Rudy placed the breakfast on the dining table beside Lilim.
"Get off the table, Lilim. You are not a kid anymore."
"I will eat my breakfast, you eat yours."
"..." Lilim grinned and spread her legs. "Here."
Rudy grabbed Lilim's leg and pulled her off the table.
"Mom is standing outside."
"She is eavesdropping on us?"
"I want to say no, but yes, she is. She has placed her ear on the door and is trying to listen to our conversation. You start eating, I will be right back."
Rudy walked to the front door and placed his hand on the handle to open it, but he thought it would be better if he surprised her instead. So he teleported outside the house behind Rebecca and tapped on her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Shh! Let me…" Rebecca stopped on her words and turned around with a confused look on her face.
"You are?"
"Wait, if you are here then… who is…"
"Hmm?"
Rebecca knew that if she told she heard Rudy talking with a girl in the house and hence she decided to listen to them, the truth would be exposed.
"It seems Lucy hasn't left for school yet. And she was talking with someone…. do you think she brought a guy home? Maybe her boyfriend?"
"Let's go and check."
"Yes."
Rebecca unlocked the door with the key and went inside without making any noise. 1/3rd of the living room was visible from the hallway's entrance, so Rebecca stretched her neck to get a full view of the couch, but it was empty.
She then walked towards the living room and heard the tinkling noise, seemingly the sound of a fork and spoon hitting the plate.
She saw Lilim eating breakfast with messy hair and clothes.
"Lilim?! What are you doing here?!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"Oh, if it isn't Rebecca. You came at the right time. Daddy and I just finished our moment." She pointed her finger at her hair and the loose laces of her top.
"I had to wear clothes in a hurry, though. Daddy wanted to continue, but I stopped him~"
Rebecca glared at Rudy with an angry face. She didn't say a word, but her glare said thousands.
"Lilim!" Rudy shouted her name. "Are you out of my mind? Sex is taboo in front of her."
He then turned to Rebecca and said, "Mom, she is lying. She is just trying to tease you."
"Anything else? Her hair and clothes are messy, and you two were alone in the house. And you are still lying about it?"
"Oh, come on, mom. Trust me for once. Why do you always assume that I am lying? I have never lied to you. I am not like you who hid things from me because of some stupid diary!"
"Don't raise your voice, and don't talk back to me! And it's not about trust, it's about what I see and hear. If there is a dead body that was stabbed and someone is holding a knife, it's normal to draw the conclusion that the person is the killer."
"And drawing conclusions without seeing the full picture is stupid."
"Are you calling me—"
"I am sorry!" Lilim lowered her gaze and gulped down anxiously. "That was a lie. I just wanted to tease you, as always. I didn't know you two would start fighting like this. Really, I am sorry. You can slap me or beat me if you want. I will never do something like this again."
She got up from the chair and walked past Rudy after saying, "I will take my leave now."
"Hold up!" Rebecca stopped Lilim by grabbing her head. "You said we could slap and beat you, so where do you think you are going without taking your punishment, huh?"
"Go sit on the chair and eat your breakfast. I will do the same." She turned to Rudy and calmly said, "You should eat too."
Rudy turned around and went to his room after saying, "I am getting late for school."
"Hey, wait—!"
Before Rebecca could stop him, he teleported to his room, changed his clothes, and left the house through his room's window.
Lilim gulped down once again and avoided eye contact with Rebecca.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I truly regret it. You two had a fight because of me."
"It's not the first time we have fought. I think it's for the best if I let him cool down before talking to him again."
"Are you… going to beat me…?" Lilim asked hesitantly.
"Your punishment is due for later. But you better be ready at any time. I hold my grudges very lightly… no matter how petty it is."
SIGH!
LIlim held her head in her hands and cursed herself.
"Why did I even pull a prank like that? I guess I was excited that Rudy remembered everything and we could go back to normal again… but… I got ahead of myself."
Rebecca watched Lilim in distress and rolled her eyes.
"That won't work on me. Seriously, I was in such a good mood today because I talked with Jessica, but then you ruined everything."
"Do you think… Jess is still angry at me?" she asked in a low voice.
"Huh?"
"We met earlier, but she didn't even talk to me. Forget about talking, she never glanced my way. I was waiting for her to look at me so I could talk with her, but… she treated me like a stranger…"
"I was asking about the 'still angry' part. What did you do?"
"Don't you remember the last time we all were together? You were at the school, and Jess and I were playing with Rudy. And then Jess tried to hog Rudy all to herself, so I got angry and took Rudy with me somewhere far away…"
"And then you forgot your way back…" Rebecca finished Lilim's sentence.
"Yes…"
"I don't think Jessica even remembers that. You both were the same age and fought all the time."
"Then why didn't she talk to me earlier?"
"Ask her when you meet her again," she responded with a shrug.
Meanwhile, Rudy was on his way to school with Janet.
