The Wallflower's Revenge

AWR Chapter 13: Stella's worth

AWR CHAPTER 13: STELLA'S WORTH

"Mrs. Hacke, it's just a piece of advice. You have to keep an eye on your husband. You never know, you might be losing him in a blink of an eye."

These words never left her thoughts even after Willow, their neighbor told her about it. What does she mean by these words? Does she know something she never knew about her husband? What is she trying to do?

When she was also slicing vegetables, she also cut her finger a bit so that it bled for minutes. She has to treat it as soon as possible. She has to prepare their dinner and when she would stop, it would cause a lot of delays...

"Mom? Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Stella looked at Leylah. She noticed that her daughter stopped eating. She is looking at her as if examining something that's not right.

"What happened to your finger?" Leylah and Stella both glanced at her fingers. She smiled at her daughter, a reassuring smile.

"It's nothing, dear. Please eat your meal. It's getting colder."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course. It's just a small wound. No  biggie." Stella nodded and continued eating.

"Are you really alright? You looked worried about something. Can you tell us about it?" It's now Carson's turn to ask her about it.

When she glanced at her cutlery, she noticed that she's slicing her meat with a spoon instead of a knife.

"Oh my gosh I'm sorry." She chuckled and changed what she's holding on her hand right away. It also made Carson stop eating and looked at both of them too.

"Sweetheart, is there any problem?"

"Yeah. I've been observing you, mom. As soon as we sat here together, I could feel that something was not right."

Stella chuckled because of the reaction of her husband and daughter.

 ``What's wrong?" They almost chorused.

"Oh, these two. Please don't mind me. I guess I'm just tired with the workloads I've had recently."

“Speaking of workloads, I can also relate to you, sweetheart.”

“Why?” Stella glanced at Carson and it also made Leylah look at both of them as she stopped chewing her food.

“I am literally swimming in the paperworks that the head office is assigning to us, especially to  me.”

“It’s the result of being excellent, hun. You’ll reap what you sow in the long run.”

“I am hoping for a promotion. That’s why I am doing all of these.” Carson held her hand on the table. They smiled at each other and it made Leylah clear her throat. Leylah continued to eat like nothing happened. Stella noticed that she’s eating quite faster than usual.

“Hey little girl, snap that. You’re eating as if it’s your last day here on earth,”

“Mom, I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“Yeah, so tell me, why are you in such a hurry?”

“Mom, I still need to study for our examinations tomorrow. I have to focus because the exam is more difficult than usual.”

“Sweetheart, let her eat past us. We’re both okay here, right?”

“Thanks, dad.” Leylah said as she stood up and wiped his mouth with a table napkin. She walked towards the kitchen to brush her teeth. They both followed their daughter with both of their eyes as they smiled.

“Look at your daughter, Stella. She's been responsible these past few days. That’s why I am not confiscating her phone anymore.” Carson proudly  tells Stella. 

“I told you. We just need to trust her more. She’s not a baby anymore. I guess she deserves that phone to enjoy for herself, too.”

“I don’t agree much.”

“Why?”

“Well, freedom could be grounds for abuse as well. I just want to make sure.”

“I don’t want to see my daughter as unsociable. Just let her be. You’ll see, she’ll do better because she’s also happy right now.”

“You can’t blame me, sweetheart. She’s our only daughter. I only wanted what’s best for her.”

“Honey, we both do,” She smiled as she held her hands that’s holding her other hand already. It’s as if reassuring him that everything will be alright for that ounce of freedom.

----

"So, how's your studies going?" Leylah excitedly asked Lea on the other line. She could still hear her grumpy voice. From the sound of it, it’s as if Leylah disturbed her big time as of the moment.

"Is that how you distract people? C'mon…"

"No. Not really. I'm just happy that my best friend is studying seriously now."

"Why, aren't you doing it? It's as if you can't relate to me."

"You have misunderstood a bit. You know, I am just checking on you because of the "Walter effect"."

