WEREWOLF UNEXPECTED LOVE

"Ma'am Melissa, that was brave of you. I'm so proud of you," Cherry said, eyes bright.

"Thanks to both of you - especially you, Cherry. I don't know what I would've done without you." Melissa smiled and spread her hands as if to demonstrate how much she meant it.

"Awww, thanks ma'am. I'm grateful you're my boss." Cherry beamed.

"What about me?" Kan asked, leaning forward.

"Thanks to you too," Melissa replied.

"You're welcome, ma'am." He took her hand and kissed the knuckles with deliberate tenderness.

"Whoa, easy, Kan - she's still your boss." Melissa flushed, and the three of them laughed.

"Why don't we have a little celebration? Just the three of us," Cherry suggested. "To celebrate you, ma'am."

Melissa nodded. "Yes. That's perfect. I'll get the wine - Kan, fetch the glasses?"

"Copy that, ma'am." He saluted playfully, and they dissolved into laughter.

"I am not going to sit here and watch her take the industry from us," Amelia hissed, pacing the length of the room. "People will laugh at us, Honey. What about Aria? And our adopted daughter, Lisa? How will they cope?"

********

"You don't have to worry, Amelia. I'll make sure she's silenced - like I did with her parents," came the cold reply.

Amelia's face twisted. "I thought erasing her memory would make her forget the company too. That crazy child - I hate her!" She half-yelled, a raw edge to her voice.

"Shh, lower your voice. The kids are still awake," the other voice warned.

"Whatever," Amelia muttered, but the menace in the room lingered like smoke.

THE NEXT DAY

"Lisa, did you see the guy who came with Melissa? Her interpreter?" Aria squealed, thrusting her phone into Lisa's face. "That guy is hot - like, so handsome. Look at this post; the likes are through the roof. I'll get him. No man can resist me."

Lisa glanced, unenthused. "Really? Keep dreaming, Sisto. He might be different - not every man is like James, who chases after whatever's under a skirt."

"Shut up. What do you know? I used James; he's finished for me. That Kan guy is everything - and that ugly Melissa isn't supposed to have him." Aria's voice snapped with jealousy.

"I don't know when you'll admit Melissa is more beautiful than you," Lisa said quietly. "God blessed her: she's naturally pretty without makeup, she has a warm voice, and she sings with her heart. You buy your songs - she writes hers. And now she has a hottie at her side. She's blessed."

"Shut up, idiot. At least I'm better than you. You're useless." Aria lunged for the most brutal insult she could manage. "If I were our mother, I would have aborted you when I knew I had you in my belly."

Lisa's expression hardened at the cruelty, but she kept her voice low. "Likewise. And by the way, I still have your sex video - so watch yourself, or I'll make sure everyone sees it."

"Get out of my room!" Aria screamed.

"Watch your back, ugly bitch," Aria sneered as she stormed out without closing the door. "I'll stab you from places you won't see. Aria is ugly! Aria is ugly!" Her taunts trailed away down the hallway.

Lisa shut her eyes for a moment, the adrenaline fading into a hollow ache. The household's laughter and chaos downstairs felt a world away; something harsher had begun to settle into the corners of their lives.