AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was about to step away from the door when she heard, “Fuck you!”
Well, that was a shift in tone.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said in Cantonese through the door. “Did you just swear at me? Do you want to take this up a notch and go to hell for another few weeks?”
“What right do you have to treat me like this?” Cecelia shouted back through the door. “Back in Hong Kong, I could do whatever I wanted! Nobody cared!”
“Trust me, I remember what it was like to be your age in Hong Kong! The perfect age and station for boys to take advantage of me!”
“What the fuck do you know about that? You’re a perv!”
This was getting good, wasn’t it? After a deep breath, Jane projected back, “You want to run that by me one time?”
“You heard me! You’re a pervert who lives with two other women! You think that’s normal or something? How am I supposed to be getting a good education in this country with all of this perversion around me! Really, Aunt Jane, it’s your fault I’m having sex with boys because I need some balance in my personal life!”
“This has nothing to do with me and my perfectly legal and acceptable way of life! Also, kindly leave my wife and Rebecca out of this! They have been nothing but welcoming and loving toward you!”
“They have to be! They’re American!”
“Furthermore, my personal life has nothing to do with yours! Fact of the matter is that your gallivanting with amanwho is old enough to vote is a problem in itself! Do you know nothing about how things work here? He could get in massive trouble if I wanted to pursue it!” Jane wouldn’t, but Cecelia had to know that shecould. Like I don’t know about Romeo and Juliet laws.It was much the same in Hong Kong, and quite frankly, Jane didn’t care about her niece dating a boy she went to school with. This was about thelyingand thedeception.Because if Cecelia was lying about this, what else was she avoiding telling her aunt about? “Were you even going to use protection? Because it’s more than your head if you get pregnant! It’s mine too!”
“Eww!”
Not the correct response.“How long has this been going on, huh? Is this a recent development since coming to America, or were you doing this back home, too?”
“I amnota virgin if that’s what your whack-ass is asking!”
“Oh! So happens that I’m not either! Want to talk about it?”
“No!”
Jane snorted. “Of course you don’t! Neither do I! But here we are, screaming through a door in my flat because you lied to me about what you were doing!”
“Like you would have let me go out with Owen!”
“Not without a serious discussion first, that’s for sure!” Jane thumped her forehead against the door. “Look, neither of us wants to do this right now. You’re grounded. We’ll discuss what that means later. Right now, I’m going to enjoy my tea and get ready for bed. If you even so much asthinkabout sneaking out of this flat, Iwilltell your grandmother what you’re up to. Not only your mom, butGradmum Wong.” Jane loathed the thought. Oh, God, did she ever. “I don’t think you want that. So you’re going to stay right here until we talk about this tomorrow.”
“Blackmail!”
“Welcome to actually being parented, kid!” Jane couldn’t believe those words had come out of her mouth. What reality was this? “Anyway, tea outside your door! Be careful when opening it! You’re welcome and goodnight!”
She stomped back to the kitchen, where she grabbed her herbal tea and remained in the living area in case Cecelia wanted to come out and talk.
She did not. That was fine with Jane, who slowly sipped her tea while staring at her phone. She oscillated between her group chat with Caitlyn and Rebecca and a single, private chat with Caitlyn.The only one I can actually talk to about this right now.Caitlyn might know what to do. She would know what to say to keep Cecelia placated and understanding the gravity of the situation. Right?
Except Jane couldn’t bring herself to actually text anything. She didn’t know what to say.
So she put her phone down and stared out the window. Was it her, or did this flat feel awfully cramped? Practically… claustrophobic?
Jane had reached the bottom of her cup. She was too tired to get another one.
Chapter 16
Caitlyn
She got out of her seat at the kitchen table as soon as Rebecca and Christine came down the driveway.
“It’s about time we added some class to this place!” Christine thought that overused line was hilarious when Caitlyn bounded out of the front door and threw her arms around Rebecca, who almost dropped her purse to be immediately accosted upon arriving at the lake house. “How was the flight, huh?”