As soon as Lea heard what Leylah mentioned, the atmosphere suddenly changed. She could hear her giggling a lot from the other line. Leylah couldn't help but to move her phone away from her left ear.

“His effect is amazing! I can’t believe myself too.”

“What I am seeing right now is a miracle.”

“I hate you,” Lea said between laughs on the other line. For Leylah, Lea’s laugh is one of the most amazing sounds in the whole world. It’s cute but amusing. Everyone could wish they would hear that laugh more often because of its uniqueness.

“See? Look how love is taking its effect on me. I am having tons of serotonin right now.”

"Alright, alright. I believe in you now."

"See? But please. Let's stop talking and study instead. Remember, we have three major exams tomorrow."

"Yeah." She couldn't help but smile. Finally, she was able to know Lea's weakness. From it, she considers her to be her human diary. It's her revelation of her crush solely to her only.

"Duh, can't you relate?"

"I don't have time to even have a crush on someone, you know." Leylah said as she fixed Lea's hair. She also has a different hairstyle. It happened that she loved to comb Lea's hair and fix it for her.

"Oh dear. I hope that you will also experience the feeling of being in love."

"I long to do it but how can I do that? Daddy decides what's best for me. I don't have a choice but to follow his orders."

"Do you even have a life? I mean, we can always break the rules sometimes."

"Even if I am curious, I guess that's the last thing I wanna do."

"Why not?"

"It's because daddy said, 'break my rules and I'm gonna break your neck'." After Leylah said it, Lea cracked up so hard that she almost fell on her seat.

"Whew, your dad is really difficult. What does he want you to do with your life, then?"

"I'm not sure. He is just telling me about enjoying my youth as much as I can without compromising the future."

"Wow. Your dad is really too deep; he wants you to be like him, right?"

"I guess that's the thing. Maybe, he lived a boring, miserable life that's why he wanted me to experience the same thing."

"We have different dads with different perspectives. Maybe they're only imposing rules because they think that is the best for us."

"Alright. I'll remember it."

"And one more thing, you have to fight your feelings sometimes. If you're not going to do that, maybe you will not experience having a boyfriend until you become 30."

"Hey, are you still there?"

"Yup. I am still here, Lei."

"Sorry, I have to go to the kitchen to assist mom to cook our dinner. I guess I have to say goodbye now!"

Lea hung up the phone and Leylah just smiled in relief. She has to also study on her own or else, she will not forget the things she studied in advance last week in preparation for the exams.

----

Later that night, Stella couldn’t sleep very well. She got up from bed and sat next to her husband. She looked at him as he slept peacefully. His handsome face and how he looked touched her heart. The way her husband slept melted her heart. She knew that all the hard work that Carson does is for the whole family. Everything that is happening to their family is the result of her husband's hard work. It's been more than twenty years of their marriage. Day after day, it gets sweeter because of their love for each other.

He moved close to him and touched his hair as he was falling fast asleep. 

"I trust you, honey. I love you with all my heart. I should believe you despite what other people throw at us."

She smiled and yet when she looked at their bedside table, she saw her husband’s mobile phone placed on it. Stella bit her lip as she exchanged glances at the phone and her husband who is now falling fast asleep. She could still hear his soft snoring. She reached for his phone and tried to open using the pattern that she taught her last time. When she finally tried and succeeded in opening it, she sighed in relief. Stella returned the phone back to the table without even scanning the contents of the messages anymore.

She suddenly felt guilty about what she's trying to think about him. Stella felt that it is best if she'll just continue what they've promised in front of God, to love each other with all of their heart and continually pray for their marriage no matter what happens.

She went back to bed and hugged her husband. Surprisingly, he pulled her arm and encircled it to his chest while holding it with his two hands. She giggled silently. Even if her husband is already sleeping, he's still possessive of her. She reached his lips to kiss her and she closed her eyes in peace. She'll go back to what she told Willow about. She trusts her husband more than anyone around her. She trusts him more than the gossip that would try to ruin their family.