Meet The Family

The time is twenty-five past midnight, and I am on my third cup of black coffee. Richard has been calling me nonstop, saying that I must submit the first chapter to him in three days, and I have been stuck in front of my computer screen for almost thirteen hours now. My eyes felt so tired and sore. I had been scratching them since seven, and as much as I wanted to get some shut-eye, I could not, as Richard would definitely start spamming my inbox again if he realized that I was not responding to any of his messages. Today has been one of those days where I wanted to cry myself to sleep and regret the kind of career that I chose for myself.

As if Richard had some sort of magic to be able to see what I was doing, my phone, which was resting on the table beside my laptop, started to light up and vibrate. I threw my head back with a groan and thought that having him as my editor must have been my punishment for being such a carefree soul, and he is getting back at me for all of the times that I'd ignored his calls and messages. I must have been a bad lady even in my past life, and the gods had sent him my way for repentance. I laughed at that thought. This is the effect of being a writer on me, I guess; I'm getting crazy ideas every now and then that could be made into a book.

"Have you eaten?" My evil and selfish editor asked with a soft tone, and it felt weird as he had never talked with me like this. "I figured you'd only ever had coffee since your lunch, and so I came over to visit you." I sprang up from my seat and looked outside of the window. There really was Richard, with a plastic bag in his hand and his phone over his ear. He turned his head upward and made eye contact with me.

"Are you insane? My family is here! What if they see you? They might mistake you for a stalker!"

I heard a sigh from his end. "Have you never told them that I was your editor?" I shook my head, making him let out a groan, and he glared at me from below. "Then I guess that I should be the one to inform them about our relationship even before that marriage meeting."

"What—Richard!" He rang the doorbell before I could even protest. My mother's voice echoed inside the house, and Akisha ran to answer the door. I heard them all gasp. Well, of course, everyone would be surprised if they saw the man whom they've planned for my older sister to marry visiting our home. I threw an oversized shirt over my small body and went downstairs to push him out of our house.

"Mr. Richard Brown, is it not?" My father asked the man standing before him. It was already too late for me to cut in and get him out of my home. "May I know what you're doing here in the middle of the night?"

It was totally not normal for an entire family to still be up and kicking at this hour, but that was what it was like for my family. Perhaps it was mainly my fault, as they could hear me stomping around the house every night, and I wake them up. Richard looked into my eyes as my parents followed the direction of his gaze.

"Have you come here for our daughter, Mr. Brown? Akisha?" My older sister leapt up in joy, as the man she was bound to get married to was beyond her expectations. I recalled that neither my mother nor my father knew that Mr. Brown had seen through me since the day of the marriage meeting. My family was all thinking that he'd believed that I was Akisha.

My older sister snatched away the plastic bag in his hand. "Are these for me? Perfect timing! I was feeling hungry!" I had planned to come back up to my room, thinking that it was best if I did and just continue writing my novel. But my sister gasped as I turned to them. The plastic bag was in Richard's hand again.

"I apologize, but I do not seem to know you. You must be the twin of my bride-to-be, and I beg your pardon for my rudeness. I am sorry for intruding in the middle of the night, Kim family, but I have come here for my fiancée—Bethany."

"Bethany?" Their eyes all averted towards me, and I could already read what they wanted to say, especially the two ladies.

"Yes, Bethany. I remembered her features so well. She does not have a mole under her left eye like her sister does; that's how I could differentiate the two of them."

"That's impressive!" Akisha screamed out of her lungs with a clap of her hands. "Well then, it's a relief that I did not have to play pretend any more! You're here for my baby sister, you say?" Richard nodded his head with a smile. Akisha paved the way and gestured that he was coming to me.

"Mr. Brown, we're extremely regretful for deceiving you that day. It was just... these two girls."

