When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0458

Although Mindy had warned her in advance, Miranda was still utterly shocked by the scene before her when she stepped through the door.

She even stepped back outside to double–check, making sure it was indeed her own home. The light gray floor was dirty with shoe prints and trash. People were chatting and snacking, littering the floor with peanut shells, fruit peels, and wrappers, which they threw directly on the floor.

The walls that were once clean now bore two dirty footprints, probably left behind by a mischievous kid. The hum of loud conversations made the villa feel like a hive of bees.

Miranda turned to Mindy with a questioning look. Her mom gave her a helpless smile, implying that things were just how it seemed.

Miranda thought, “Is it possible to unsee it?”

Of course not, because a relative had already noticed her presence and immediately approached them with a wide smile. “Oh my, are you Lionel’s daughter? You’re all grown up and so beautiful? I heard you’re a master student at Bedford College? How capable!”

It’s really Miranda! You’ve grown so tall. Are you married yet? Why are you still studying? You’ve been in school for ages. If you’re not careful, you might end up an old maid in the future!”

“It must be a long journey for you, right? Come and have some peanuts!”

A group of relatives swamped her like they had just spotted a rare animal. They crowded around her and chattered non–stop.

Miranda greeted everyone politely and made small talk but eventually, she excused herself by saying she needed to use the bathroom.

She quickly went upstairs to her room. However, she found the door wide open when she got there. Miranda couldn’t stop herself from frowning and looked around her room. Fortunately, nothing had been touched. She breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door, separating herself from the chaos outside.

Dinner had been taken care of by Mindy. She didn’t want to make dinner, and she felt sorry that Lionel would have to cook after hosting these relatives for a whole day. Thus, she ordered takeout from a restaurant and had the food delivered to their home.

The dozen or so guests were more than satisfied with the meal, However, the work of cleaning up and washing the dishes still fell to Lionel.

When Penelope saw him tying on an apron and heading into the kitchen, she called out to him immediately, “Lionel, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to clean up the kitchen.”

“How can a grown man like you be doing kitchen chores? Where’s your wife?”

“She’s working.”

“Isn’t she always at home? What kind of work needs to be done at night?”

+25 BONUS

Chapter 0458

Lionel tried to explain, “Mindy works from home. Her work can be done on a computer.”

Penelope said, “So, it’s not an urgent job then. She could clean up the kitchen first before working. couldn’t she?”

“She doesn’t need to clean up. I usually clean up the kitchen myself..”

“What?”

Penelope raised her voice. “You mean to say that you do kitchen chores all the time?”

Lionel frowned. “What’s wrong with that? Whoever is free should do it. Does it matter who does the work?”

“You’re the man of the house! As the head, you should be working outside the home. How could you be doing chores in the kitchen?”

Lionel chuckled and said, “In our family, my wife is in charge of making the money.”

Penelope was stunned. Why did Lionel seem so smug about it?

He didn’t want to dwell too long on this topic and retreated to the kitchen to clean up. Penelope stood at the doorway and watched him clean up with ease. It was clear he did this often!

At 9:00 pm, Miranda started yawning after she finished showering. After a long day of travel, her body felt tired and weary. She decided to go to bed early. Turning off the lights, she lay down in bed,

Just as Miranda was drifting off to sleep, a loud crash erupted from downstairs. She sat up in shock and rushed out to see what had happened. It turned out that the two kids had climbed onto the TV cabinet while chasing each other, causing the television to crash down from the wall.