The moans echoed throughout the room, making Jake inwardly frown. But outwardly, he wore a smug expression, slouching on the chair with his chin propped on his hand, a foot on his knee. The smile on his lips was lewd, and flickers of greed seemed to glint in his emerald eye. He had entered his persona, turning into a stranger that was nowhere close to his real self.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Masha's voice resounded, soon accompanied by sobs. "I can't anymore!"
He then heard him say, "Oh come on, darling! We've just started."
"No way! You're just too big!"
Jake's mouth twitched slightly. God knew he'd have liked to smash the cell phone on the table and toss it in the trash bin. Although he and Masha had been playing the comedy and nothing happened, their fake lovemaking session wasn't something he wanted to listen to. If anything, it was scorching his ears.
'What bad actress?' he thought with a silent sneer. 'If I didn't know better, I'd be sure as hell Masha was being bullied. It's scary how good she is at faking sounds.'
And to think she had been smiling while "sobbing" and "begging". Honestly, it had been a little creepy how the mischievous expression on her face didn't match what was coming out of her mouth. But it wasn't like Jake had been any better, wearing a bored, deadpan look as he whispered obscene words.
"I'd have preferred a video, but I guess sounds are good enough," Angela said after turning off the recording. "It should be enough to blackmail Masha into obeying us."
'Yeah, right. 'Cause the recording of her and her girlfriend flirting wasn't enough, of course,' Jake inwardly snorted, disgust rising in the pit of his stomach. But his face revealed nothing of his inner thoughts; he looked as self-satisfied as before.
If Angela only wanted to blackmail Masha, the previous recording would have been more than enough to keep her away from Gabriel. What she truly had wanted was to make her suffer. Masha didn't want Gabriel to know about her cheating, with a woman to boot? Then, she'd need to "entertain" her eldest son whenever he felt like it, adding another stain to her record. She'd rather sleep with her boyfriend's brother than come clean.... What a great girlfriend, really.
"Yeah, I don't think she'd dare go against me now," Jake smirked. "She's very meek once you get a hold of her weakness. So there's nothing to worry about there."
Meek his ass. She had wanted to punch him afterward, even though they hadn't done anything more than faking sounds. But thankfully, he had been fast enough on his feet to avoid her fist. 'I swear, Masha and Misha only know how to settle their problems with violence. Their methods are so straightforward it leaves me speechless.'
"When will you meet her next?" Angela asked, snapping Jake out of his thoughts. "You shouldn't let her think it was a one-time thing."
"I know, mom," Jake nodded obediently. "But I'm gonna be a little busy with work, so I told her to meet up next month at the same place. If I schedule our meetings too close to each other, she's gonna break down faster, and I won't be able to enjoy myself."
'Also, I'd rather she didn't punch me for real. Better leave her some space,' he added to himself before smiling back at his mother, whose grin was curving her eyes into crescent moons. He just knew she would love the idea of tormenting Masha for an extended period of time instead of crushing her right away. His mother was like this, playing with others like a kid with ants—a real piece of garbage.
"And about Misha...." Angela started, her voice growing colder. "That kid sure has been coming over often lately. He's here pretty much every day."
"Well," Jake laughed, "he seems to have taken a liking to me. He has become quite the obedient pawn, listening to everything I say. It's almost comical."
"That's good to hear." She paused, then narrowed her eyes. "Stephan also seems to have taken quite a liking to you."
To this, Jake grimaced. "He's unbearable! Always trying to put his dirty paws on me, following me everywhere I go. I swear I'm almost missing his snarky remarks; he at least kept his hands to himself before. Seriously, what the heck is his problem? Since I've lost my eye, he's been sticking to me like a leech. Does he have an eye patch fetish or something? I know he's a playboy who only thinks with his dick, but I sure as hell don't like how he's treating me. I'm not his fucking woman!"
"Hm, it's not a bad thing, however."
"What?! How!"
"Him falling head over heels for you," Angela chortled, "we couldn't have dreamed of a better outcome. I thought your face would lose its value after losing an eye, but it looks like I've been mistaken."
