"Wakey-wakey!"
A bright sunlight pierced through the room, illuminating the darkness with a fierce gale of morning breeze.
By reflex, Miles launched on his butt, sitting upright and clapped his palm to face to ease the sudden aches in his eyes.
"Argh." He let out a grunt as he gritted his teeth in intensely.
" Jeez, you should have auditioned for the sleeping beauty cast."
"Stop, Cassie."
"Oh, I know. He must have had a great night. Hehehe-"
Grinding his eyes vigorously, Miles tried to make sense of what was going on, his surroundings and the familiar voices.
A moment passed and he rubbed his temples finally able to raise his head, his eyes squinting at them.
Cassie, Deb, Josephine, he picked up their appearances and position.
Cassie, in her school uniform, wasnât so restrained and appeared to look at him with interest.
Deb was by the window, dressed in her casual work outfits. She was the one that let the sunlight in.
Josephine meanwhile held a small plate containing omelet, bread and a cup of steaming hot tea.
Just then, Miles felt the subtle movement in the sheet beside him and tilted his head.
Hannah was wide awake, resting on the bed frame while staring at him lovingly.
He wasnât the one with a hangover, but the events of last night had greatly deprived him of his sleep while putting a strenuous burden on his mind.
âI wish.â Grunting once more, he responded to Cassieâs last remark.
"Good morning." He greeted Hannah.
"Hmm." Hannah nodded.
"Iâm glad youâre awake." She added.
Josephine was also dressed in her uniform so she gently brought the plate towards Hannah.
"Here."
"Thank you baby." Hannah smiled before sipping the tea.
The room settled into an awkward silence.
For the three, they thought back to what happened the night before and secretly glanced at the other.
Catching the two secretly glancing at him, Miles pretended like he didnât and quietly summoned the systemâs screen to appear.
Switching to the Infatuation Gauge, he set his eyes on Hannahâs and Cassieâs.
[âHannah Sinclairâ98%]
[âCassie Sinclair â98%]
âWorth it.â
Milesâ eyes glinted, he was just 2% from sleeping with his stepmother and sister. If that happened, he would have just 3 sisters left to conquer.
__
""Do you guys want to go to school late?"
Hannah let out a sigh at last, unable to stay lost in her thoughts or properly enjoy the meal with so many eyes on her.
Shaking her head in response, Deb spoke up first as the oldest sibling in the room.
"What happened mom?
You drank yourself into a stupor last night."
Placing down the cup she was about to sip from, Hannah took a deep breath. Knowing it would come down to this, she had revised her response countless times, but remembering what happened yesterday, she broke down at once. Her eyes shimmered with tears pooling within them, her burdened and bitterness revealed bare before her children.
"Mom?" Cassie reached out in a heart-breaking tone, whilst Milesâ eyes dangerously turned cold.
Josephine and Deb grimaced, barely holding back too. Whatever could break Hannah was definitely horrible.
Seeing her childrenâs care, Hannah forced a gentle smile and wiped the pool from her eyes.
"Itâs a long story. Iâm about to lose my job."
Silence...
"Why?" Josephine exhaled and sat on the bed, placing her hand on Hannahâs thighs.
Hannah bit her lips softly as if struggling to say it but then gave in and held Josephineâs hand firmly.
"Because... they are after my body."
The room froze in silence.
Seeing the angry spark flaring in their eyes, Hannah nodded and added.
"Itâs either I give up my body or lose my job. But donât worry, I already made up my mind to resign."
In the silence...
Ding! Ding!
Just then, the system rang its bells.
[Youâve received a Sub-quest on Family Man main quest.]
[Sub Quest: Your Stepmother, Hannah Is At Risk Of Losing Her Job, Do Something.]
The system was quite detailed with the Quest, and Miles knew how twisted the System actually was when it said something like this.
_
"Itâs okay Mom. You donât have to be sad, "Iâll deal with it."
Breaking the silence, everyoneâs eyes turned to him with surprise.
Milesâ demeanour had turned cold and he gave off the sense of a father figure at this moment.
