Paper Rings (English)

Chapter 24

“With the tax evasion case and the rumor going around his second wife, political experts say that the approval rating of Wilson Dia is starting to plummet two months before the senatorial election.”

Primrose momentarily shut her eyes upon hearing yet another news headline about her father. It has been more than a week since she found out about it from Sander’s sister, and she surely had heard enough to grasp his situation.

Amid her obvious frustration, she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. She was about to rise from the sofa with heavy steps when she spotted Sydney standing behind. Her movements halted as soon as their eyes connected.

“So, it does affect you.”

The red-haired lady heaved a sigh and stood up, “Yes. Of course, it does. He’s still my father no matter how vile he is.”

“All the while, I thought your similar hatred for each of your families is what brought you and my brother together,” the youngest Mortel folded both arms across her chest. “You two are different after all.”

“Do you really think your brother hates you or your family?”

Her honest query took away the smugness in Sydney’s visage. For a moment, she thought a hint of pain flashed in the reflection of her eyes. However, the young lady was able to regain her composure right away and gave off a small smile.

“Hate is an understatement. I’m sure you observed us long enough to know that he doesn’t want anything to do with our family,” she ran her fingers through the strands of her blonde hair. “That’s why he married you.”

“I don’t know what happened with your family in the past, but there is one thing I’m sure of.” Primrose slid both hands in the pockets of the painting apron she was wearing. She took wide steps toward the woman until they were finally facing closer to one another. “From what I'm seeing, Sander cares an awful lot about his family, especially you.”

Silence engulfed the living room for a few seconds before Sydney’s laugh echoed in every corner of the house. It wasn’t the malicious or joyous type of laugh. It was the kind scratching out of one’s throat, oozing off of bitterness and disbelief.

“Me?” She held a hand on her chest. “There’s no way he’d care for me. In our family, the one he only listens to is my Dad. I’m just like the wind passing by for him. If I blew too hard, he’d get annoyed and avoid me at all costs, just like what he’s doing now.”

There was no disputing of the point she just made. Although she saw them discussing work every night during the entire week, Sander also kept avoiding other interactions with his sister. From breakfast to dinner, the man always made excuses not to join them. So all she could do was initiate small talk for every meal.

Today, he went out early and left a message that his father wanted to discuss something. It was a family matter, so she thought Sydney was coming along. That was her conclusion all this time until she suddenly popped out of nowhere.

“He’s a bit fussy, isn’t he?” Her gaze shifted to Snowflake, who quietly sat in between their feet. She picked up the cat in her arms before looking back at the woman in front of her. “But despite avoiding you, he still doesn’t cast you away completely. After all, who doesn’t want to experience a refreshing breeze?”

Sydney’s lips pressed together. Her mouth was forming to open, but she couldn’t seem to find the right words to express her thoughts. In the end, she just rubbed an ear and shook her head.

“You’re weird.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the smile on her face widened.

“Well, it’s not,” Sydney scowled at her and turned her back. Just when Primrose thought she’d go straight back to the guest room, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Are you going to cook lunch? Or is Tyler going to drop by today?”

“If he doesn’t come in an hour, I might cook.”

“Oh, I see.”

The disappointed expression on the lady’s face made her brows furrow. “You’ve been mentioning Tyler quite a lot. Is he the reason why you went here?”

“N-no. Why would I go here just to see him? We’re not that close.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just asking.”

Sydney frowned at her one more time before marching away. Meanwhile, she couldn’t help but slightly snicker with that obvious reaction. Her frowning face also reminded her so much of Sander because the siblings have a close resemblance.

“Looks like someone’s got a crush. Right, Snowflake?”

She snuggled the white cat to her cheek and giggled. Her sudden discovery put her in a good mood, making her hop in the direction of the master bedroom along with Snowflake.

Upon entering the master bedroom, she was welcomed by the sight of her easel and painting canvas. She pouted and continued to pet the cat's fur while in deep thought.

"I wonder if he'll go home early. We haven't even started the painting yet."

After placing Snowflake in her cat bed, she dragged a chair and sat in front of the blank canvas. She picked up the wooden palette and opened some oil paint bottles. While mixing up colors, she remained focused on the cat. Luckily, he wasn't as fussy as his owner and just sat obediently.

"You and your owner have contrasting personalities, do you know that?"

Just like that, she started to dab into the canvas. An hour easily passed, so she went to the kitchen to fix some lunch and eat with Sydney. After the meal and a few stretches, she went back to what she was doing.

It was always like this whenever she held a paint brush. Her creativity levels tend to be spontaneous and often come all at once. Because of this, her thought process could be draining as well. In a few hours, she found herself yawning. Before she knew it, she was already on the floor dozing off.

Primrose has no idea how long she was out. When her eyelid opened along with a low groan, the room was already lit up and the sun was already setting.

"How long did I…" Her mouth stopped moving. The sudden confusion of finding herself in the bed despite sleeping on the floor made the lady bounce out from her half-asleep state. "Did I sleepwalk?"

Her questions were answered upon seeing Sander on the sofa across the bed. The busy man was fast asleep with Snowflake seated on his lap. He looked worned out and he was still wearing the same clothes he wore earlier when he went out.

"He must be so tired," she whispered.

Her feet were already approaching the man before she could even start thinking about it. She squatted down to get a better view of her tired husband with his cat and her lips unknowingly drew a bemused smile.

"These types of moments should be captured," her hand reached for the pocket of the apron she was wearing and pulled out her phone. "How cute."

Her gushing went on full stop when his eyes suddenly fluttered open. She was frozen in place as their gazes connected. Her thumb halted from clicking her phone's screen and it almost felt like her entire being was dazed.

What am I doing? she asked herself.

Primrose was given no chance to regain her discernment. Before she knew it, her phone was already in Sander's hands and he was scrolling through the photos she had taken.

It was impossible to read his face because both his eyes were still half-lidded upon being awakened from his deep slumber.

"I-I'm sorry," she mouthed and bit her lower lip. "I just thought I could use it as a reference for the painting because Snowflake looks so at peace on your lap…"

His attention momentarily diverted to the cat on his lap before he switched his gaze back at her. He seemed surprised at first, but he petted Snowflake's fur later on.

"You should've told me. I have no problem posing with my cat."

His relaxed tone eased the tension in her throat. "You're not angry?"

"You're asking that again," he sighed and playfully flicked her forehead causing her to slightly lose her balance from squatting too long. "Do you see me as someone too fussy? You seem to think that I'll get mad at any trivial things."

She pursed her lips into a thin line, recollecting her conversation with Sydney earlier. "Maybe a bit?"

He handed over her phone and smirked. His hands continued to stroke the cat's fur but his eyes were still nailed at her.

"Fine, let's paint that."

Her eyes widened as she raised the phone up in the air for confirmation, "This photo?"

"Yeah."

"With your face on the canvas?"

He nodded and leaned closer. "In exchange, I have a condition."

"C-condition?" She almost stuttered with his sudden closeness. Even though she wanted to pull back, her ego wouldn't let her after hearing his challenging tone. "What condition do you want?"

"You have to be in it as well," he replied, which made her mouth fall open. "It'll be us with Snowflake in one frame."