The next two days, tension in the mansion was at an all-time high. Every staff member walked on eggshells, and Taeui, feeling the pressure, felt more nauseous and tired by the day. Amber seemed to pick up on the restlessness and tried not to bring attention to herself. Scarlet, on the other hand, if she noticed the heavy atmosphere, she didn't let on; she kept messing around.
As another day rolled in, Taeui felt confident he could finally focus enough to read the book he had picked up before. He decided to take the book to his room so he could read it at least before bed. But as fate would have it, the time to read the book hadn't arrived yet.
'This book feels cursed.'
Taeui had just grabbed the book and turned around from the shelf when the Riegrows, plus Daniel and less the girls, walked in and sat down. Since he was standing near the door, he thought he could escape the family meeting. However, like before, Mrs Riegrow told him to join them. Despite the smile and gentle expression, her voice was assertive. So Taeui took his seat, leaving the book back on the shelf. His instincts buzzed, alerting him that something was amiss, but when Mr Riegrow spoke, he quickly pushed that feeling to the back of his mind.
"I assume everyone had time to think about the conditions?" asked Mr Riegrow after sipping on his tea.
Ilay was the first to break the silence, saying that the contract should be reviewed after two years if all the other candidates chose to withdraw from the selection. Everyone knew what he was thinking, except for Daniel, who seemed oblivious to Ilay's true nature. His brother and sister smiled the tiniest bit, while their parents frowned, thinking of the implications. Kyle and Helena proposed some changes, and once everything was annotated, Mr Riegrow called his assistant to edit the contracts.
After the stressful conversation ended, the atmosphere became lighter, but Taeui still felt something heavy on his stomach, unable to truly relax. Noticing his uncomfortable expression, Ilay turned to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," Taeui replied, waving his hand when the attention turned to him.
Ilay's expression became colder as he glared at Taeui, waiting. "I'm serious. Nothing is wrong."
"Even if he told you what's wrong, it's not like you could do anything about it. You have no clue how to comfort someone." Helena smirked at Ilay, then turned to Taeui. "If it's anything I can help you with, let me know. I still wonder why you chose to be his friend."
Taeui smiled, his eyes glancing between Ilay and Helena. "Ilay he... well, he has come a long way since I met him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ilay snapped back, his eyes sharp like ice. Kyle chuckled at the exchange, as did their parents. As Taeui was brewing over what he should say, an unexpected voice added oil to the small fire.
"I have been wondering this for a while, but why is it okay for Tay to call Rick's name?"
Kyle and Helena stifled a laugh and looked away, while Ilay looked at Taeui as if repeating the question.
"Uh, well... He introduced himself as Ilay when I met him."
"But he only lets close family call him by name."
Taeui's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he struggled for words. He had not thought about this question. In the increasing panic as he thought about what he should say, the thought of introducing himself as his lover came up as the best opportunity yet.
As he worked through his thoughts, Ilay, who sat next to him on the same sofa, just smiled smugly at him without any hint that he would help.
Then, an unexpected ally entered the room. Amber walked in, freshly showered, followed by her sister, who was running away from her nanny. Amber sat quietly next to her father while Scarlet ran past them and climbed onto Ilay's lap, carrying a hairbrush and hair cream.
"No. Uncle Ilay is going to brush my hair, not you!" Scarlet declared to the nanny, who didn't know what to do. Then she turned her face to her uncle with bright eyes, begging, "You will, right?"
"Of course he won't. Scarlet co–"
Helena stopped talking when she saw Ilay taking the brush from her hands and applying some cream to his hands before spreading it on her hair. Ilay brushed his niece's hair with an indifferent expression as if it was a daily occurrence. Taeui chuckled at the sight while the rest of the family looked surprised, except for Amber who looked a bit jealous.
As everyone seemed distracted by the scene, Taeui took a deep breath, glad he didn't have to explain himself.
"This takes me back," said Helena, breaking the silence. "It reminds me of when Nana would brush my hair."
"And how Ilay would also ask her to brush his when he was little," teased Kyle, smiling.
