My Wife is a Sassy Queen

At Liliana’s place, the vibe was depressing.

Mariana aborted the child as planned. She did not regret it or second-guess her decision even for a moment, but she was inexplicably sad.

James had, finally, stayed true to his word. He also stayed at Liliana’s place and took care of Mariana. Though rather subtly to avoid embarrassing her.

He had held Mariana’s hand throughout the procedure and all her checkups.

But he had kept his distance from her in public. He did not want to ruin her reputation anymore.

Jennifer had taken two days off to accompany Mariana through that phase, but Henry was too busy, and she had rushed back.

Besides accompanying Mariana without being explicit, James also helped her manage her office work.

He had been interfering with her work already, so he slipped into that role effortlessly. He contacted Mariana’s secretary and helped her clear all her pending work.

One weekend, Kyle came to their place as usual, but instead of looking cheery as he always did, he looked upset.

Nathaniel asked him what was wrong, but he shook his head.

After dinner, he asked Liliana, “Mommy, I want to ask you something.”

Liliana knew he was asking for a private audience, so she led him to her study.

“What is it, honey?” Liliana asked.

Kyle pondered for a moment before asking, “Mommy, what is gay?”

Liliana was stunned. She did not know how to answer his question. “Where did you hear that?”

Kyle answered, “I heard it from Aunty Jessi. She said people called daddy ‘gay’ and it would affect his job. Is that a bad thing?”

Liliana rubbed her brows. The Prestons were indeed troublesome. “No, honey. It’s not a bad thing.”

She tried to explain the best she could to a six-year-old child. “It’s not a bad thing at all. Don’t let others tell you otherwise. As for what exactly it means, how about I explain it to all three of you together?”

She internally thought, ‘Nathan knows how to explain these things shamelessly. I honestly don’t know how to do that.’

Kyle nodded, ‘Mommy always explains new things to us together.’

Kyle asked another thing that had been bugging him for days, “They were talking about Daddy and Aunty Mer’s marriage. Great-grandma said that daddy would not marry anyone for money and unpaid nanny. She would support anyone he wants to marry, but he does not need to because he has me. What does that mean, Mommy?”

Liliana said truthfully, “One of the reasons people get married is to continue the family. Traditionally the family line is maintained by the boys – sons and their sons and so on.”

Kyle furrowed his brows in concentration.

Liliana continued, “For example – my grandfather was Leon Petrova. He had only one child – my mother, Anne Petrova. My grandmother’s family, Green, had other people to maintain the family line. Her uncle and his son. Hence my mother was only called Anne Petrova and not Anne Green Petrova. She could still get named like that and probably would have in an ordinary case, but she was to take her father’s responsibilities. Work-wise it’s easier if you have just the family name.”

“I was named Liliana Petrova Aprice. Because I was my mother’s only child, my grandfather’s responsibility fell to me. Later, my father did not want me to manage his responsibility, so I became Liliana Petrova.”

“Jo and Li are called Petrova-Smith because they have to manage my and Nathan’s responsibilities.”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Are you with me so far?”

Kyle nodded, “I think so, Mommy.”

Kyle tried to explain. “If Aunty Mer gets married, her kids will become Jacobson-something. She is an only child and has to manage Grandpa Andrew’s work. If Aunty Jen gets married, her baby need not be Cox-something because aunty Jen has brothers to help their father with work. Is that right?”

Liliana beamed in pride, “Yes, that’s right. In your case, Liam already has you. You can have a child and continue the Preston name. As such, Liam does not need to get married and have children.”

Kyle nodded in understanding.

Liliana added, “About work and unpaid nanny – your great-grandmother meant that Liam should work hard if he needs money. And that he is raising you well. He does not need to get married so that someone can teach you lessons and monitor you.”

Kyle frowned. The adults were complicated.

Liliana continued, “For example – I have lots of money, and Nathan has lots of money. Even if we never work and only enjoy going on vacations, shopping, and having parties all the time, we will still have lots of money left.”

“Some people are lazy. They want to marry someone like Nathan because they want vacations and expensive things without earning it.”

“Aunty Mer is also rich. Anyone who marries her can spend her money without working hard. Your great-grandmother wanted to tell everyone that such people are bad people.”

“And since Liam is a good person, he won’t marry Aunty Mer just to spend her money.”

Kyle nodded.

“I think I understand it, Mommy.”

Liliana hugged him, “Good! Don’t worry about all these things. No matter what happens, we will all be a family.”

Kyle nodded and sighed in relief.