“Well then, when did your affair with Christopher begin?” Samuel asked coldly.
Kathleen leered at him sideways. “Do you truly want to know? Aren’t you afraid of getting triggered?”
“I am,” Samuel answered. His tone was bone-chilling.
“So don’t ask.” Kathleen paused, hesitating. She then continued, “I take a person’s privacy very seriously. Hence, I have no interest in sharing my private life with outsiders.”
Kathleen’s word echoed in Samuel’s mind. Outsiders?
A shadow gradually enshrouded his eyes. She called me family not long ago, but now I’m an outsider?
“It’s done. You can eat now.” Kathleen turned off the fire at the stove.
She then moved the plate of pasta out to the dining room.
Meanwhile, Samuel tried to stamp out the hostility in his eyes, attempting to regain his composure. “Thank you.”
“All right, enjoy your meal. I’m heading home now.” Kathleen removed her apron and got ready to leave.
Samuel paused for a moment, then asked, “Would you stay and talk for a bit?”
Kathleen gazed at him serenely. “I’m going to bed. The face of a female celebrity is of utmost importance. No botox injections can compare to the benefits of beauty sleep.”
Samuel stared at her in return.
Kathleen had spoken calmly without spite. She was merely stating a fact.
It appeared as if she was undeniably treating Samuel as an average family member.
“Okay, then. Goodnight,” Samuel uttered in disbelief.
Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do about it.
He had no other choice. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to grow closer to Kathleen in his entire lifetime.
When Kathleen approached the doorway, she swiveled around. “Samuel, please revoke my VIP status from the malls.”
Samuel looked at her coldly. “All you need to do is not spend your money there. I’ll stop the subscriptions then.”
“I’ll pay you back next time.” Kathleen desired a clean slate with him.
Samuel glared at her. “Will you be spending Charles’ money?”
“Of course.” Kathleen tipped her head up, then declared proudly, “He’s my brother after all.”
“And I’m your family and your brother, too. So why can’t you spend my money instead?” Samuel was slightly peeved by then. “Or is it that you don’t want to be family with me? I don’t mind either way.”
“All right, I understand.” Kathleen always had difficulty winning an argument against Samuel.
She then turned around and left.
Samuel stared at his plate, which had a sunny-side-up egg on it. The egg was round and reminded him of Kathleen’s adorable face.
He picked up his fork and took a bite of it. Instantaneously, the corner of his thin lips arched up ever so slightly. She can never escape from me.
Kathleen walked back to the Johnson residence.
The moment she stepped into the house, she heard Charles coughing.
He had a gloomy expression on his face. “Where did you go? I hadn’t heard from you the entire day!”
“I had a meal with Gemma and Benjamin,” Kathleen explained. “I even bought you a necktie!”
The corner of Charles’ lips twitched. “You had only a meal with them? That’s still no excuse to return so late.”
He was secretly angry, thinking that Kathleen was trying to mislead him with a necktie.
Kathleen grinned. She then confessed, “I met with Samuel as well.”
Charles nearly fell down the stairs. “And here I thought it was him who was pestering you.”
Meanwhile, Kathleen felt at ease. “Charles, relax. I talked things through with Samuel. From today onward, the two of us are only family members. He is something like a brother to me, and so are you. The two of you are brothers henceforth. Please do get along well!”
Charles laughed sarcastically, “Haha! I will never be his brother. It’ll be asking me to stoop to his level.”
“Do as you please then. I can’t be bothered to care about all that. In the end, if you do somehow enrage him to the point where he no longer wants to be my family, he’ll come pestering me once again. When that happens, I won’t let you off so easily,” Kathleen uttered nonchalantly.
Charles was rendered speechless.
Kathleen promptly made her way upstairs.
“Did you really promise to be his family?” Charles found the entire notion inexplicable.
Kathleen peered at him. “That’s right. You don’t believe it’s true?”
“If it’s someone else, then I do believe that it can be true. But if it’s Samuel, I don’t believe it at all.” Charles scoffed.
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