Tallulah's POV
They say a single mother and her only daughter are like twin sisters who could read the meaning of every expression on each other's face. That fact had become my weakness. We had been together since my birth and we knew each other's secrets, inside out. I could hide the truth from Kathie and Micheal in plain sight, but not from her. My gaze slightly shifted to where Mark stood, but he wasn't there. It was almost as if he had disappeared, like a ghost. My heart began to pound when I noticed that Kathie's gaze had followed mine up the stairs, and back again. She sighed. “Ignore him. He doesn't seem happy that you're here, but he'll get over it soon.” “Nice first impression, Mark!” She yelled. I began exhaling slowly in an attempt to conceal the change in my expression as my mom stared intently at me. Unknown to me, there was a little flaw in the arrangements I had made to cover up my secret affair. “It must be a fever.” Micheal announced, “She had to stop by the pharmacy a while ago to get some painkillers.” My mom's gaze narrowed, and fell to my purse which I was still squeezing. I felt uneasy when she looked into my eyes again, and surprisingly, she smiled. Her voice took a friendly, uplifting tone. “Kathie, could you take Tallulah's stuff to her room, she'll be up in a minute. I need to check her temperature.” “Alright Lillian. See you soon, Lula.” She said as she ascended the stairs. She waved at me, and I waved back as she followed Micheal upstairs, holding the smallest of my boxes. I felt it was a bit weird that she was bidding me a temporary goodbye. I mean, we literally live in the same house. She's just too sweet. I felt my mum's hand grab mine, and one tug had me following her to a door at the side of the living room. It was a little kitchen with all its walls and cupboards painted in white. “Sit.” She commanded, pointing to the concrete table that was coated with ceramic tiles. I supported myself up the table as she took out a thermometer from one of the drawers. It reminded me of the many times she would worry too much whenever I got sick. She would spend all her salary purchasing medications for me. “Open up.” She instructed, and my jaw fell ajar. She placed the instrument into my mouth and pulled out seconds later. Her expression twisted when she checked the readings to see that it was completely normal. “Mum, I'm fine. It's probably a little stress from the flight, that's all.” I explained. I gave myself a mental pat at how convincing I sounded. But I knew it would take a lot more than that to satisfy her curiosity. As I thought of the next lie to tell, she gave me the most shocking proof that she was always in my head. “You're lying to me, Lula.” She seethed, earning her a falter in my gaze and voice. “W_What do you mean? Why would I lie about it?” I managed to ask, looking away from her mind-reading eyes. “Show me the painkillers.” She requested, reaching out an open hand. My fingers began to tremble, and my voice shook, like there was an earthquake in my throat. “I don't understand. What are you getting at?” Before I could finish my statement, she forcefully grabbed my purse from beside me, pulling out its contents until she found the pack of after pills. My heart sank as she read the label on the drugs, with her eyes wide open. She gasped, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. I felt a chilling sensation down my spine at the sight of her breaking heart. She felt even more hurt than I did when I woke up to an empty bed this morning. “You promised.” She muttered, letting the tears flow freely. I felt the liquid prick my eyes, and tears obscured my vision. “Mum, it's alright. I'm 19 years old. I can get laid whenever I want. It's not a big deal.” I explained. But that didn't seem to help. Maybe it did help, but the next answers I would give would completely destroy her already broken heart. “Who is he? And how long have you known him?” I became speechless with my head downcast as I debated with my mind whether to tell her the truth or not. But deep down, I knew I could never ruin her marriage by telling her that I had an affair with my stepbrother. I know what she's capable of. She would pack her things and leave this house, away from the man she loved, just for my happiness. “I don't remember his name.” I lied, knowing how much damage my words would cause. Her sobs intensified and she began pacing back and forth, with her fingers running through her scalp. “I should've known. I should never have let you go. It's all my fault. For being a bad mother. For not protecting…” She continued blabbing on and on in regret like she had done something wrong and it was beginning to annoy me. Why does she always blame herself for my mistakes? I lost control of my temper and sprung to my feet. “Mum, it's fine! I took the fucking pill, okay?” I yelled. “Lula, it's not okay!” She yelled back, “Don’t you get it? I took the pill too, but by then, it was too late.” She let out a sigh before resuming her speech. “It's my fault that you made the same mistake, because I did too. It's like a sickness I passed unto you, and I'm sorry. Lula, I don't want you to ruin your life like I did.” She leaned back on the table behind her when she had finished expressing her pain, but mine had only just begun. It's not the first time she had told me about how she made the mistake of having unprotected sex with my father, and I was getting sick of it. I muttered something, but she didn't seem to hear me. She looked at me with a twisted expression, trying to understand what I had said, and I wasn't afraid to say it twice. “I'm