...What Do You Mean 'Ok'?!

"I'm sorry about earlier. I am Malachi's girlfriend and Serana's mother. It is very nice to meet you!" Sei said politely.

It had taken the mature beauty all of five minutes to run back into Malachi's room and get changed into an outfit suitable for guests.

Luckily, she kept a few spare clothes over at Mal's ever since they started spending the night together and it seemed like that decision had come in handy.

Anna stared at the woman opposite her who was wearing a warm and radiant smile despite the tired bags under her eyes.

Unlike before, her body was now hidden behind a bright yellow sundress that emphasized her bold and seductive curves.

In her 22 years of life, Anna could not recall ever meeting anyone quite so feminine and sexy.

Realizing she'd probably been staring too long, "I'm Anna... I'm their classmate and Malachi's partner for our project."

Once the two shook hands, Sei moved to stand beside her daughter and gave her an affectionate kiss on the forehead. "You look like you slept just about as well as I did."

Serana smiled helplessly in response as she returned her mother's hug.

"I think I was finally able to fall asleep around 3... but Aubrey's comfortable bed is the only reason I was even able to fall asleep at all."

"Well you do you have anything to do today? Maybe you should rest for the day, dear."

If Serana was honest, there was nothing she would like more.

But unfortunately, she had to work on her own project and there was also the matter of Mal wanting to take them both shopping.

It didn't seem like Mal was ready to talk about his plan with Sei yet, so Serana just told her mother that she was too busy to rest and she seemed to accept it.

Finally, Sei found her way to Mal's side and leaned her head against his shoulder while watching him cook.

"Do you need any help?"

Of course, Malachi shook his head no but that did not stop Sei from helping him anyway.

"This girl... You're supposed to be resting."

Sei immediately blushed and did not comment.

It would be too embarrassing of her to say that she did not feel like she could sleep unless Malachi was there, right?

The two continued to cook in tandem, and Serana and Anna were both equally impressed by how well the two worked together.

Sometimes, the two did not even have to say anything as they immediately knew what their significant other would need next or if they should clear space for them.

"I heard about your home..." Anna suddenly said. "I'm very sorry."

Sei gave her usual warm motherly smile, only now it contained hints of sadness.

"It's alright, it isn't your fault. Electrical fires are common with old houses." She said sweetly.

Mal noticed how Serana's eyes became complicated and he smiled at her warmly.

He figured she was still distraught over the loss of her home, so he decided not to make her wait for her meal any longer.

"Alright girls, time to eat."

With the food done, Malachi and Sei presented it to the two eager looking girls at the bar and their eyes practically lit up.

"Did we overdo it?" Sei asked.

The couple had prepared french toast slathered in butter and syrup, bacon, grits, fruit salad and even eggs.

Malachi briefly glanced at the two girls opposite him who had already begun to stuff their faces with little to no semblance of etiquette.

"Nah, I'm actually kinda worried we didn't make enough."

As if to confirm his point, both girls made requests for more food.

Serana: "More French toast please!"

Anna: "A-And eggs if you don't mind..."

Malachi chuckled and told Sei that he would handle them while she finally sat down to eat.

After getting some warm food in her stomach, Sei's mood improved and she felt at peace for the first time since her house burned down.

When about half of her plate was gone, Mal chose that moment to unveil to her his plans for the day.

"After you finish eating, I want you to rest for a little while longer and then I'll take you and Serana to the mall and we can try to replace everything you guys lost. "

Sei's eyes became complicated and Malachi prepared himself for an intense debate.

However, he nearly dropped the spatula in his hand when his girlfriend said the two words he least expected.

"...Okay, honey."

"...Okay?"

"Okay." Sei confirmed.

Both Malachi and Serana stared at Sei like she'd just grown a second head.

Why didn't she refuse?

Both Malachi and Serana had expected her to deny his offer firmly and spend the next several minutes arguing over it.

Serana turned to Malachi in a crazed frenzy and immediately accused him of brainwashing her. "Hey Mal! What'd you do to my mother!?"

"Huh? I ain't do anything!"

"Liar! Why else is she acting so agreeable all of a sudden?! It's because you guys are having sex now, isn't it!?"

Anna choked on the last remnants of bacon within her mouth, and Sei's face became as red as an apple.

"That doesn't have anything to do with it you brat!" Mal argued.

"Then why is she suddenly so okay with everything you say?! You must've dickmatized her!"

"S-Serana! That's enough!" Sei finally said.

Her face was now so red that she was indistinguishable from a bottle of ketchup and she looked like she was going to die of embarrassment at any moment.

'Breakfast and a show... this place is great.' Anna was no longer regretting the fact that she had to get up at such an unholy hour.

The food she was chewing on and the entertaining scene in front of her made this all more than worth it.

"Mom, are you really okay with him spending so much money on us??" Serana asked.

Sei nodded shyly, as if she wasn't fully comfortable with it herself. "I know that he's not going to take no for an answer, and I can just pay him back when we get the settlement from the insurance company."

'He's not going to take it.' Serana thought in annoyance.

'I'm not gonna take it.' Malachi thought happily.

He would have told her that directly, but he thought that if he brought that point up to her then she would no longer accept his offer and things would become much more complicated.

Suddenly, Sei stood up from her seat and began heading back towards Mal's room. "I don't need to rest, I'll just go and get ready."

"Alright."

"If you say so.."

Once Sei was back in Mal's room and shut the door, she let out a massive sigh of frustration.

Truthfully, the reason why she did not fight Mal's request was because she already felt guilty.

The truth was, she had lied to him about how the fire really started.

Last night, the fire department had told her that the fire was intentional, and the cause was a Molotov cocktail that had been thrown through her front window.

At first, she didn't believe it.

Sei didn't know anyone who would want to hurt her, and she certainly had never treated anyone unkindly.

It seemed inconceivable that someone would want to do this to her.

And yet, as she looked at her house that had gone up in flames, she knew it to be true.

She had come up with the story that it was an electrical fire because she didn't want to worry Mal, or even worse, send him into a rage on her behalf.

Serana seemed iffy on the whole idea, but after being persuaded by her mother she also agreed to keep the cause a secret.

For now, the two would just let the police investigate everything while they waited for this entire nightmare to end.

But Sei had not anticipated just how guilty lying to Mal would make her feel.

The toll it had begun to take on her mind was a heavy one, and she did not know how much longer she could keep this from him.

As she sat on the edge of the bed, a small tear fell from her tired eyes.

'Honey... I'm not sure what the right thing to do is anymore...'