"Since when did you start liking women who wear tacky clothes?" Stacy blurted out, eyes narrowing at Alicia. Leo stared at her with tired, lazy eyes, choosing not to respond to the jab.
"As you all know, I'm married," he began, voice steady but firm. "And I'm happy to introduce her to all of you. She is Alicia Hart Blankson my wife." A small smile crept onto Alicia's face. She didn't know why, but hearing him call her his wife stirred something warm inside her.
Lisa, sitting at the head of the table, slammed her napkin down and stormed toward Leo.
"Listen to me, young lady," she hissed at Alicia. "Get your filthy hands off my son before he catches a bacteria!"
"Mom—" Leo began.
Before he could process what was happening, two loud slaps echoed through the room both landed on his face by Lisa.
Gasp!
Alicia let go of Leo's hand in shock, covering her mouth. A-Are you okay?" she asked nervously, her voice trembling. Leo glanced at her and gave a small, reassuring smile with a nod.
Lisa didn't miss it. Her lips quivered, and her eyes glistened with tears. She turned to her husband .
"Kira, did you see that?"
Alice blinked, stunned. "I'm still in a daze. I can't believe Uncle Leo smiled at her. He never smiles at anyone." "I know, and I'm surprised," Kira said. "Don't just sit here in shock! We need to do something before Mother and Son kill each other."
Lisa pointed a trembling finger at Alicia. "You—" "Mom…" Alicia said carefully. "Don't you dare call me that!" Lisa snapped. "You don't even qualify to be my daughter-in-law, let alone my daughter!"
Leo, how could you?" she turned to him, voice rising in pitch. "I expected you to marry someone with class, poise, and prestige. But this—" she gestured at Alicia with disdain "this is what you bring home?"
Her tone dripped with disgust as she sized Alicia from head to toe. Humiliated, Alicia turned to leave. Daisy, let's get out of here."
But Leo grabbed her arm quickly. "Please… try to endure it," he whispered.
She yanked her arm free.
"Endure?" she snapped. "You want me to stand here like a statue and take insult after insult from your mother? Oh, please! This isn't the 1950s where daughters-in-law are supposed to be silent and submissive!"
"I can't stand this, okay? At least let me save my ego. I refuse to lose my self-respect for this madness. What sort of nonsense is this?!" "Mind your tongue, Alicia," Leo said in a low, warning tone. "Oh, wow," she laughed bitterly. "Now I should mind my tongue? Your mother has no right to insult me, no matter who she is."
"Damn…" Jeff smirked from the other end of the table. "Seems you brought a tigress into the family. I like her already and she's damn beautiful. Nice taste, bro." Alicia smiled politely and gave him a small nod.
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Oh, it's nothing."
"Hey, Jeff, why are you talking to that lowlife?" Stacy hissed. "Mom, stop it. Don't start, please," Jeff groaned, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying the truth. And who's the other one standing behind her?" Stacy turned to Daisy. "Do you lack manners or what? Greeting us won't kill you."
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Daisy said quickly, bowing her head in shame and fidgeting nervously.
"Oh, Mom, be kind to your soon-to-be daughter-in-law," Kira blurted out with a mischievous grin. "I also want a sister-in-law just like Alice! "Kira!" Stacy yelled.
"It's not a bad idea, you know," Jeff said, eyes still fixed on Daisy. He got up and walked over to her. "Hi," he said softly. "Hi," she replied shyly.
Stacy gasped. "Oh no. Your son can't have an influence on mine! I swear, I will get a heart attack if he marries this girl!"
Author's Note:
Hi lovely people! I'll be taking a short break from updates because I'm back in school, and as a boarder, I can't use my phone. I'm really sorry for the pause, but I promise to release mass chapters when I return. Please don't lose interest in this book because of this.
Thank you so much for your love and support!