Hong Kong: Pack of Condoms

"Did I interrupt your conversation? I can wait outside." She jutted her thumb towards the door.

It was her first time meeting Holden's parents, although she had seen them in business conventions and other social gatherings.

In short, the Knight and Cross businesses were of different industries and their circle of friends never overlapped, hence, their unfamiliarity with each other.

The truth was, Holden was the only link between the two families. Looking at the bigger picture now, Stellar mused that it must be Aster's scandalous life that perhaps his parents intentionally avoided brushing shoulders with them.

Or maybe, Stellar was overthinking again.

"Stellaaaar!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw Cooper striding inside the now cramped studio. She was growing conscious by the second as she stood wearing a puzzled expression on her face. "Cooper?"

"Yep, that's moi." He gave Stellar a side hug. "Dad, here's the item you wished to be purchased." Cooper held out his hand, the paper bag hooked on his finger. It swayed as it dangled in the air.

Accepting the brown bag, Audi Knight gleamed with pride. "Magnificent, magnificent," he trailed off. "Since everyone in this room is of age, I will assume that each of us are mature enough for what I am about to discuss."

He then took out the contents and Stellar's eyes bulged from its socket upon seeing the pack of condoms.

"Dad!" Holden sidestepped, blocking Stellar's view of his parents. "What is that for?" Holden asked, though he knew the answer to his question. His ear was red from a pool of anger and embarrassment over his dad's stunt.

"Well, I knew you wouldn't know what this thing is for that's why I took it upon myself to educate my sons personally in the practice of safe coupling," Audi Knight explained in a breeze, a teasing smile split his face in half.

His eyes turned into crescents. For obvious reasons, he was enjoying what should have been a serious matter.

Stellar felt her world spin at how things were playing out before her. If this weird family was playing a prank on her, well, they won. Hands down the best prank she had seen in her life.

"No, no, no, no," Stellar cried, waving her hands over her face. "You got it all wrong, Uncle and Auntie. There had been a mistake in my reservation that's why we had to share the bed. Holden… he will never have to use that on me. You can be rest assured," she gulped.

Despite the red lights blaring in her head to warn her, her mind still flashed an image of her sheathing Holden with a condom.

What the F? That was dangerous. How could she erase the picture in her head now?!

Stellar shook her head clear. It was then that she realized the absurdity of her situation.

Whyyyy?

Why would the Knights strongly suggest for their sons to use protection when they should be dragging Holden's butt out of the door?

Feeling a searing gaze on her, Stellar's eyes flicked to Lotus Knight. The elegant lady, with porcelain arms had her hands planted on her knees while her legs were crossed by the ankles.

Though her face didn't show any emotion, it was apparent from her gaze that she found the ruckus detestable.

Which mother wouldn't, anyway? Her son was set to be ordained, and here their family was, crashing in the cramped Hong Kong apartment to check in on Holden who was sharing a bed with a woman.

Stellar wanted the ground to swallow her, but that was impossible unless an earthquake happened, so she partly hid herself behind Holden's back.

"I'm sorry for the confusion. I didn't mean to cause an alarm," the words swiftly rolled out of her tongue.

This was a classic Stellar—always ready to say sorry with her head slightly bowed, her eyes closed, and her fingers curled into a fist. It was a bad habit of hers that she wanted to outgrow soon.

Standing from her seat, Lotus let out a soft sigh. She wanted to scratch her head, really. She knew it was a bad idea, but she still let her husband drag her to Hong Kong to spy on Holden after his photo with Stellar surfaced and made the rounds all over the country.

Everything happened like a whirlwind, that before the altitude of their flight dissipated in her system, she found herself sitting in their car outside the building where Holden and Stellar were staying.

Lotus sent Audi a stink eye, wiping the grin on the man's face. Yeah, you're in trouble, old man.

She then walked forward to Stellar's spot and uncurled the latter's fingers. "The condom is for Cooper," she lied, erasing the creases on Stellar's forehead.

She smiled upon noticing Stellar's eyebrow twitch. "We can't lecture him with Irina beside him, so we have to talk with him here. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. It's okay. I'm just… surprised to see everyone. I know it's too late to ask, but do you mind a cup of coffee? Tea?"

Lotus shook her head. "Thank you, sweetheart, but we have to leave. We're done talking Cooper, so please excuse us for crashing in your place without your knowledge."

"Holden and I… We uhhh…" Stellar opened her mouth to clarify the arrangement between her and Holden, but Lotus silenced her with a flick of her wrist.

"Holden explained everything to us earlier, sweetheart, so there is nothing that you should be worried about," she narrated with a small smile that reached her eyes.

However, the curve on her lips was replaced with a sinister smile as her head snapped at Cooper, whose shoulders were shaking with glee.

With Lotus's killer glare, Cooper stood in attention, and immediately behaved.

Wasting no time, Lotus dragged her husband and sons towards the door, while Stellar trailed behind the Knight family. She sent them off, waving her hand until the door closed.

Outside the rental unit, by the hallways, Lotus pulled Audi and Cooper's ears. They howled in pain as she dragged the two men towards the elevator. "Embarrassing fools!" she angrily whispered.

Holden, on the other hand, silently trailed his family, with the security details walking behind him.

Waiting by the elevators, Lotus scoffed. "I knew this would happen. I know in my heart, my boy Holden wouldn't simply touch a girl. You, Audi, owe me a day's worth of shopping. And you, Cooper, will carry the bags. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Audi and Cooper responded in unison.

"And you… Holden Knight…" Lotus trained her gaze on her son. She then slid a single square foil in Holden's pocket. "Keep that in your wallet. You'll never know when you need one."

Cooper broke out in a fit of laughter, clutching his belly. "Oh boy… so much for a family reunion."

Everyone glared at him, but he just scooped all of his family members in a hug. "Nice way to start our year, right?"

"Cooper," Holden seethed. "Did you drag Mom and Dad to Hong Kong to play one of your tricks?"

"What? Me? Not me. You!"

"What me?"

Lotus peeled herself from their group hug and fished her phone from her purse. Opening her digital album, she showed Holden a screenshot of Yanyan's photo.

"You're both clueless, huh?" Lotus guessed upon seeing Holden's face morph into something she couldn't place her finger on. This son of hers was an enigma and the most difficult one to gauge.

Holden could smile but be mad deep inside. Holden could look dead serious but be happy on the inside.

Nobody knew what Holden truly felt for he always kept his feelings bottled in, and just showed the emotion that was expected of him.

"Can you do me a favor and have those photos and news deleted?" Holden glanced at Cooper who then gave him a thumbs up.

The elevator dinged, and the family split in half, with Lotus and Cooper boarding the elevator car first for security purposes. They couldn't afford to all die at the same time should a freak accident occur while they were inside the lift.

Once the elevator doors closed, Audi slightly angled his body to size up his son. "When are you going home, Holden? Your room is waiting for you."

"Tomorrow. I'll head home after I drop off Stellar. But I have to return to the seminary for my belongings."

Audi nodded his head, his hands dipped inside his pocket. He rubbed his nose with the back of his finger when the stench of the hallways invaded his nose. Diverting his attention, he peered up to his son, and a question bubbled up in his head.

"Does she know?" Audi locked his eyes with Holden.

"Know what?"

"That you're going back to the real world. That you quit priesthood."