"Mom!"
"Don't look at me like this. Stephan is Harold's son, and though your father can handle his childhood friend pretty well, we have no power over Stephan, and you know just how unpredictable that guy can get. So, use whatever you can to keep him under your control, even your body if you have to."
"No way in hell! I don't want to be some man's bitch, it's—"
"Jake..."
Silence followed, and Jake pursed his lips. He seemed to shrink on himself, his head lowered; all of a sudden, he was like a terrified child, not daring to say anything.
But inwardly, he snorted, 'Of course she'd ask that. I'm not even surprised, honestly.' The number of times Angela had asked him to use his body to seal a deal in his past lives was countless, though it was the first time she had ever asked him to do that with a man. He had it good in this life since he had been busy chaperoning his little brother and Gabriel, making it so she couldn't always send him to "entertain" their guests. He was quite popular with older women. A pity he had no interest in them.
"Fine," he eventually mumbled, "I get it."
"That's good to hear," Angela smiled sweetly, almost affectionately. "You've been bringing in good results as of late, it makes me happy."
Jake responded with a smile, a perfect copy of Angela's. He didn't say anything, not trusting himself to keep his voice even. Thankfully, he had years of practice, and keeping his cool wasn't too difficult, regardless of what she threw his way. They still had a few things left to discuss, and he couldn't blow up just yet. So, he bottled up his anger and smiled.
.
.
Someone knocked on the door, and Jake shifted his gaze to it. The next instant, it opened with a squeaking sound, and Misha's and Tristan's fluffy heads popped into the doorframe, soon followed by Gabriel's. He pushed the teenager and the child further inside, then closed the door behind him.
Not even saying "hi" to Angela, Misha bolted behind Jake's chair and wrapped his arms around his neck, propping his chin on top of his head. After that, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Angela; he looked like a watchdog about to bark and bare his fangs. Anyway, Angela knew he didn't like her since his last outburst, so there was no point playing pretend. It'd only arouse her suspicion if he did.
Tristan hesitated but still followed the teenager, running to his brother to jump on his lap. He giggled and comfortably seated himself, glancing over his shoulder to flash a bright smile at Jake. Lately, the child had become clingy and would rather stick to his eldest brother than sit on his own chair, often pouting when he had to let go.
"You're done with work?" Angela asked Gabriel, not commenting on Misha's or her youngest son's behavior. "I thought you would come back in the evening."
"Well, it's Saturday, and I only had the morning shift. I picked up Misha afterward, and we've been playing with Tristan for the past hour. It's just that he really wanted to see Jake.... Sorry for bothering you while you're busy talking. "
"No problem," Angela smiled. "We were done, anyway."
That being said, she stood up and dusted her skirt. Then, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, she beckoned Tristan to get down from his brother's lap and come to her. "Sweetie, you have some homework to do, don't you?"
"Can I do it later...?"
"No," Angela said firmly, and Tristan knew there was no escaping it.
With great reluctance, he did as told. However, before walking to his mother, he took the opportunity to hug his eldest brother tightly. He then giggled, "See you later!"
Without waiting for Jake's answer, the boy swiftly ran to his mother, and as they made their way to the door, someone pushed it open before them. Stephan cocked an eyebrow when their gazes met but didn't comment. Instead, he politely greeted them with a "hello there" before skipping to Jake's side.
As Angela was about to leave, she glanced askance at Jake, who was surrounded by Gabriel, Misha, and Stephan. A genuine smile slipped on her lips. It looked like Jake had everyone wrapped around his little finger, even Tristan. Finally, that dumb son of hers could make himself useful. Knowing the Lesskov siblings, her stepson, and Stephan were under her control, though indirectly, put her in a good mood.
As long as she controlled Jake well, everything would go the way she wanted. And with the way she had raised him, she knew her eldest son would never dare go against her. Since his early youth, he had been conditioned to obey her, just like Pavlov's dog, and nothing could ever break the collar she had chained around his neck.
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Edited by Clozed!! ♥
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