A/N:
Here's the update, as promised!
You were all too cute with your spamming, even going as far as private messaging me for it (someone even said it'd be the best Christmas gift so that's why I waited until today).
Merry Christmas! 🎄🎆❤
I pray that you have a happy day with your family filled with nothing but love. I'm not sure if I'll be able to have another chapter up before the new year so I'll wish you all a Happy New Year as well! I hope 2020 marks a new era of positive changes for you and may your blessings flow like a river.
Episode 40: The In-Laws
If Emily had been nervous about Nicholas meeting her parents a few weeks ago, what she was feeling now had quadrupled that. The woman could feel the sweat droplet run down the expanse of her back as she took a shaky breath, attempting to steady her heart rate. The state that she was in could result in her collapsing right as they stood by the front door which had rang a minute ago. A hand squeezed at her bare arm comfortingly as her body was pulled to another.
"You'll do great." Nicholas reminded her with a peck to her cheek.
She forgot about her stress for that split second when the scent of his aftershave filled her senses. It didn't even occur to her that the front door had been pulled open until she saw two figures, one immediately launching herself at Nicholas.
Staring openly at their affection, Emily watched as a woman cried in his arms, making her have no choice but to step away.
"Mamma, mi avevi promesso di non piangere quando avevamo parlato al telefono prima."
His wife's eyebrows flew up in pleasant surprise at how fluent his tongue was in another language. She felt ashamed that she had been bold enough to get turned on by him in that moment, considering who were standing before her, but she just couldn't help it.
He sounded sexy as hell.
"You speak Italian?" Emily couldn't resist asking as Nicholas wiped at the woman's tears.
At the sound of her voice, they all turned around and she was astounded by another thing once again. And it was the fact that his family had amazing genes. His mother was a chubby, adorable lady who dressed in a comfortable all-in-one jump suit. It was floral print and a black jacket had been draped lazily over her shoulders. Emily guessed it was her husband's because Nicholas' father had been missing one, wearing only a simple dress shirt and a jeans pants. He looked more intimidating than his wife but Emily didn't miss the civil smile he sent her way when their eyes met.
Nicholas pulled himself away from his mother, not wanting Emily to feel left out and wrapped his arm around her waist. Their eyes followed the movement keenly.
"At first, I only knew a few phrases here and there, but after spending the summer in Italy with my cousins there and being teased about my lack of knowledge, I spent a great deal of time studying the language. Though I'm nowhere close to perfection." He said, replying to her earlier question.
"Em, these are my parents; Rosalie and Paul. Mom, dad, this is my wife, Emily."
Incredibly nervous, the woman extended her hand to the older guests, but she was taken aback when his mother gathered her into a tight embrace.
"It's so nice to finally meet you!"
Emily wanted to look over her shoulders at Nicholas but the only person she saw was his father who became sheepish at his wife's sudden display of affection.
"Please bear with her." He pleaded, almost a whisper.
Much more was to come as she kissed Emily on both sides of her mouth. The girl flushed as the woman pulled away and held her at arm's length while scanning her up and down. She looked over to her son with a broad grin.
"She's a pretty one."
Appreciative of her compliment to her physical features Emily said, "Thank you."
"Oh, no need to thank me, sweetheart. It's Him who you should thank." She sang, pointing up to the sky.
"Ah…"
"Mom, why don't we give you both a tour of the place? You haven't seen it since I did some renovations last year." Nicholas didn't await her answer and looped his arm his mother's as he led her inside.
Emily closed the door behind them and fell into step with his father. Paul shook his head at his wife's antics before turning to gaze at the girl beside him apologetically. It was clear she wasn't used to this type of behaviour around her daily.
"Rosalie can be quite the handful sometimes. Interrogative as well, but take it as her being overprotective of her youngest son and meaning well." He shared with her in case anything was to happen in the future to warrant her feeling offended by his wife.
Emily waved her hand before her.
"No, it's fine. She seems lovely."
He only hummed as they tried to keep up with the two before them.
Now Nicholas had become the one who was being dragged around by his mother. It was comical because she obviously didn't know where she was going, but didn't want to showcase it.
Tugging at his arm, her smile was wide as she made it to the spacious kitchen.
"Did you buy all the ingredients I told you to?" She asked, expectation painted onto her face.
