Stand for Love

Hello my lovely readers. Before diving into this chapter I'd like to welcome you and thank you for reading the previous chapters. I really hope you'll like and find it interesting. Feel free to comment, give your views and rate this story. I love you guys a lot. Enjoy...

****

The alarm by the tiny table on the bed side suddenly rang, bringing Adrian back to the real world. He quickly moved his hand to stop it and then rose from the bed, stretching his arms and smiled brightly. It was 5. Am and he was ready to see his mother in law and Jake do their first chore, breakfast making.

After stretching, Adrian quickly made the bed, grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. He took a warm quick shower and came back into his room. He put on a blue jean, white shirt, brown sandals and arranged his hair into a twist-in bun.

Once ready he got out of his room and headed downstairs to the living room. It was awfully quiet that he began wondering whether Victoria had woken up at all. But he still went down anyway and straight to the kitchen. His eyes widened and his smile brightened as wide as ever.

"Good morning," He greeted, wondering what they were doing.

Victoria rolled her eyes in frustration and remained quiet. Wasn't it enough that she didn't know what to do in the kitchen? Did Adrian have to add to her troubles too? Geez, she wanted to shout at him and tell him to leave them the fuck alone but the last thing she wanted was to provoke him to a point where he tells the family the whole truth.

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked, looking to see that they did not do anything or any efforts to make breakfast.

"What does it look like?" Jake tried to snap but then he smiled and spoke softly. Any mistake would mean a lot for him. He couldn't bear to live without Nicholas so he had to endure it at least till the time they find the other CD in the house.

"It's almost 6," Adrian said, glancing at the watch on his wrist. "You have to start making breakfast for everyone. Remember, that isn't a request but an order."

Victoria was more than furious. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought of being treated like that or receiving orders from anyone. Not to talk about Adrian.

"I want you to start making breakfast now." He said seriously with a grin on his face. "Think of something, anything but just have breakfast ready."

Stupid little whore, Victoria thought, going to the fridge. She had no idea what to make for breakfast but she knew how to make coffee and tea. That was breakfast too, right?

"Don't worry about it." Victoria said rudely, rolling her eyes in anger. "Just get out of here and leave everything to us."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Maybe I'll just stay here and watch you make breakfast."

Victoria cursed in her heart. Not only will the breakfast be terrible but it'll also give people a bad impression about her. They'll also ask why she had bothered cooking. If only she could find that evidence so that she could be rid of these problems that were following her. Geez, cooking was such a hard thing.

Victoria took some meat from the fridge and she put it on a board to chop, eyeing Adrian who was standing looking straight at what they were doing.

"Be careful," Adrian giggled as he leaned to a wall near the fridge.

Victoria gave him a teasing smile and she continued chopping the meat into small pieces to fry them. She was being careful so as not to ruin her dress. Gosh, that was hard. By the times she was done her dress was a mess.

"Don't forget," Adrian chuckled. "You also have to bake some bread or buns."

"What?" Victoria quickly raised her face and looked at Adrian in disgust.

"Oh!" Adrian gasped, touching his chest in mocking astonishment. "Sorry, did I forget to mention that little detail?"

I'm gonna kill him, Jake thought as he clenched his fists so hard, forgetting about the hot oil on the stove. Geez, if only he could kill him right there. He would gladly do it and...

"Jake!"

Jake exclaimed as he came back to reality. He had no idea why Adrian called him like that. His heart was burning with the passion of getting rid of Adrian for good.

"What?" He said angrily.

"The hot oil," Adrian signaled. "You need to start frying the meat."

Jake snarled as he took the meat Victoria had been cutting. He slowly put it on the pan, taking a few steps behind as he had almost got burnt with the hot oil. Seeing Adrian laughing at the scene, Jake burned in anger, holding the spoon firmly in his hand.

"Fuck!" Jake thought, cursing with his whole heart. "If only I could take this spoon and shove it up his..."

"Ahem!" Adrian cleared his throat, his eyes fixed on Jake. The guy was probably thinking about killing him but he had to do it if he didn't want the secret to come out.

Poor those, Adrian thought, nodding his head. They were actually suffering when they did not even know whether he'd show the evidence or not. The thought of that made Adrian laugh softly as he looked at the two funny people cooking. What they were experiencing was nothing compared to what was coming for them next.

