Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 192

He hesitates, then he shrugs. "I mean..." He scratches the back of his head. "I mean, if it wasn't a problem that he was a guy... Would you care?"

I shake my head.

The hallway falls silent. But it's not a bad silence like before, it's a peaceful one. It's like that gesture alone took away all the awkward and the hesitation-

"Good, because I wouldn't give a damn if it bothered you anyway." He says smugly as if that was his demeanor all along. But he's still whispering, "I'll be gay if I wanna be gay. What're you gonna do about it?"

I sigh, shaking my head. So much for us having a moment. "Yeah, yeah Michael. Congrats, and of course I accept you, but I've seriously gotta go, so," I gesture towards our parents room. "Can you cover for me?"

"Absolutely not," he says. "I have a life to get to."

But I'm already running dow the stairs. "And tell Megan that I'll be back to do hair masks with her later. I didn't forget."

Right before I open the front door, I turn back to him. "So just to clarify, you do or don't like Onai?"

"Don't," he says firmly before walking towards his room.

"Good," I say. "Because he already has a boyfriend."

"What?" He runs back towards the railing, but I run out of the house. I try not to laugh, patting myself on the back. Krys was right. Jealousy may not be a healthy thing, but it sure is effective. Let Michael brood in his misery for the day thinking he's lost Onai. That'll make him realize he does feel something for my future brother-in-law.

My thoughts are cut off when I see Krys' enraged eyes, as red as blood.

As the sun set, and the others slowly trickled back to their homes, I lied down on the dirt with Kaiden and stared up at the sky. I was so young then, but I prayed for rain. I prayed for war. I prayed for the end of the occupation. I had no idea what I was asking for, I was just echoing the things I heard Mom and Dad saying, but it seemed to all make sense to me then. That if we got these things, water wouldn't be so scarce, money wouldn't be so tight, and night wouldn't be the only time things were cool. A better world I thought. Three answers to everything-water, war, and an end.

Eventually Dad called us back into the house before curfew, just to be sure. He never wanted to see "those people" if he didn't have to, but he claimed it was for us. He didn't want us to be further scarred by their presence.

Mom would sigh, "You're teaching them insubordination."

He'd scoff. "They can't be disloyal to a nation that isn't theirs... And don't you dare call those northerners our allies."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Mom walked around the table filling each plate with what she could ration. "And we did have a common enemy with them at one point."