CHAPTER 6: MEETING THE FAMILY

JARED'S POV 

I stared at the bright faces before me. The sparkle in their eyes caught me unaware and made me wonder what was going on. 

We stepped out of the car, hoping to enter the new house Sterly said he bought for our fake marriage, but instead, we met four strangers standing at the entrance with radiant smiles on their faces. 

An older scentless woman, an older Alpha man, and two younger Alphas... a man and a woman. 

The middle-aged couple looked really good. The man looked handsome, and so was the woman, but the younger ones weren't left behind either. Especially the female, she looked more like a doll, and if I were still a beta, I would have thought she was a strong omega. 

I stared dumbfoundedly, waiting for them to say anything. But my eyes lingered on the younger female more because I couldn't stop thinking she looked familiar. 

I stared more intently, and my eyes slowly widened. I turned around swiftly, my eyes fell on Sterly's exquisitely handsome face, and then I glanced at the lady again. While Sterly's beauty transcended gender without tipping into androgyny, the lady's beauty wasn't so exaggerated. But their lips were exactly the same, and the coldness in their eyes was identical. 

"Oh my goodness!" The middle-aged woman exclaimed and moved forward. She caught my hands in hers and drew me closer to her. "Look at the adorable little thing. This is my son-in-law, isn't he?" She didn't seem to be asking anyone, though. 

Her fingers moved to my hair, and she gently stroked it down. "He's so adorable." She cooed. "Look at those big pearly eyes. Where did Sterly find a partner this adorable?" 

The word 'adorable' never left her mouth. She raised a hand multiple times, seemingly planning to touch my cheeks, but stopped herself at the last minute. Her eyes wouldn't stop flashing. 

I could tell she was dying to touch my cheeks. 

But wait, were my cheeks that charming? No one ever told me that. 

I couldn't help but smile too. The woman was too nice, and the aura around her made someone relax. I couldn't muster any resistance with her, and judging by her earlier words, I could tell she was Sterly's mother. 

Although the relationship between Sterly and me was fake, his mother had no idea, and the love in her eyes was genuine. 

My eyes caught the smiling middle-aged man beside her. His smile widened every second, to the extent that it looked like his cheeks might tear, but he wouldn't stop. He kept rubbing his palm, almost nervously, and his eyes lingered on his wife often, as if waiting for her to let me go so he could also speak to me. 

I also looked at the young man and woman by the side, but they, too, were staring back. The female's cold expression had morphed into a pleasant smile, and the man was smiling hard, too. Looking closely, the man really looked like his father...

"Let's go inside, shall we?" The female proposed. 

"Inside? Which inside?" Only then did Sterly reply. 

His cold tone was a stark contrast to the cozy atmosphere. 

"How did you even find this place out? I hid it enough." He questioned with a bit of annoyance in his tone. 

The mother rolled her eyes and sneered. "Did you think buying the house under your partner's name would stop us from finding out?" She released my hand and approached Sterly. She pinned his ear and pulled. "Say, were you really adamant on keeping my son-in-law away from me?" She sounded angry. 

Sterly's expression crumbled into a painful groan. 

The father rushed forward, but the two younger ones beat him to it. "Mum, Sterly is in pain." The female pointed out. Her tone sounded agitated, which surprised me. 

Sterly wasn't a life doll, was he? 

He wouldn't break from a simple ear pinch... right?

But I seemed to be the only one with that idea...

The brother also held the mother's arm. "Mum, you know Sterly is always like that. You don't have to hurt him for this." He pleaded. 

The father covered the mother's hand that was pinching Sterly's ear with a perplexed expression on his face. Anyone else would have thought he was the one being punished. "Don't hurt our son, dear. He's in pain already." 

The mother snorted and pulled away. "I only wanted to teach him a bit of a lesson. Why are you all treating me like a violent woman?" She clicked her tongue in annoyance and returned to my side. 

"My darling, come with me, let's go inside." She took my hand again. 

I nodded, still in a daze. I still found it hard to comprehend the drama that took place before me. 

The family was still with Sterly, pacifying him like he was broken!

And he... his expression was still as cold as ever. 

I followed his mother inside, warmth still lingering on my hand where she held it. I shouldn't have felt envious... but I did.