"Everything is fine, Mrs. Brown; there is no need for you to worry. Besides, whether or not I marry her, Bethany and I would still need to cross each other's path." My mother's head tilted to the side in confusion. I remained silent, but then Richard threw an arm around my shoulder as I gasped. "I am Author Lala K.'s editor."

How my parents had met him tonight was awfully embarrassing—for me, that is, because that was not the case for Richard over there, who was sitting inside my room. He was feeling proud of what he'd done. I placed the tray on the table as he crossed his arms over his chest. I took a sip of my hot drink.

"Now that you've formally introduced me to your parents, you shall go and meet with mine." I spit out the coffee right into his face. I ran to get a dry towel and gently dabbed it on his skin. "You know, Bethany, I was aware of how clumsy you were, but I never knew you're so unlady-like. Maybe it wouldn't be like this if I were to choose your sister over you." I wiped my lips with a napkin and nodded my head.

"Aki worked at the hotel that our mom owns, and she really was more feminine than I ever am. Many were dreaming of making her their wife, but Aki does not wish to settle."

"Why so?" He seemed so interested in my sister. Well, that was not surprising, as Akisha really is one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

"Well, she believes that she's still young, and she does not like the idea of having someone to watch over her every action. She does not want to get tied down with the wrong man, and Akisha was a carefree soul—she wants to be able to explore for as long as she could. Although she does want to fall in love, Aki always said to never rush."

"And you?"

I threw the used towel into the basket. "What about me?"

"Do you want to fall in love?"

My heart started to beat faster when he asked that question. I have never thought about falling in love with somebody; the only thing that's ever happened to me so far was a crush. It could be that I've watched my sister play around with men and had never seen myself in that situation, as it looked so exhausting. I had witnessed my sister getting her heart broken and crying multiple times—that takes too much energy. I could never add up anything like that in my life, as writing already sucks every ounce of life out of me. I shivered at the thought of falling in love.

"I'm fine alone," I replied shortly. "I mean, I've already spent so many years without the presence of any man around me other than my dad, and I knew I could live without them. Men can be, no offense, a headache sometimes. Mom and Akisha proved it to me." I heard laughter from the man sitting across from me.

"So then, why was your novel romance? Have you not heard about how writers mostly choose to use writing as a tool to let out their innermost feelings?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I've heard about that. Maybe it's because I'm in love with the idea of falling in love, you know what I mean? And it's honestly fun to fantasize yourself being happy in the arms of another person."

"Is Steven your ideal type?"

"Steven?" Richard raised a brow at me. I gasped. "Oh! You're talking about Duke Steven! Well, not really. Steven is too good to be true. He's way too fictional. If you were to compare him with the men living on this planet, not one of them would ever defeat Duke Steven Abraham. He's the epitome of perfection, in my honest opinion. He was sweet, understanding, kind—a walking green flag as most people would say! I can really not think of anything that's bad about him."

"Are you going to make Alondré the polar opposite of Steven?" My chin rested on the palm of my hand. That's actually a good question; I had not thought about that. Maybe it really is a good thing to talk with him sometimes, as he says some helpful things.

"Maybe I'd turn him into... you?"

Richard flinched. "Me?"

"Yes! His character is going to be based off of your own, don't you remember? You're my reference model! So it's natural for me to study you thoroughly."

"I'm afraid that he might not be likable."

"Nonsense. You're already charming even though you're only sitting across from me. Alondré will be loved by many; I am sure of it."

"What do you want me to do then?" I stared at him, thinking hard, as I stood up from my seat and went beside him. My hands squeezed his cheeks—his skin was supple and soft. His eyebrows were thick; his nose bridge was tall; and his jawline was sharp. Alondré could look intimidating like this.

I was frozen when my hands landed on his chest. It was not by accident; however, that was so shameful of me. That would totally seem as if I were groping him! My face flushed, and I pulled my hands back onto my lap.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. You're going to be my wife soon, Bethany."

"That does not mean that I could touch you without asking."

"Well then, what if I do the same?"

Eh?