Previously on Cash Legacy…
The Cash family say goodbye to Zachery
The house gets a major makeover
Adrian’s relationship with Kristine leads to an argument with Ben
Despite the naysayers, Adrian and Kristine tie the knot
Chapter 2.3: Relations
Warning: The end of this chapter is NSFW
The Honeymoon
To be honest, Adrian wasn’t too sure about Sarla Sands for their honeymoon but Kristine insisted, saying that she once went on vacation there with her parents when she was 10. Adrian respected the sentimental value of the place and agreed to go there with her.
The newlyweds arrived at Sarla Sands less than an hour before midnight and checked into the Verde Hotel, where they would enjoy the remaining minutes of their wedding night.
In the morning, the hotel’s top chef (who was a friend of Kristine’s late father) made them a scrumptious breakfast.
Afterwards, they went for a romantic walk by a lake. The hotel was situated on very fertile land, a distance from the other sandy areas.
But the couple was curious to see a pyramid that was featured on a Sarla Sands brochure. There was a lot of talk about that pyramid (by RLD!), especially since it had been renovated inside. The couple booked a bunch of activities which were unusual for pyramid so, they were curious to see if their activities would be available.
So, after their walk, they headed to the location of the pyramid. The outside was very old and ethnic but the inside was like a modern theme park. There was even a gym, much to Kristine’s excitement, and a lounge on the second floor. They were one of the first people to arrive, which meant that they didn’t have to cue for anything.
The couple took a painting class together, played some motion gaming, had nonalcoholic drinks at the lounge, and did some all-important sightseeing.
Next, they took a trip to an art gallery and declared themselves “professional abstract artists” based on their achievements at the painting class.
They concluded their evening with a lovely dinner at a restaurant.
Back at home, Haven wasn’t doing too well. She couldn’t sleep and wasn’t eating well, so Adrian and Kristine came from their honeymoon a day early.
When Adrian asked Dalia what was wrong with Haven, he found out that she was just sick with worry.
“Is that what you guys are worried about? You can’t be serious,” Adrian said to Dalia as he sat at the new dining table with his wife and little sister.
It turned out that Ben asked Haven if he could move back home because he wasn’t coping alone where he was. The same week, Mallory asked if she could live with them because she was having some financial problems, despite the hefty inheritance she and her siblings got.
Kristine already began to spend her share of inheritance on a few upgrades to the kitchen and her new bedroom with Adrian.
“What happened between those two anyway?” Dalia asked with frustration. When Ben and Mallory had their fallout, she was still a baby.
“It’s a long story,” Kristine replied, “In summary, they were childhood friends, they dated in high school and things didn’t work out. Anyway, what do they think about living together?”
Dalia shrugged, “I don’t know, actually. Mom said we mustn’t tell them until they get here. She thinks it will be easier to handle them that way. Mom didn’t want to upset Ben and she also didn’t want to say no to Mallory because she’s your sister.”
“I see. This should be interesting. So, when are they coming?” Adrian asked.
“Probably this afternoon,” Dalia replied.
This were about to get really interesting, Adrian thought.
Ben arrived first, which was good because then he would probably be in his room when Mallory arrived.
“Welcome back home, brother,” Adrian said as he ushered Ben in, “Why don’t you head upstairs, check out your new room, and see if there’s anything you need, okay?”
Ben didn’t suspect a thing and did just as Adrian suggested.
Unfortunately, when Ben came downstairs to chat with Adrian, Mallory arrived right then. Ben decided to answer the door, since he wasn’t a guest anymore.
“What are you doing here?” Ben questioned her.
“I’m moving in here. What are you doing here? Checking on me?” she retorted.
“But… But I’m moving in here too!”
They were both completely mortified.
Adrian came outside to check on them.
“Is it true? Is she going to be living here?” Ben asked repeatedly. Adrian nodded and the two of them burst into a wave of complaining.
When Adrian couldn’t handle it (he could never handle Ben), Kristine came outside. And like the big older sister she was, she got them to calm down and go inside.
“Fine! But she better stay away from me,” Ben said.
“As if I’d try to come near you,” Mallory responded.
When Ben and Mallory were settled in their rooms and far from each other, there was peace again.
Adrian and Kristine headed out to handle their own secret matters.
The couple had been keeping a secret since before the wedding and no one suspected a thing. No one even noticed how excited they looked whenever they came back from one of their outings.
But it was getting harder to be happy, with Mallory and Ben living in the same house. The months after they moved in were something else. They could start a fight about anything, anywhere.
And it was causing Kristine stress and making Adrian angry. Their latest fight was at dinner and Adrian couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Enough! You two better sort out your issues today. Kristine is pregnant and your petty fights are causing her unnecessary worry. I swear, if anything goes wrong, you two are out of here and don’t bother coming back, ever!” Adrian threatened.
For the rest of dinner, Mallory and Ben were quiet while Haven and Kristine were struggling to make small talk. Dalia, who joined later, couldn’t understand why.
After dinner, Ben stopped Mallory upstairs for a chat.
“I guess we better talk about this before Adrian throws us out,” Ben suggested.
“You mean before he throws you out,” she corrected him, “You know what, Ben? I hate you.”
“Well, I don’t like you either!” he replied.
She shook her head and said, “No, you don’t get it. I don’t just don’t like you, I hate you.”
“You hate me? You’re the one who cheated on me and had me find out after you broke up with Brody.”
“Are you still going on about that?” Mallory sighed, “It was high school! We do stupid things, graduate, and laugh about them after. Besides, you’re the one who broke up me. You didn’t even care how I felt. Did you ever even care about me?”
“That’s the problem,” Ben replied, “I do care. I’ve always cared about you but you’re stupid to realize it.”
She stormed towards him as if she was going to slap him but then suddenly, she changed her mind and kissed him.
Everything told him that it was wrong but he couldn’t stop. As he lifted her up and carried her to his room, he couldn’t believe what was happening. Perhaps his mind had forgotten what it was like to kiss her but the feeling never left his lips.
Even as their clothes fell to the floor, he still couldn’t believe it, and neither could Mallory.
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