A peaceful life

"We-we didn't get married."

"He is joking." Ziana mumbled and glaring at Zayden, she muttered, "Right, Zayden?"

Zayden crossed his legs and leaned back on the couch, taking his own time to respond. And when Norah turned around, he just shrugged with a smile and sipped his tea.

"Right, Zayden?" She asked again with a stare that begged him to nod. But no, he couldn't lie to his mother-in-law.

"Well, I wish it hadn't been a joke." Norah mumbled and heartily laughed making Ziana frown.

"Who doesn't like a sweet son-in-law?" she praised and turned back to Zayden who smiled at her.

So he manipulated his mother too. Great! Ziana thought and sighed in frustration.

"But you still owe him a proper apology." Norah demanded staring at her daughter. Crossing her arms, she added, "You seriously embarrass me with your craziness sometimes."

"Exactly!" Even her brother joined in with her. Standing beside her, he sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "You are such an embarrassment to our family."

Slap.

Ziana slapped the back of his head and glared. She needed to vent out her anger, and he was the perfect punching bag for her.

"What?" Rubbing his head, Ivan grumbled, "Who would stab people in broad daylight? Dad would have been seriously disappointed."

"And what about your grades? Are you sure you can pass the college entrance exams with single-digit scores?" She asked crossing her arms.

"At least I won't waste a year like you and take a stupid police exam again." Rising his chin, Ivan added, "I have plans for my future."

"Really?" Ziana raised her brow and scoffed at her brother. "I am sure begging on the streets is one of them."

"It's better than leaching your mom's money." Ivan spit back at his sister. Honestly, he missed fighting with her.

Ziana scoffed out loud. This little rat was sounding more like a duck now.

"Talks the one who spends dollars on video games every month." She said with a glare. "Is your secret sugar daddy paying for it?"

Ivan clenched his fists at her statement. That was a bit disrespectful.

"You!" He gritted his teeth and when he was about to pull his sister's hair, Norah stopped him.

She stepped between them and pushed Ivan back. Seriously, they both were embarrassing her right now. A guest was at their house, but they didn't care about her reputation.

"Enough!" She declared with a glare and both cats snarled at each other.

"Go upstairs and take a bath." Norah ordered her son who stubbornly glared at his sister. "Right now!" She declared and Ivan gritted his teeth. Glaring at Ziana one last time, he climbed to his room.

"And you come with me." She demanded Ziana who quietly followed her to the kitchen.

"Why did you guys return?" That was the first thing she asked when they were away from Zayden.

"You wanted us to settle there?" Norah asked with a frown. "We were scheduled to return today. Did you forget?"

"But I asked you guys to stay there for a few more days!" Ziana cried in frustration. Handling both her family and Zayden was worse than staying in hell.

"Why? So you could send him away before our arrival?" Norah asked displeased with her behavior.

"Yes!" Ziana nodded without hesitation. She planned to talk to his mother and throw him far away from her house.

Norah sighed and looked at her daughter. And her disappointed look was nothing new to Ziana, who stared back in anger.

"I know you hated him during childhood but you can't treat him like that. You are a grown-up adult now and please behave like one, Zia."

Ziana scoffed at her mother's words. He also compelled her mother with his bullshit childhood stories. Great!

"And look how handsome he has turned out to be. He also sounds like a decent guy, so you better treat him nicely." Norah smiled and patted her shoulder.

Decent my foot! He was a total dickhead!

"Now go wash up. His family will be here soon and we need to prepare lunch for them."

"Why? Why are they coming now?"

"To talk about your marriage." Norah joked again and Ziana's eyes burned in frustration. No, she didn't need another person teasing her about his stupid stories.

Wait! That meant even his mother would come. She needed to prepare a long list of reasons why he couldn't stay here. Yes, she needed to kick him out today.

"Go wash up first!"

Ziana nodded to her mother and rushed out. As she walked to her room, she did not even glance at the guy sitting in the hall. He had turned into an invisible creature for her since yesterday's torture. And she no longer wanted to serve his stupid ass.

---

Ding Dong.

Ivan opened the door and Lady Winter entered with a smile. Lia and Xavier followed them but Ziana was disappointed as Yael was missing again. She hoped he could heal soon and return to earth.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Norah." Lia bowed, causing Ziana and Ivan to frown. They weren't used to hearing such titles, especially with her mother's name. And it sounded weird.

Norah smiled and curtsied to her. Her eyes shifted to Lady Winter who was once her husband's close friend and she bowed to her.

"It's been long, Norah." Lady Winter moved forward and hugged Norah. They met a few times and she was glad to see her again.

"This is my other son Xavier. He was around a year old when you guys moved to this city." She introduced turning to Xavier and Norah smiled at him. Zayden explained how he had covered their old relationship with Norah and they decided to play along in the act. It was an effective way to hide their connections for now.

"I remember him." Norah mumbled as Xavier bowed his head.

"Are you guys playing in his act?" Ziana asked Lia as it was weird for her mother to naturally take part in this old friend's bullshit story.

"That is the only way to cover up our identities." Lia whispered to her.

"We don't want your family to suspect us as we will meet often now."

And her words made Ziana sigh. No, she didn't want her family to get tangled with these creatures.

But, sadly they have been working with them for decades now.

"Come, let's talk over lunch. It's pretty late already." Norah suggested and everyone nodded to her.

Ivan and Ziana followed her mother to the kitchen to help her while the grim reapers walked to the dining table.

"How is your wound?" Lady Winter asked as Zayden pulled out a chair for her.

"There's no pain but the wound isn't healing quickly." He answered taking a seat beside her while Lia and Xavier sat beside them respectively.

"You have endured a lot." Lia said with a cheeky smile. It was a pleasure to see him getting tortured for once.

"Did you also tell her about the wedding?" Lady Winter asked as he glared at Lia.

"No, just the necessary parts." With a sigh, he continued, "She agreed to play along with this old neighbour's act until Ziana is ready."

"But we cannot hide it from her forever." Xavier commented making the three sigh. Yes, they needed Ziana to know about her role soon.

"I will talk to her after lunch." Lady Winter said making Zayden sigh again. The marriage contract would surely displease her.

---

Lady Winter and Norah enjoyed their drinks as Lia took the others out to a nearby arcade. Ivan instantly agreed and Ziana followed him at her mother's orders.

"What brings you guys here again?" Norah asked partly irritated and Lady Winter smiled.

"You still hate us, don't you?" She asked placing down her cup.

"The portal to the demon dimension is currently broken. And we need to save humans from their attacks."

"But we had signed a pact to never see each other again." Norah said as she recalled those horrific days. The nightmares ripped apart her family and took her dear husband.

"You also promised to let my daughter live a normal human life." She added when the grim reaper remained silent.

"And we are here to keep that promise." Lady Winter answered with a sigh.

"Your daughter's life is at risk as she is the next defender of this world. In order to protect her, we need to stay close to her."

And that harsh reality clenched Norah's heart. Kaylan had warned about it during his last breath and that made her eyes burn in frustration.

"Don't worry, we won't let her die like your husband." Lady Winter said seeing her face turn pale.

"I promised that brat and I need to keep my word." She added with a sigh. Kaylan's last wish was to see his daughter live a life he couldn't and she needed to fulfill it.

"But she will have no connections with you like Kaylan. No bonds, no stupid contracts that you force defenders to sign."

Lady Winter sighed at her demands. Yes, they had some protocols that would obligate defenders to technically sell off their souls to them. It was pretty harsh, but it is a tradition that has been followed for centuries.

Taking a deep breath, she answered, "She had already signed one."