Adrian watched as the two struggled with making breakfast. The meat was burnt...the eggs were not cooked properly and the dough wasn't even made properly. The only thing that they made properly was just the hot water to be used for tea and coffee.

Adrian took a glance at the watch and realized that he had stayed too long in the kitchen. It was now time to go because he didn't want anyone to catch him ordering Victoria around. It would cause more problems and he didn't want it to be like that.

"I'll check on you later," Adrian said, moving out of the kitchen.

Victoria snarled, clenching her dirty fists. Oh, she was dying to kill him right there.

"I swear I'm gonna kill him," Victoria snapped, clenching his fists.

"Don't worry mother," Jake said, getting closer to Victoria. "It won't be long. We'll get back at him and I promise that he won't know what hit him."

"Yeah," Victoria said, eyes still glued on that door. Victoria had never had the urge to hurt someone the way she did at that time. How dare Adrian order her to make breakfast? This was so unlike her and she was slowly being turned in a maid. Whatever she had to do, she had to do it quickly. She couldn't just stay like that forever. She had to do something sooner or later.

Victoria shook her head and continued working on...whatever thing that she was making. She was really hoping that the family would love the breakfast though. After all, she had made it with so much love.

****

Nicholas slowly came down stairs, hoping to have some food in the stomach. Looking around, something didn't seem right at all. The house looked like it hadn't been swept at all. He didn't even see any maids around but they were just somewhere probably working.

He sniffed in the air and smelt the aroma of meat, hoping for it to be delicious because he was starving. He barely had any food the previous day due to his mood. He had had a lot to think about and the one thing that really bothered him was the fact that he wasn't divorced to Adrian. It was a feeling of both happiness and sadness.

Reaching down the stairs, he heard other footsteps coming down the stairs. He took a quick glance behind and saw the rest of the family members coming down the stairs.

"Morning," He heard Noah greeting.

Nicholas nodded but no word came out of him. He was too pre-occupied to respond. They all came downstairs and they all went to the dining together. Reaching there, they found that the table was not set at all so they had to wait. Strange, Nicholas thought. Breakfast was served before this time but now...nothing was on the table. Guess all they had to do was waiting.

While sitting on that chair, Nicholas' mind went straight to Adrian, missing his touch and the pain also came back once those memories came back to him. He missed holding his hand on that dining table and kissing it from time to time. If only he could bring back those wonderful times he had with Adrian, he sighed.

Still lost in his thoughts, Nicholas felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked past it and saw George with a flat face looking at him sympathetically. Nicholas tried to put up a smile which failed terribly. He just couldn't hide what he felt inside his heart.

"Are you alright?" George asked, squeezing his shoulder softly.

"I'm fine," Nicholas smiled faintly, moving his hand to George's. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure...you want to go the office?"

Nicholas sighed. "Yes, I just wanna start work as soon as possible. This will make me forget about all my problems."

"Alright," George smiled, moving his hand away. He went and sat back on the chair, his eyes fixed on Nicholas. He could clearly see that his best friend was not in a very good mood. Being around Adrian wasn't helping him at all.

Nicholas sat there silently waiting for his breakfast before leaving for the office together with George. He was dressed in a light grey designer's suit, blue shirt and white shoes. He was looking super amazing but it didn't match with his mood at all. He was hoping to drop that mood once he leaves the house.

All he wanted to do was laugh, smile, joke and talk normally with people. Was that too much to ask?

Nicholas heard the door opening and he moved his eyes to the door. What he saw made him surprised, shocked and he...he couldn't believe it. His mother was coming in with a large tray of food and she was a mess. She was accompanied by Jake and the both of them looked like they'd had a really bad day. They were smiling but there was something behind that smile.

"Mom," Arianna exclaimed, looking up and down her mother. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

Victoria put the trey on the table, wiped her sweat and then smiled at her daughter.

"I'm absolutely fine, sweetie." She said, slowly moving the plates of food from the tray. "I just decided to make breakfast for my family after so long." Victoria had never cooked since she had gotten married in the house. This was rather a punishment for her and she was so damn tired.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Nicholas finally said in a soft voice. He forgot about all his worries and concentrated on what his mother was doing. All his life Nicholas has never seen his mother cook or do anything in the house. She was looking like a messy, oily hand, dirty dress and flour was all over her hair. Just what was going on?

