about her, she also didn’t want him to feel sorry for her. He was actually the one in the worst situation, since he could not be together with the person that he loved. “Loredana, Charles loves you, right?”
Loredana immediately felt anxious. She looked at Tiana and explained, “Tiana…”
“Loredana.” Tiana raised her head and looked at her. She added in a serious tone, “You don’t need to explain, I understand, but I do not hate you nor dislike you for that. You’re pretty and smart, it’s only normal if he loves you. But he said that he will try his best to not like you to like me more. I want to be the woman that makes his eyes sparkle.”
Loredana was at a loss of words as she looked at Tiana in silence.
“Loredana, I don’t have any siblings, so can I treat you like my real sister?” Tiana looked at her with sad eyes, “No one wants to be my friend because I’m not smart. Only you and Charles do not reject me.” Loredana played with her hair and reassured her, “You’re kind and smart, no one’s going to reject you. At the very least, I do like you a lot. You must remember that you should live for yourself, don’t care about what others say about you. You are unique, so as long as you’re happy, do whatever you want and say whatever you like. If one day you’re sick, do you think that anyone can replace you?”
Tiana shook her head, “No.”
“Exactly. If other people badmouth you, it’s not worth paying them any mind. No matter how much you’re hurt by words, no one else could shoulder the pain for you. So, no matter what other people say, as long as you’re living just fine, it’s alright.”
Tiana looked at Loredana and recalled her mother’s sayings. Her mother always told her to think before she spoke, whether she should say whatever she wanted to or not. She also told Tiana to behave properly, so that others had respect for her and she did not lose face over anything.
But today, Loredana asked her to be herself.
She agreed with Loredana, she should not live under other people’s influences.
After all, she was the only one who knew if she was happy or sad, and no one else could shoulder her pain for her.
Tiana nodded with force, “I understand, Loredana.”
“Thank you, Loredana!” She said as she hugged Loredana enthusiastically.
Loredana patted her on the back and said, “Don’t worry, Charles will be alright.”
“Mhmm.” Tiana nodded in response.
Loredana kept Tiana in company by talking a lot to her to cheer her up so that she did not worry too much about Charles.
When it got late, Loredana let her sleep in the guest room.
As they had hired more maids, there were no more vacant rooms on the bottom floor. Loredana asked Cormac to bring the two children upstairs so that Tiana could sleep in their room for the night.
Both of them were sound asleep, they did not do as much as nudge when Cormac carried them upstairs.
Loredana was feeling tired, she wanted to sleep next to the children without taking a bath.
Cormac placed a tub of hot water next to the bed and said, “Come, wash your feet before sleeping.”
Loredana sat up and complied. She then asked, “Will you release him”
Cormac was washing her legs. He saw that her legs were thin and long, on the smaller side when it came to legs, and were pale. Her toes were like little sprouts. He was massaging her sole and calf when he asked, “Are your legs swollen?”
She touched her legs to check before replying, “I don’t think so.”
“I’ve read that pregnant women have swollen limbs.”
“That happens seven or eight months into pregnancy,” Loredana corrected him.
Cormac acted surprised, “I see.”
Loredana pushed him slightly with her feet, “Don’t try to change the topic. I’m asking you, will you release him?”
It was only then did Cormac answer her question, as he changed the topic on purpose to avoid talking about Charles.
Cormac caught the feet that nudged him, “You tell me, why do I hate him so much? I really hope that Declan will just get rid of him so that I don’t have to be troubled when I see his face again.”
Loredana could not help but to be amused by how childish Cormac was behaving.
“I really want you to look at a mirror right now, you should see how mean your face looks.”
Cormac snorted coldly in response as he grabbed a towel to wipe her legs.
She tilted her head and looked at him, “Are you mad?”
Why would he be quiet, then?
All of a sudden, Cormac flung the towel to the side, grabbed her ankles with both his hands and pressed her against the bed. Loredana struggled, wanting to break free and said in a soft voice, “What are you doing? The children are still here, you know, you’re gonna wake them up.”
He said in a deep tone as his eyebrows twitched naughtily, “You won’t wake them up if you moan softly.”
Loredana was rendered speechless by him.
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.