your mistake, right?” I asked. “No, Lula, I didn't mean it like that.” “Then what did you mean?” She shrugged. “No Lula, you will not turn this against me. I'm not the one who just had sex with a random stranger without asking their name.” I squatted and began arranging my purse as she struggled to find her words, but I had heard enough. “I'm sorry for ruining your life, mum. Maybe it would've been better for both of us if you had taken the pill earlier than you did.” I voiced. My cold words earned me a stream of tears down her already flooded chins and a stammer in her shaky voice. “I can't do this Lula. I just can't.” She said, fleeing out of the room. ••••••••I had almost finished picking my stuff off the floor when I heard the sound of a clap. It was slow and quiet. I looked up to see the clown who was mocking me at this dire moment, but when I saw his face, my heart stopped. “Welldone, Miss Drama Queen. You did great.” He jeered. It was Marcus, my new stepbrother. Turns out he had been eavesdropping on our conversation. I'm infuriated by how sarcastic he sounds. He was obviously listening to know if I would tell my mum about him. I'm glad he met me in this cold state, there are some things I need to say to him. “Karma's a bitch, right?” I voiced, straightening up, “First, you trick a girl to bed you at a random hotel. Next, you flee from her room before a cock crows. But guess what? She turns out to be your step sister who you'll be stuck with for the rest of your life.” His arms remained folded and he kept his head up, paying attention to all I had to say. I wonder how he manages to be this confident all the time. I snickered. “And you said, ‘It's just a kiss,’ and blabbed on and on about how you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me. I can't believe I fell for your lies. I actually believed you loved me…” An unintentional tear dripped down my eyes, interrupting me. I tried to wipe it off so he wouldn't notice it, but it was too late. He strode forward, closing the distance between us. Soon enough we were both in the kitchen, with a slim space between us that made me uncomfortable. But deep down, I liked it. It reminded me of the way our bodies rubbed against each other, with his breath washing my face as he kissed me more than a hundred times. “Marcus, you need to stop. Someone might see us.” I begged. But he paid no attention to my plea. His hand lifted, and he slowly smothered off the tear on my chin. “Lula, I meant every word I said.” The tone in his husky voice made my heart warm, and I hated it. “Really? Then why did you leave? Why did you run, like I was some whore at a motel? I was so scared…” My words soon turned into tears, more tears than he could wipe off. I needed answers to my questions. I wanted those sexy lips to give me a tangible explanation as to why he deflowered me and fled the next morning. Wasn't I enough for him? I tried to turn away and exit the room as he closed in on me, but his hand rested upon the table top beside me, and his arm obstructed my path. I had no choice but to stare into his icy gaze, not knowing if I should fight him or kiss him. “You wanna know why I left?” He asked. I nodded, and shut my eyes as the inches between our faces thinned out. We had forgotten where we were, and we had forgotten that the door was wide open.Marcus' POV Two days ago, I was shocked when I received the news; ‘My dad was getting married.’ I know I should've been happy about it, but I wasn't. In fact, I began to hate the woman he would marry even before I met her. It reminded me of the time he fell for a stunning model named Catherine Heather, and they got married after mere months of courtship. Guess how that ended? Two years later, she filed a divorce and took half of his property along with her. That's decades of work all to the drain. And for what? For love, for lust, and for affection. ‘Fucking golddiggers!’ And now, he was about to make the same mistake once again. He just never learns. The most annoying part is that I have to come over to the mansion to welcome those thieves into our home. Just Great. •••••••As I battled with the infuriating thoughts that filled my head, my gaze fell upon the stunning girl at the bartender's counter, where I was headed. ‘Damn, she's hot.’ Her red dress highlighted her perfect p
Tallulah's POV The scent of his minty breath on my face made me shiver. He was about to explain his reasons for abandoning me at the hotel. But it wouldn't hurt to listen after a few kisses, would it? I shut my eyes and slightly parted my lips, waiting for our mouths to interlock. But the words that left his lips threw my mind into confusion.“I'm not the kind of man that revisits an already eaten meal.” He said.‘What the fuck does that even mean?’For a moment, I fell into a world of denial, not wanting to believe that he was referring to me as an already eaten meal. Unknown to me, the worst was yet to come.“And you're not the kind of girl that makes a man hungry for more.” It felt like a speed train with daggers for tires ran into me, sweeping my soul away from my body. I gazed upon the smirk on his face, hoping it was some sort of dark humor. Would he burst into laughter and tell me he was kidding?He didn't. Rather, he turned towards the kitchen door and strode out of the roo
