Chapter 10.1

Although she was nervous at first, seeing how great Sia and Mrs. Strider got along and how the whole family was harmonious calmed her down. With her heart now calm, she was able to respond to their questions sincerely.

Well until they asked her to call them "mom" and "granny."

Being with Jeff was nice and all, but what if they didn't end up together? They were only about 4 days into their relationship, and it already seemed like they were getting married the next day. She couldn't help but be wary of how fast paced their relationship was, so she wanted to take it slow. "Granny Strider" and "Mrs. Strider" was what she was willing to address them as for now.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they left, but it wasn't relief from being suffocated by them. Rather it was relief from finally having met them. She didn't have to prepare herself mentally. It already happened, and it wasn't a bad first meeting.

Thinking about her mother's relationship with Martha, she felt sad. Why couldn't her granny be like Sia? Or maybe Sia was okay with Mrs. Strider because she gave birth to a grandson? Still, it was nice that his family got along, and they did not reject her like rich parents always did, in the romance novels she read, anytime their heir brought home a "substandard" girl.

It felt good to have Jeff around also. At that moment, she felt like relying on him and that was exactly was she did. She surrounded his waist with her thin arms and rested the weight of her head on his chest.

Then they both sat down still maintaining that position.

"My paternal grandmother favors sons over daughters. My father happens to be her favorite, so you'd expect for her to treat Lina and I better."

She paused for a while, thinking of a way to phrase her statements so that she doesn't demean her grandmother.

"She doesn't exactly care for granddaughters, but she does anticipate our weddings and pregnancies because that would add more sons to her family. She doesn't treat my mom all that well either because my mom gave her 2 granddaughters. She does treat my dad well however, so that is very comforting."

She raised her head from his embrace and looked up at him, "that's why your family is lovely. Your grandmother treats your mother well. I envy that."

Jeff had on a look of distress, so she poked his cheeks playfully.

"You don't have to worry about that. We have no preference in the Strider family. Granny does love me a little more because I'm an only child," he said calmly as he held on to her palms on his face.

Hearing that, she felt a lot better. If by chance she does end up going from Ms. Lawrence to Mrs. Strider, she didn't want to experience what her mother was going through with Martha. She didn't want that for Lina also.

She gave him a firm nod with a smile before returning into his embrace.

For the rest of the afternoon, they whispered sweet nothings to each other while telling random stories from their childhood and teenage years. Laughter echoed in the halls of the house and flashing images could be seen on the TV.

A while later, everything went quiet.

Probably due to their anxious hearts from the night before, both of them did not get to sleep well. Now, they were both holding on to each other, with her head to his chest, and his head on her head, faraway in sleep land.

And they had the most alluring smiles on their faces.

Tina got up first and used one of the pillows on the sofa to prop her boyfriend up. He looked so cute even in his sleep. She couldn't resist squeezing his cheeks.

Cleaning up a bit in the bathroom, she headed to the kitchen to see what was available for dinner. The fridge was fully stocked, so she didn't have a difficult time making a choice.

They had shrimp scampi pasta for lunch, so she decided to make some pepper steaks for dinner. Busy going at it in the kitchen, she suddenly felt some weight on her shoulder, giving her a jolt.

"OMG! You scared me," she said as she turned back to look at him.

He laughed merrily, "it's just the two of us at home. Who else would it be?"

She snarled at him before turning back to her preparations.

"I promised to make dinner," he complained.

"I didn't want to disturb your sleep. Since you already cooked for me, it's my turn to cook for you."

He agreed readily and they ended up making dinner together. She prepped the steaks and he prepped the rice.

An idea suddenly popped into her head.

"Let them come back, so we can have dinner together," she turned to Jeff to say.

Jeff was stunned by her idea.

"Are you sure? Or did my mom say something to you when I wasn't watching?"

She shook her head, "not at all. Since I already met them, we might as well have dinner together." It was the proper thing to do. She was in their home and the family was eating out. It made her feel bad.

She felt shy when Jeff lay his probing gaze on her.

After a while, she heard him take out his phone asking his family to return home.

It didn't take long for them to set the table, and just about time, Sia and the Strider couple took their seat at the table.

"So how is your marital home coming along?" Sia asked as she put another piece of steak in her mouth.

'Marital home? What marital home?'

Tina looked at Jeff with confusion visible on her face.

Just before Jeff could clear the air, a sudden realization hit Tina.

"Marital home?!" she exclaimed with a high pitch.