"Stop."
A single word spoken with hidden threats beneath it despite the calmness with which it was spoken.
"Ilay always loved his Nana," said Mrs Riegrow, lost in her memories. "He even claimed to be her bodyguard whenever she was around."
Taeui looked at Mrs Riegrow, smiling, his eyes big, loving these tidbits of Ilay's childhood. Noticing his eager stare, she continued.
"Nana was my husband's mother, the previous head of the house. She taught Ilay how to make that face he is making right now."
History was repeating itself; the mean face he taught his niece was the one his Nana taught him. He wondered, years from now, if Scarlet would also teach it to someone else. Taeui couldn't contain his smile even when Ilay glared at him to stop.
"Ah," said Mrs Riegrow as if remembering something interesting. She laughed to herself, and then she leaned towards Daniel as if sharing a secret. "It was because he was so fond of her that no one outside the ones he allows can call him by name."
"Don't."
A subtle tinge of red showed on his cheeks if you looked close enough, but he continued to diligently brush his niece's hair.
"Oh, come on. It's just between family," Mrs Riegrow stated. And without waiting for a reply, she continued.
"When Ilay was little, he walked around his Nana all the time, glaring at anyone who approached them. At that time, the family wasn't that united, even less than now. Having a woman as the heir brought a lot of resentment and jealousy. So a lot of people approached her with bad intentions."
Taeui nodded, remembering what Ilay had said about his father and uncles.
"You see, Helena was named after my mother, and Kyle was named after my husband's father. Ilay was named after his Nana. Her name was Ilana. The word spread that he was named after his Nana, and kids and adults alike began teasing him about it. Well, Ilay never cared about that, but he hated it when they made fun of his Nana. This was around the time that he got beaten up at school by an older kid and asked to learn how to fight."
Taeui could easily imagine Ilay beating up anyone and everyone who badmouthed his Nana.
"That's when Ilay began acting as her bodyguard, carrying an axe around, and threatening anyone who said their name. Even after she passed, he continued with it."
Taeui's smile turned into a chuckle, and the words spilt from his mouth before he could stop them. "Who would have thought Ilay was a grandma's boy? That's adorable."
The second he heard Kyle and Helena laugh, he knew he had said something he shouldn't. Even though Taeui didn't look at him, he could feel Ilay glaring so hard he was afraid it would kill him.
"Your Nana would be delighted to know you will be getting married," said Mrs Riegrow, looking fondly at her son, who kept glaring at Taeui. Despite his bad attitude toward everyone around him, Ilay acted properly with his parents.
"When do you intend to introduce your lover to us?" said Mr Riegrow, his eyes jumping from Ilay to Taeui. "I would rather meet them before the wedding."
"No," said Scarlet, crossing her arms and pouting. "I'm the one marrying uncle Ilay!"
In a split second, Ilay's glare turned gentle as he laughed. "Really? But I already gave a ring to the person I will marry."
"No. I'm the one marrying you."
"But I can only marry the person who has the other ring," Ilay said, showing his ring.
"What if someone else has the ring?" she asked with big bright eyes, looking up at him.
"Well, the rule is that I have to marry whoever has the other ring. Even if no longer is the person I gave it to."
Scarlet seemed to ponder his words while Ilay, finished with brushing her hair, put the brush and cream aside. Taeui observed the exchange, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. When Ilay looked up at him, smirking as if he was about to see something entertaining, Taeui's instinct that something was amiss increased. While Taeui tried to brace himself for whatever was going to happen, his mind scrolling through several possibilities, Scarlet, whose expression became determined, put her hand in her pocket.
"That's my ring," Taeui said before the thought even reached his brain, looking at the ring Scarlet had in her hand, looking proud. Ilay hid his smile behind his hand, eyeing Taeui.
"Now it's mine. I found it."
"Where did you find it? I looked for it for so long."
"By the pool," Scarlet said, shrugging her shoulders as if it had nothing to do with her that he was looking for it. She turned to her uncle, acting smug with the ring in her hand. "Now I can marry you, right?"