Page 13 of Delilah In Discretion

“What are you doing here? I assumed you would be having dinner with your wife and children.”

“See, that’s the thing. Maia is cooking lasagna, and silly me, I forgot to let someone know that we needed pasta. So I wound up here because your butlers keep this place stocked like a damn grocery store.”

I giggled at his words, and my father’s voice rang out. “Blaine, get the hell out of my kitchen.”

He whined, “But Kiki, I need pasta.”

My father entered the room and sighed. “For once, Blaine, after a long day, I’d love to have a good evening with my family. You and Eugene know you’re only permitted here for special occasions or when invited.”

My mother pushed my father out of the way. “You and these restrictions on our family are getting out of hand. Blaine, honey, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I need pasta, Bribri, or I can’t go back home.”

She smiled. “Take as much as you like. I’m sure Killian will understand... won’t you, Killy?”

My father sighed as he turned away to sit at the table. “You have sixty seconds to get what you need and leave.”

Uncle Blaine grabbed a bag and quickly got as much as he could. I tossed him a jar of Nutella for his five-minute walk home, and he blew me a kiss.

We went over to the table, and eventually, our food was served. And as expected, my father began discussing upcoming plans.

“I have a charity event to attend soon, and you three will accompany your mother and me,” he began, and I nodded as we listened. It was normal for him to take us to his events. Only recently did Ivory start coming along with Zach and me because she was a bit younger.

“And though this event will be another great experience for you all... Calvin is a part of the committee hosting the event.”

The entire room went quiet, and even Trinity and Tyler didn’t mumble or babble in their baby talk. My mother looked at me, and we stared briefly at one another before Dad continued, “We will ignore him and his family as we’ve done so before. The Crawfords are also attending, meaning there could be some confrontation, but I expect it will be minimal.”

I nodded, though in the back of my mind, knowing Archer, it wouldn’t be as easy as my father was making it out to be.

“Now that we’ve discussed that matter, Delilah, I never got to ask. How was your first day back at the academy?”

He leaned down to pick up my bag, and he handed it to me as he spoke.

“Pathetic. Do you honestly think I wouldn’t have found you?”

“Keep to yourself, and you won’t have to find out, sweetheart.”

I looked over to my father and gave him a small smile.

“My day was pretty... eventful, to say the least.”

Chapter five

Delilah

Isat at Kimi’s desk as she was in her closet, looking for her perfect pair of shoes. I giggled as she came out and stood in front of her mirror.

“How do I look, Dee?” she asked, and I grinned.

“Like a president.”

She granted me a genuine smile, and I couldn’t help but feel happy inside.

It wasn’t that she never smiled or joked around. She just had a strong personality and barely showed her emotions. So much so that some people have also stated that she has a “resting bitch face.”Me included…

It had been a few days since our first day, and today was the student government’s presidential campaign. From the autumn semester, which was September to November, Kimi was one of the few selected to run. She had the month of December to prepare for her speech and campaign, and boy, oh boy, did she prepare.

Unfortunately, I had to be there to listen to her read her speech thrice daily to make sure she didn’t miss a word, and sheeven practiced what she’d say in debates. We made flashcards, for heaven’s sake. If the girl didn’t win, I would go crazy.

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