Tallulah's POVI followed closely behind Kathie as she tugged my arm up the stairs. She was giving me a tour of the mansion and like she said, we were about to see the best part; our rooms. “That's my Dad's office.” She stated, pointing at the first door.“Don't go in there without his permission.”The passage was the length of a highschool hallway, having doors on both on the left and right. We took about eight paces from the home office before we halted.“We're here!” She squealed.The two rooms were next to each other, with a three paces of wall in-between them. She twisted the doorknob and pushed the first door open. “This is my room. And…”She tugged me again to the next door without even letting me admire the purple colors steaming from her room. She pushed the second door open.“This is yours.”For a moment, the gigantic bed covered with green sheets at the edge of the room captured my consciousness. I slowly walked into the room with my eyes scanning every corner of the yello
Tallulah's POV“Oh my gosh! Get out Marcus!!” Kathie yelled. The latter smirked.“Why should I? It's my dad's pool, isn't it?”She irked in disgust, stamping her feet.“Get out!! You saw me preparing the pool before I went back up to change into my swimsuit. We were here first.”“Well, there's plenty of space for all three of us.”“You're so annoying.” She screamed, kicking at the water, but the splashes could barely reach him.“Let's just go Kathie, we'll come back when he leaves.” I suggested. I was becoming a little too uncomfortable and maybe a bit horny due to the scanty dressing on both I and Marcus.Kathie shook her head.“No Lula, we're going nowhere. You have every right to this pool as much as he does.” She raised the tone of her voice like she wanted the entire world to hear what she had to say. “You're my sister which makes this mansion yours as well along with all the fancy cars in that damn car-park. So if anyone's leaving, it's going to be him, because two votes outw
Kathie’s POVI'd like to make a confession, one that's been weighing on my conscience for a while now. I realized the emotions I felt some minutes ago were completely inappropriate, and I fear it might repeat itself.Words can't express the joy I felt when I met my new stepsister, Tallulah Danvers. Ever since our last stepmom left, my only brother, Marcus has been grumpy towards everyone including me. He'd always tell me love was a lie and it was easier to have casual relationships with any attractive person of my choice. “Love will bleed you dry like Catherine did to Dad.” He'd say. But I never listened, I knew Dad's marriage to Catherine was a mistake, one I would never make, so I started dating at a very young age. At the age of fifteen, I had already been in three unsuccessful relationships with boys from highschool. I wouldn't call them unsuccessful though. I had fun with all three of them, but the end was always the same; I would lose interest after some months of calls, holdi
Tallulah's POVTingles crawled up my spine when his hand lifted and grabbed mine, gently pressing it against his bare chest. I knew I needed to retrieve my hand from his grip, but I feared that if I did, there'd be nothing to block his unclad properties from touching mine. “Marcus, you need to stop. Everything's different now.” I managed to say amidst my shallow breaths.He snickered.“No, Lula. Nothing's changed.”His grip around my hand tightened while his other hand reached underneath the waters towards me. And with one pull, my body clashed into his. Splashes of water scattered at either side as he forced me into his embrace with both hands gripping my waist. I held his solid chest, pushing against him to prevent our bodies from touching.“Marcus, let go of me!” I yelled.My tiptoes were forced down to the base of the pool as I tried to resist him, and for a moment, I thought he was trying to drown me. But the movements of his hands beneath the water’s surface said otherwise. His
Tallulah's POVI paced right at Kathie who was still clad in the purple swimsuit, aiming for the door like she was invisible. My shoulder bumped against hers, and she immediately sidestepped to avoid getting hit by the huge box rolling behind me.That didn't stop her though, she continued tailing me as I struggled with the heavy boxes. When I reached the staircase, I realized I would need help to get the large box down the stairs. But I didn't want her assistance, fearing it might only discourage me from leaving.With a firm grip, I tugged the heavy box forward in front of me, then I pushed it gently down the stairs, hoping it would pass each step gently. But the weight pulled at my arm, nearly dragging me down with it. Realizing I couldn't hold it, I let go, and the box tumbled down the stairs, crashing against the steps until it landed on the ground floor with a loud thud.Kathie gasped, and we held each other's gaze for a brief second.“Ugh!! I fucking hate this house!!” I screamed
Tallulah's POV Mr Winston's jovial expression consorted to a look of disappointment as he listened to Kathie's whisper.He sighed and nodded.“Alright Kathie. Thank you for bringing this to my notice. We'll talk about it before dessert.”My heart sank when I realized my suspicions were correct. “So… let's eat.” He announced.With that, my mom straightened up, reaching for the covered meal at the center of the table. The pleasant aroma filled the air when she lifted the stainless steel cover of the round platter, revealing the big brown turkey we had grilled. But I was starting to lose my appetite. I noticed how much my hands were shaking as I grabbed a cutlery, moving my empty plate forward like everyone else. My gaze shifted to Kathie who was now staring at me with a smile. Then she nodded slightly. ‘Oh my goodness, Kathie. What did you do?’••••••••••The air was filled with clinks, clanks and gulps which lasted for the past ten minutes. I, on the other hand, found myself play