48. Melissa's plan

A FEW HOURS LATER

Nathan and Stephen were playing in the Stephen's room as Stephen promised him when suddenly a loud voice interrupted them.

"Don't you dare to touch him!"

Nathan gasped at the loud voice before hiding behind Stephen's back. He crouched down and turned himself into a small ball. He clutched Stephen's shirt tightly in his small fist.

"Melissa? What the hell is this behavior?" Stephen demanded with a deep frown, his irritation palpable in his tone and the furrowed lines on his forehead. Melissa's sudden intrusion into his room, without his permission, had caught him off guard, and he was not pleased with the way she had raised her voice in front of him. Her attitude was, in his view, wholly unacceptable, and the presence of his son, Nathan, who was visibly frightened by Melissa's actions, only added to his anger.

"You think something is wrong with my behavior? What are you doing?" Melissa retorted, her own frown deepening as she defiantly entered the room uninvited. S