"I'm fine," Victoria chuckled nervously, serving the breakfast on the table. "Just don't worry and enjoy the food that you mother makes you okay?"

Nicholas nodded and looked at the food being served on the table. The bread was looking rather poor and it had shrunk. The meat looked like it was burnt and the eggs were like they had only been partially boiled. That got him worried a lot because he had no idea how the food would taste in his mouth.

"I'm sure whatever she cooked is delicious." Granny said, sweetly rubbing her hands. She knew exactly why Victoria was acting like that. She knew Adrian had ordered her to do so. Seeing her on that table actually made her angry to the point where she wanted to slap her.

Granny had to hide that anger though. She was playing along with Adrian's plan. But when the right time comes she'd make sure that she slaps her senses back into her. Right then, all she had to do was sit down, smile brightly and enjoy the drama.

Victoria quickly served the food since Noah, George and Nicholas had to leave for their jobs. She was just hoping that the food would be appreciated by them. She served the table fully and then invited them to dig.

Nicholas took a loaf of bread and had no idea what it was once he touched it. It was hard, nothing like bread and it was kind of burnt to the point that he had no idea whether he wanted to have that food or not.

Victoria saw the expression on her son's face and she knew that the bread they had made did not match his expectations. What was worse was that grimace on his face, showing just how much he disliked the bread. Geez! It was all Adrian's fault. He had known really well that she didn't do kitchens but insisted anyway.

"I hope you like it." Victoria said, looking all around the table to see everyone's expression. "Taste it," She chuckled nervously. "I'm sure it'll taste better than it looks."

Nicholas slowly took a flask and poured the hot water in the cup. He made himself some coffee to go with his mother's bread and he ripped it apart, bringing it closer to his mouth. It was barely in his mouth and he spat it. It tasted salty, bitter and...he couldn't just put his finger on it but it tasted like garbage.

"What's wrong, son." Victoria smiled, getting closer to him.

Nicholas moved his eyes up to her and smiled sheepishly. He didn't want to upset her but the bread was awful.

"I don't know," Nicholas said softly, taking a sip of his coffee. "It kind tastes..."

"Awful..." Noah finished the sentence. "I'm sorry mom but I can't eat this."

Victoria's eyes dropped, feeling sad. She had made it with at least some love. Couldn't they have at least pretended to like it? Did they have to throw it in her face?

"Kids," Granny giggled, looking straight at Victoria. "Your mother has made it with so much love. Can't you at least appreciate her a little?"

"We're sorry mom," Arianna apologized as she got up to hold her. "I'm sure that your food would have been tasty if you had given it a little more time."

"Thank you!" Victoria smiled, ruffling Arianna's long hair.

Nicholas smiled faintly and went back to taste the other things on the table. The meat felt like charcoal and the eggs...he almost puked on the table. They tasted like nothing he had ever tasted in his mouth. Speak of bad food that would be given an award. It was time for the moment of truth.

"Victoria," Emily chuckled, putting her finger on her temple. "We appreciate all your efforts but did you have to do all this?"

Victoria smiled. Of course she didn't want to but she had to do it for the sake of Jake's and her piece of mind. It was really necessary to keep the secret away from everyone who would probably hate her if they found out the truth.

"Of course," Victoria said, smiling brightly. She was burning with anger inside. "I had to do it for my family."

"But we have maids for that." Nicholas replied, putting the spoon down. "I think you should have let them make the food. Besides, why do we pay them if you wake up early and...?"

"I sent them away for a few days." Victoria hollered.

Nicholas' eyes widened, his face went flat and he simply froze. For the first time he forgot about what he was passing through and concentrated on his mother. He had no idea how he'd stay for a few days without having proper food in the house.

"What?" Noah exclaimed, literally chocking on the food. "Why'd you do that?"

That question somehow made Victoria angry. She just wanted to yell at the table and say, "Adrian fucking Wilson did it." Too bad she couldn't do it. Not only would Adrian punish her but he'd also show everyone what had happened in the house during the time the problems started.