"Nanny Kim had it covered."
Her eyes shone brighter with joy. "Oh how I adore that woman. Where is she by the way?" To match her statement, she searched around for a sign of the asian helper. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen.
"She went to California for a couple of days to manage her restaurant business. You know, the regular. Since Emily's been here, she's been slacking off though." Nicholas added the last bit like a little snitch.
Whether or not it was the reaction he anticipated, Rosalie slapped her son loudly across the head.
"Ow!" He screamed out, holding the area that was certainly in pain.
"Don't badmouth, Karen. I already feel bad that she's been here for you like a mother all these years. I don't know what I'd do when it comes to you half of the time if it wasn't for her."
"Alright, alright, Rosalie," her husband interjected, "Why don't you start cooking that famous spaghetti of yours you planned to show off to our new daughter-in-law?"
She looked excited at the idea of it and so did Emily. The girl was glad to know that they had considered her in such a warm manner without even meeting her. They really had taken their son's words for the truth about her merits.
"I'm going to need an assistant."
"I-"
"I'll do it." The tiny woman cut Nicholas off, making him look at her with uneasiness.
It was a known fact that her culinary skills weren't the best.
"Em...I don't think that's such a good idea." He tried to warn her with his eyes, but she wasn't taking heed.
"I think I'll be fine."
Don't you remember how you almost burnt ramen the other day? Nicholas wanted to scream at her but he couldn't try to convince her any further when his mother interrupted them.
"You don't have to be so worried about her. She's in good hands…" To prove her point, Rosalie pulled Emily next to her around the counter which held some of the things she had already began taking out the refrigerator. "Now shoo! You're taking up space."
He gave the two of them one last look before leaving in a defeated state.
His mother was going to be mistaken if she thought she had a prodigy on her hands, no, someone who could even help cut the vegetables for her.
The disappointment she will face will be huge with how not so spectacular Emily was around the stove in comparison to her.
However, Rosalie had no expectations of Emily. She had recited that inside her brain the first time she heard about her son's sudden marriage till the day she heard about meeting her. Therefore, there would be no room for disappointments in any aspects.
What she learnt about Emily Pinault was from the entertainment news and sleazy gossip forums. She didn't have time to cater to such things without knowing the person truly.
Judging a book by its cover was one of the worst practices to engage in.
"I had discouraged Nicholas to get married back then, having knowledge of the reason behind it not being pure." Rosalie started as she took out the noodles from their container and placed them into the boiling water.
"Oh."
Emily didn't know what to say.
Of course, Nicholas was close enough with his parents to tell them the truth behind his sudden marriage - that it was a business initiative for corporate gains. For some reason, that made her feel naked as the day she was born. That meant they knew Nicholas and her weren't truly in love with each other.
Emily pouted like a petulant child as she remembered how he had been so attentive to her.
Why had he been so thoroughly sweet if they knew the truth? She thought with a whine.
"But now that I see how the two of you look at each other I feel assured that despite the reasons behind it, your marriage will be just fine."
Emily blushed while slicing through the tomato that she was sure she now had the colour of.
"How do we look at each other?"
She was clueless of it, Rosalie realized.
The poor girl didn't know that she was in love with her son just as much he was in love with her.
Deciding to give her a push in the right direction, Rosalie looked at her seriously stating, "Like nobody else exists around you. That's how the two of you look at each other. I mean, earlier I was clinging onto my son like leaves on a tree but he was staring at you instead. With a gaze which has been reserved just for you. And only you."
Now she was burning up and it wasn't because of the heat of the kitchen. Her face was on fire and Emily couldn't do anything to help it.
Rosalie noticed how her skin started to become incredibly flushed. Her hand covered her mouth to stifle the giggle at the child's reaction.
She was redder than a chilli sauce!
They hadn't seen the figure move and enter the kitchen before Nicholas announced his arrival, "Do you ladies need any help?"
His eyes were focused specifically on Emily as he spoke. They narrowed as they noticed how much she was blushing in the moment. His lips twitched in amusement as he wondered what had happened before he walked in to have her in such a state.
"Um...yeah, I need to go to the bathroom for a bit."
Without looking in his direction, the girl bolted out of the room and Nicholas couldn't even have the time to question her as his mother burst out into a fit of laughter.
