Page 27 of A Stolen Christmas

“It’s so strange he looks exactly like you, but he is different,” Sirah murmured.

“Wait until you see my dad,” I said with a grin before I opened my car door.

Seth was already helping Kat out of their car, so I rushed around as Sirah’s door opened. There would never be a mention of a divorce in my house, let alone Sirah moving out of our home.

“Sirah, so lovely to see you again. Merry Christmas,” he said as he hugged her.

I glanced at his hand and saw he had his middle finger up at me as it rested on her back.

“Merry Christmas, Kat,” I said with a smile, kissing her cheek while ignoring Seth’s attempt to wind me up by touching Sirah.

After the wasp incident, I would always come out on top. It was worth the black eye, and I learned how to apply makeup on the plus side.

“Merry Christmas, Saul, and congratulations,” Katya said as my mum’s front door opened.

“Oh, Sterling, look, it’s true. Saul managed to find a woman,” my mum said, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“It’s a Christmas miracle, darling,” my Dad joined in while Seth sniggered.

“Let’s see if you can keep her,” Seth whispered as he walked past me to take Katya’s arm.

I almost punched his arm, but I remembered Sirah standing beside me.

“Wow, you weren't kidding about your mum,” she murmured as we walked towards the door.

My mum hugged Seth and Kat before she reached Sirah. She laughed as she gave her a hug, and I heard the puff of air leave Sirah as my mother squeezed the air from her lungs out. I shook my head and greeted my Dad with his annual Christmas hug.

“Did you bribe her?” he whispered in my ear. “Or is she a paid actress?”

“No, I kidnapped her on Christmas Eve so I could deliver to you and Mum for Christmas,” I said sarcastically, without thinking of the consequences of my words.

He howled with laughter and slapped my back.

“That’s a good one,” he chortled before he turned towards Sirah. “Welcome to our home, young lady. There is a phone inside in case you need to call the police.”

My mother still held onto Sirah as if she would make a run for it, and Sirah stared at me wide-eyed, but knowing my luck, she was considering my father's offer to call the police. Perhaps this wasn’t one of my brightest ideas to date. I should have kept her at home and fucked her into submission. I rubbed a hand over my face but waited until Sirah was inside the house before I double-locked the front door behind me.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

∞∞∞

My mum had a lovely array of canopies and champagne set out for us. We all removed our jackets, and I gaped at Seth and Katya as they switched places with one another. They stole my idea for matching Christmas sweaters. I paused to read Seth’s gingerbread man sweater, and it said, ‘I put a cookie in that oven →’. Katya’s said,‘I have a cookie in this oven ↓’, pointing towards her gingerbread man.

My mother let out a high-pitched shriek that nearly burst my eardrums. I became concerned when it didn’t end. When she found the capacity to speak, the words came out so fast that I had to concentrate to decipher them.

“There’s a baby in your oven, right?” Mum asked to clarify, and Katya grinned before she nodded to confirm.

“The baby is due in June. You're having a granddaughter. Merry Christmas, Evelyn,” she said as my mum hugged her again.

There was full-blown waterworks as Seth took Kat’s coat from her.

“Sterling, one of them finally did it—two miracles in one Christmas. We are going to have a granddaughter,” she said, wiping her tears away and staring at the ceiling in prayer.

My dad hugged Kat next and kissed her on top of her head.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” he said. When I glanced at Sirah, her eyes glistened with tears.

I took her coat from her hand before I held it out and kissed her knuckles. We were three months behind them, which wasn’t too bad since it took Seth over six years to inseminate his wife. Mine would be pregnant walking down the aisle. Unfortunately, identical twins weren’t hereditary, but I had a good start in knocking Sirah up.

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