Laurel P.O.V
The front door suddenly swung open.
Everyone in the living room instinctively turned.
I did too.
The smile on my face disappeared instantly. It was Marco and beside him was Racheal.One hand rested beneath her swollen belly as she carefully stepped into the mansion.For a brief second,the living room became unbearably quiet,every memory from Alpha's penthouse came rushing back.
The rooftop.
The gun.
Marco pointing it at my head.
His finger on the trigger.
My heartbeat quickened.
Without thinking, I walked straight toward them.
Racheal offered me a small, awkward smile.
I didn't return it.
Instead, I folded my arms. "Why are you here?"
The smile on her face stiffened as she glanced at Marco before looking back at me. "Don't be too tense about my presence"
She laughed nervously.
"Marco and I will be staying here until Richardo returns"
"No" The answer came out immediately.
"No?"
I looked directly into her eyes.
"No"
One of Richardo's men stepped forward. "Miss Laurel...Underboss personally instructed that they remain here with you"
I slowly turned toward him. "I don't need company"
There was a quick silence.
I took another step.This time,toward Marco,we stood face to face.
"If you stay here..." I smiled coldly.
"There won't be peace for either of you"
Marco let out a dry laugh. "Let the past stay in the past"
I laughed louder. "The past?"
I tilted my head.
"What if you had actually pulled that trigger?"
"What if I had died that night?"
I looked toward Racheal.
"Would your baby have survived Alpha's house after that?"
The smile vanished from Marco's face.
"You should've learned to stand on the right side before pointing a gun at innocent people" I yelled,almost at the top of my voice.
Marco clenched his fists.
His jaw tightened.
I watched the anger rise inside him.
He took one threatening step toward me. "You-"
His hand lifted,but Racheal immediately grabbed his arm.
"Marco"
He ignored her.
"Marco"
She pulled harder.
"We need this place"
He finally looked at her,then at me,his hand slowly dropped and Racheal sighed before walking closer to me.
"I'm sorry" Her voice was quiet.
"So?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear you"
She blinked. "...What?"
"I said..."
"I didn't hear your apology"
Marco inhaled sharply.
"Hey!"
Racheal quickly squeezed his hand. "It's okay"
She looked back at me.
"I'm truly sorry"
"I really am"
"We hurt you"
"I know that...."
"And i regret it" She lowered her head. "Please forgive us"
I pretended to think. "Hmm..."
"No"
Marco exploded. "That's enough!"
He pointed at me.
"She's pregnant!"
"And you're acting like this?"
I shrugged. "So?"
His eyes widened.
"So?"
I smiled.
"If you're staying here..."
I pointed toward the kitchen.
"She'll wash my dishes"
Marco stared. "...What?"
"And my laundry"
His face almost turned red. "Can't you see she's pregnant?"
"I don't care"
The room fell silent.
Marco spun around.
"Let's leave"
Racheal immediately grabbed him again.
"Marco!"
"We have nowhere else"
"But-"
"Please"
She looked at him with pleading eyes.
After a long silence,he sighed heavily.
I folded my arms. "The choice is yours"
Then I turned around dramatically.
"Oh..." Without looking back, I added, "The washing machine is downstairs"
I heard Marco mumble something that definitely wasn't polite.
I smiled all the way upstairs.
Finally.
Justice.
Day one,I deliberately sat in Racheal's favorite chair.
She walked in and stopped.
"Laurel..."
"Yes?"
"That's my seat"
I looked around. "It has your name?"
"No..."
"Then it's everybody's seat"
She sighed.
Marco looked ready to explode.
I happily continued eating pancakes.
Day two,Racheal opened the refrigerator. "My juice"
I sneered while drinking from a cup filled with orange juice.
"I bought it yesterday"
"You drank my orange juice" She said as if she was trying so much to stay calm. "It was beside my milk"
"I needed-"
"You needed the wrong juice,i'm already drinking it"
Racheal rubbed her forehead.
"Laurel..."
"What?" I took a long sip from the cup, "It's just juice"
She gasped dramatically. "JUST JUICE?"
"You're such an asshole,Laurel"
"I expected worse"
Racheal gave me a stern glare before walking away angrily.
I pointed at her in a haste.
"Yeah! Walk away,i'm in charge of this house"
"You'll regret it when i hit you back harder" She gushed out.
Day three,Racheal folded my laundry neatly and perfectly.
I inspected every shirt. "Hmm"
"What?"
"You folded this one differently"
She stared. "...Seriously?"
"Yes"
"Why don't you do your fuckin' laundry yourself"
I laughed.
"I'm in charge of this house"
"Ugh"
Day four,the television remote disappeared.
I walked around the mansion.
"Racheal"
"What?"
"Where's the remote?"
"I don't know"
Five minutes later,i found it inside the fruit basket.
I walked into the kitchen.
She looked suspiciously innocent.
I narrowed my eyes. "You hid it"
"I absolutely did not"
"...Liar"
She burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Day six,Racheal couldn't reach the top shelf.
"Laurel..."
"What?"
"Help me"
"No."
"I'm pregnant"
"I noticed"
She pouted. "Please?"
I folded my arms. "What do I get?"
"A thank you"
"I want chocolate"
"...Deal"
Marco walked in just as I handed her the container.
He looked confused.
"Why are you negotiating grocery items?"
"I didn't force her"
He sighed. "I miss prison"
Racheal and I looked at him.
"You've never been to prison" She responded.
"I know"
"It still sounds peaceful"
Day eight,we argued for twenty minutes about whose turn it was to water the flowers.
Neither of us remembered.
The gardener quietly walked past and watered every flower himself.
He looked at us. "You two finished?"
Neither of us answered.
Day ten,i caught myself laughing,not pretending,but actually laughing.Racheal had somehow managed to burn instant noodles.
I laughed until my stomach hurt.
She chased me around the kitchen with a wooden spoon.
"Laurel!"
"Come back here!"
Marco calmly walked through the middle of our chase,picked up an apple and walked back out.Without saying a single word,he'd clearly accepted that the mansion had become impossible.
Days slowly turned into weeks.
Our arguments never stopped,neither did our laughter.
Sometimes we argued over blankets.
Sometimes over desserts.
Sometimes simply because one of us looked at the other for too long.
The maids had started placing bets every morning.
"What are they fighting about today?"
One guessed.
"The bathroom"
Another guessed.
"The television"
One elderly maid smiled.
"They're sisters already"
"We're not!" Racheal and I shouted together.
The maids laughed.
Later that evening,i found Racheal asleep on the garden swing.
One hand rested protectively over her stomach,a blanket had slipped onto the ground.
I quietly picked it up and covered her.
She smiled in her sleep.
"...Thank you..."
She never opened her eyes.
I smiled without realizing it.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
Some people enter your life as enemies only to become family before you noticed.
I still teased her.
She still annoyed me.
Marco still escaped the house every morning the moment we started arguing.
And somehow,Acadia's once-silent mansion had become louder than ever.
Filled with laughter.
Petty arguments.
Burnt noodles.
Hidden television remotes.
And a friendship neither of us would ever admit had quietly begun.