Even Hannah was speechless and seemed taken aback. She thought he was just comforting her, however, Miles got down from the bed and smiled.
"You donât need to worry, just stay home and rest. Everything will be okay."
There was no comedic intent in Milesâ tone, instead his confidence left them feeling dazed, instantly diffusing the solemnity in the air.
"Okay." Hannah promptly revealed a smile. The girls also felt relieved.
"Alright, I need to bathe and get going. Iâm already quite late." Miles scanned the room, seeing every other person was dressed and prepared to head out except for him. In fact, he would be late for school before he even finished.
The room felt awkward after he left, leaving the girls to clamour outside and Hannah to eat in silence.
âHeâs just like Greg.â She thought with a melancholic look, blushing the next instant after recalling what she did last night.
__
30 minutes later.
Slinging his backpack behind his back, Miles hurried down the stairs, towards the door.
"... And where did you think youâre heading, lad?"
A voice sounded from the kitchen, causing him to draw a pause in his steps.
Tilting his head in its direction, Miles saw Hannah walking towards him with a brown paper bag in hands. Seeing her dressed in a loose fitting shirt and pants that hid her shape with a simple long woven robe draped over her shoulders, Miles was taken aback and forgot to speak.
"... school?" When he did speak, Hannah smiled and held up the lunch she packed.
"Without eating?" She shook her head and handed the brown paper bag to him.
âHuh?â
" Thanks." Miles muttered after a sense of deja vu took hold of him. In his past life, he once had a mother too, and even in this life, it had been years since Hannah made him lunch since she had been mostly occupied with work.
Seeing his wistful look, Hannah smiled.
" I know I havenât been there for you guys, Iâm truly sorry. Iâm here for you now."
" Itâs okay Mom. I know it wasnât easy."
Miles replied.
There was a moment of silence, before Hannah spoke again.
"I know you donât want Phine dropping you off. But, what about I drop you off today..." She paused, letting her words sink in.
âWell... that was his ridiculous choice but I donât mind flaunting my MILF of a stepmother.â
" Sure why not?" Miles promptly said, causing Hannah to smile and they headed out.
â
5 minutes later.
The car was driven in silence.
It wasnât awkward on Milesâ part but it was on Hannah.
For her, she couldnât remember the last time she was in a car with Miles except for last night while she was mostly asleep.
Thinking about it now, she felt deeply guilty.
Was this how Josephine felt too? She would think.
"Humm." She struggled on what to sayâ
" How have you been doing in school?" She asked.
Miles retrieved his gaze from the flashing view and glanced at her before responding.
"Good. Itâs been mostly good I guess."
" Oh... sure." Hannah shook her head, addingâ
"What about the personal stuff? Like... Do you have a girlfriend, or a crush, a girl you like maybe? You get it?"
She actually fumbled when saying this as the vivid sensation of Milesâ dick flashed in her mind.
âIs there a girl that could have possibly received that?â she thought. There was no way those little girls could.
âIs she actually kidding me?â
"Well, not really. I have a girl I plan on asking out. I have not really thought of it yet but once I have the chance. I would."
"Oh?" Hannah raised her brows and nodded approvingly.
She couldnât help but glance at Miles.
âWith his looks, girls must be flocking to be with him.â Even her heart fluttered when she glanced at him, those inexperienced girls wouldnât be able to resist.
The drive continued in silence once more before she spoke up again.
"So... I know that you never actually got the (talk) since your dad wasnât here...."
"... Are you still a virgin? If you arenât, then you better use protection whenever you do stuff like that."
Her heart leaped as she completed the statement, unable to believe she had actually said those words.
âI sounded cringe. Oh my, this is going to turn out awkward.â
Just as she waited for Miles to blush or react. He only stayed silent for a moment before glancing at her.
"I already know that mom.
As for being a virgin? Iâm not sure if itâs right to say this, but I am no longer a baby in regards to sex." Miles answered honestly and he received a notification of Hannah reaching 100% Infatuation Gauge.
Speechless and trying to hide her flushed cheeks, Hannah quickly came to a halt because they had arrived at their destination.