Chapter 161 LEOPARDS AND SPOTS

Chapter 161 LEOPARDS AND SPOTS


NIRELLE

"What are you doing this morning?"

Zane, Michael and I had sat down to have breakfast this morning, and that was what Zane was asking. Things had been tense between Zane and my dad. I was not blind to see it, but I always ignored them as much as I could. Mae had been clear. Avoid stressful situations because of the baby.

"What are you doing this morning?" He asked again, and I frowned with a shrug.

"You aren't having any morning sickness?" she asked when she came to check on me.

"None at all"

"And cravings?"

"A lot of them," and I wanted to tell Luxien about these cars. He should be the one awake with me in the middle of the night when I was craving a food I had seen for the first time on social media.

"Okay, that is normal though," she told me. "But one thing you shouldn't do is stress too much. I am not saying stay in bed all day like you are bedridden, but anything that might want to make you think a lot or worry, then you want to avoid it."

I look at Zane with one eyebrow up in confusion. "Are you really asking me that, or is this some kind of prank?" He stares at me blankly. "You know I do not have anything to do."

"Well, I was wondering if there is anything you want to do."

"Yeah, a lot actually, and the first on the list is to step out of this house." I do not know if it was Lucien's orders or if Zane was just being extra, but he never allowed me to see the front door of the house.

"Okay then, do you think you can talk some sense into Father?" His request made me swallow and then carefully turn to the man who was now frozen in his chair.

"Talk to him about what?" I asked as if I did not know what he was talking about, but I was picking on each word carefully.

"Tell him that he shouldn't be doing this. He is the best shot we have at making sure Mom pays for her crimes, and yet he wants to keep shut about it."

"Why?" I turn to Michael, and he blinks rapidly. Had Zane not even asked him why he wanted to help Yvette? What could they have spoken about that was making him like this? Shouldn't that have been the first question?

"Well? Do you want to share why with us?" I ask again, and he just narrows his eyes and proceeds to stand up. "Even if you do not agree to help us, we are still going to put her behind bars because that is where she belongs, but to pay back for failing to protect your children, I think you should do this," I say.

"Nirelle, I do not think you should..."

"You should have known what your kids were going through and helped them. "Instead, you want to just act as if you do not know," I add, cutting off Zane, who seemed shocked at my approach. If reasoning and logic had not been able to convince him before, then maybe a little bit of blackmail would.

"I was abused and raped; I never wanted a family of my own." I am almost tempted to tell him about the baby growing in me, but with the way he has been acting recently, I don't know if that would really be a good idea. "I was sold off in marriage..."

"But it turned out to be a good thing."

"What if it wasn't a good thing? You trusted Yvette so much that you should have left with us when she started showing the signs, and yet again, you are about to be deceived by her."

"She said she is sorry that she has changed; she promised to make it up to all of us."

"And those few words mean a lot more to you than our experiences?" Zane exhaled sharply; I looked at him, and confusion was all over his face. Like him, I am also confused about whether this was working or not. "You know if you decide to team up with her, you are going to end up in jail as an accomplice."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not really, I am not. I am only saying that you are going to get what you deserve for acting this way."

"No matter what happens, she is still your mom."

"And you do not see me denying that now, do you? Do blood relations stop the crime from being a crime?"

"She made a mistake; anyone can make a mistake."

"A mistake is when you write a two instead of a seven, but if you keep on writing a two even though you want to write a seven, then you made that mistake intentionally, and that is no longer a mistake."

"Dad, I think what Nirelle is trying to say is that if you let her walk, she would still do the same thing again," Zane interjected, and I was grateful that he did because the thoughts in my mind were far worse than how nicely he had put it. "A leopard can never change its spots."

"And the child of a leopard is a leopard." Michael's response was confusing for a moment until it wasn't.

"Oh, so you are saying that I will turn out like Mom, aren't you?" I ask, and he avoids my eyes. I could not believe the nerve of this man. Maybe he deserved the room he was locked in because it seemed he had a few things wrong with his head at this point.

"I just want you to know that would never happen." I did not have to prove anything to him, but still I did. "I watched her destroy herself now, and I would be foolish to go down her path while knowing what it is going to be like in the end."

I push the chair back and stand up. "Think about it very much if you want to be a part of the change." I turn and walk off without thinking about him or what he thought in that moment, even though his voice followed me. 

"You are acting all self-righteous, but I know that you wouldn't act that way if you were in my shoes." 

I enter the room and drop down on the bed. I could not believe that, after all he had gone through with her, I would still have to explain why he had to help us make sure Yvette got what she deserved. Was this what love felt like? If Lucien did something that was wrong, would I have the same courage to make sure that he paid for his wounds, or would I go back into my shell like my father? Maybe I was not better than him, and I was just thinking I was self-righteous at this point.

"Can I come in?" Zane asked from the door.

"You are already in an arena, aren't you?" I ask as I sit up and look at him. "What do you have to say?" I ask. Staying together had made us closer than before. I understood him a little better and what those microexpressions on his face meant.

"Nothing"

"That is a lie; it looks like you have a lot to say, and you can say it," I urge.

"Don't you think you're a little harsh?"

"Do you think I was harsh?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "Then why?"

"I just... I don't know."

"I know, right. Why couldn't my life be as simple as others'?"

"Are you saying you do not like the soap opera you've been thrown into?" He said it with a teasing smile.

"Well, not really." I raise my head to the ceiling and then sigh. "I want a normal life, especially now that my baby is coming."

"I will do all I can to get you that normal life."

"You are promising a lot."

"If I have to drag him by the collar to the confessional, then I will."

"You are my best brother."

"I am your only brother."