He turned to the prime suspect. "What have you done?"
Rosalie shrugged as her son eyed her with no remorse. "Nothing."
The man shook his head, not buying it.
"I assure you, something has to be done or said to get Em as red as she was a minute ago."
He'd know that much. After all, it was his favourite state to have her in.
His mother wiped her hands in the front of her apron.
"I just told her the truth regarding the both of you."
"Expound on that please."
Rosalie rolled her eyes at her son. She didn't know why he was so serious all the time.
"I told her that I wasn't a fan of the both of you tying the knot based on your own selfish, ingenuine 'business' reasons-"
His eyes widened.
"Mom-"
"Would you calm down and let me finish?" She snapped, raising a finger pointedly.
Nicholas huffed like a scolded little boy, but didn't say anything.
"Eventually I made my point that I'm not going to worry about you and your decision anymore because of how the two of you look at each other."
Oh no. She hadn't…
"Did you tell her that I love her?" He asked so quickly, he almost became tongue-tied.
His mother's eyes twinkled in excitement. She held her hands to her chest with a big smile.
"I'm relieved that at least one of you are aware of the situation."
"Did you?" Nicholas stressed.
"No, I'm not stupid. I can see that she isn't quite sure of her feelings to that extent. Either that or she's scared to admit it."
He released a sigh of relief. It felt like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
Leaning in, he kissed his mother on her cheeks. "Good job."
She slapped her son over the head once again. He yelled out at the hard impact, looking at her as if she had lost a few screws up there.
"What was that for?"
"For only showing me affection when it suits you. Some ungrateful children I have."
He shook his head with an incredulous look. "Speaking of which, how's William holding up in London by the way? Sofia called the other day, saying how much she misses it here in the city. I don't know why she decided to follow Luke to open his new branch half way across the country if she's going to complain so much."
Nicholas rubbed at his temples, remembering how his sister ranted to him over the phone for hours about the rugged terrain of where she was. And how she hated being around farm animals that didn't hide their dislike for her by pooing on her designer boots.
"She's the one that chose to marry an environmentalist. Bearing the hardships that come with it is a must," his mother aired candidly as she checked on the pot, "And William is doing just fine. He's dealing with legal matters as always. If only that solicitor would stay in touch as much as his sister does."
"Oh, that's good," Nicholas hadn't heard from his older brother in a while so it was good to hear he was doing well.
"And the thing about Sofia is that Luke specifically told her to stay here in New York while he deals with his business there, but she insisted to tag along, saying how she can't survive six months without him."
The way she acted was so immature.
Sometimes Nicholas forgot she was a year older than him with how much she consulted with him - and by that he meant complained to him.
"I can't say I don't see it from her perspective. They haven't been married for more than a year. Of course, she doesn't want to spend time apart," Rosalie said with her back still facing Nicholas.
She turned around and gave him a pointed look. "Do you think you could leave Emily after spending only these couple of months with her at this point in time?"
"No."
And not at any point in time either.
He didn't have to think about it.
"Exactly. So stop being a hypocrite." She boldly accused with a huge spoon pointed towards him.
"I get what you're saying, mom. I do. But can't she find someone else to reveal her long list of complaints to at odd hours in the mornings? I bet William doesn't have to deal with matters like this."
"That's because you're her favourite brother, not William."
His eyes narrowed at his mother's unfair reasoning.
If that was how she was going to play...
"Speaking of favourites, I wonder what dad is up to."
Nicholas was more prepared this time for her reaction and dodged her heavy hand that aimed at his head.
"Dio santo! Are you trying to kill me woman?" He shouted, flinching at the image of what could have been.
"I'll leave that to Emily. And when the time comes, I'll be sure to advise her on several ways to do it."
"Leave what to me?"
Their heads turned at the soft voice of Emily.
She had noticeably transitioned to her normal shade and was looking at the both of them curiously.
"My dinner." Nicholas pecked her on the lips swiftly before running out the kitchen.
Her mouth dropped open at his bold act.
How could he— and right in front of his mother?!
And there went her cheeks again.
***
A/N:
Translations
1. "Mom, you promised me not to cry when we talked on the phone earlier."
2. "Oh my God!", "Holy God!" or "Good God!"
As always, thank you so much for reading!