"Well," Victoria started, sounding rather angry. "I'm still your mother and you better get used to my food. I have sent them away and Jake and I will take it from there till they all return."

Everyone at the table remained quiet, looking at the breakfast they'd been served. Not only did it look awful, it tasted awful as well. If only they could get some wonderful food in their empty stomachs. First, they had a problem with Adrian and now with food. Gosh, they were in for it.

They all began drinking their tea and coffee before...a sweet aroma of wonderful breakfast filled the whole dining room. It was really wonderful, making Nicholas' mouth to water. He was filled with excitement, joy and got ready to get up to go to follow that wonderful smell.

He put the cup down, smiled brightly, slowly began getting up the chair and,

"Adria..." Nicholas trailed off as a shot of pain hit him. His smile faded...his heart began pounding in his chest and his skin felt cold. He raised his face and realized that everyone had their eyes on him. What was going on with him? Was he possessed by love or what? What he was feeling at that time was indescribable. He knew there was only one thing left to do since his mood had been completely ruined.

"I'm going to the office," Nicholas muttered, furiously exiting the dining room.

"Hey, wait for me," George smiled, following him behind.

Everyone at the table remained quiet. Everyone except granny was thinking that Adrian should leave the house sooner. They all sat at the dining silently as that wonderful smell from the food they knew they couldn't taste made their mouth water. They just sat their silently as that smell made them more hungry and angrier.

Victoria stood there, clenching on chair. She was over the edge mad when she came to realize that Adrian was doing it on purpose. She looked at Jake and he had the same expression on his face. Both of them had the same desire, to get rid of the thorn in their flesh, Adrian.

***

Victoria threw herself on the bed, feeling every part of her body hurting after that ridiculous breakfast. She just wanted to rest and rest for all eternity.

"Oh God, I'm tired," Victoria yawned, slightly closing her eyes. "I could sleep for a week."

Jake sat on the bed and stretched. Every muscle in his body was in pain. That kind of pain needed a cool soothing massage that would make him relax and forget about the horrible breakfast he'd just made downstairs.

"It's that Adrian's fault," Jake said angrily, slowly massaging his hand. "I'm really tired. I just wanna sleep like for the whole day. Thank God we were done with that."

"Yeah, thank..."

Before Victoria could finish talking she heard the door opening and in came the teasingly smiling Adrian.

"Here we go," Victoria whispered, rolling her eyes in displeasure. She'd just had enough of Adrian. Couldn't he just leave them alone to rest? Was that too much to ask?

Adrian saw the tired looks on Jake and Victoria's faces. He stared at the both of them for so long. Damn, from those eyes he could see that their hatred had increased but he didn't care one bit. He was the one with the ball in his hands. It was either they cooperate or he humiliates them in front of the family and everyone else.

"What's going on here?" Adrian giggled, looking straight at them. Adrian was sure they were cursing him in their dark hearts.

"We are resting after..."

"Resting?" Adrian chuckled, putting his right hand on his hip. "Who said you could rest."

"We are done with cooking." Jake said angrily, stretching his arms. "I think we deserve to rest after such a long day's work."

"Rest?" Adrian muttered, giving a soft chuckle. "You still have a long way to go. You'll rest later after you're done with the chores."

"We are..."

"Sorry, mother," Adrian said rudely interrupting her. "Last I checked you've only made breakfast. The house needs to be cleaned and then there's lunch and supper. Don't tell me you've forgotten about that."

To say Victoria was surprised would be an understatement. Her body was burning in a lake of anger as her eyes literally killed the boy and burned him in that anger. Victoria, the queen of the house sweeping the house, how did it come to that?

"Can we just rest a bit?" Victoria asked, getting up from the bed.

"No!" Adrian hollered. "I want you down stairs in the next 2 minutes sweeping, scrubbing and dusting. Are we clear?"

Victoria looked at Adrian in frustration, nodding her head. No one had ever shown her disrespect like Adrian did. He didn't even brink when talking to her. Was that what she was gonna endure for the rest of her life? No! She had to get back her original post in the house. She was not some whore who has to be cleaning her whole life and that's why...she'll begin her search for the CD as soon as she can so as to get rid of the heavy burden that fell on her.