Chapter 89—What Are You Upto?

Lena stared at Henderson and then beckoned him to give the kids a response. Henderson smiled shaking his head. Judging from the looks Lena and the kids were giving him he figured out that they misunderstood his words. He didn't know it was going to be Trent and Itzel who would be at the door hence his reply and he was just a bit unhappy because his and Lena's moment was ruined. "No, of course not. I'm happy to see you both. And you didn't do anything wrong. I just thought that you both were asleep that was why I was surprised when I saw you both here." "Mommy, can we spend the night here? I and Trent watched a scary cartoon before going to bed and now we can't sleep." "Of course, right babe?" Lena glanced at Henderson awaiting his response. "Yes, " Henderson forced a smile. Henderson puffed a breath not only was the sweet moment ruined now the kids were going to sleep in the room with them as well. Trent took his position beside Henderson and Itzel laid beside Lena. And now they couldn't even cuddle? How sweet! "Daddy, you should tell us a bedtime story." Itzel gleamed looking up at Henderson. "Yes, Mommy tells us stories every night." Trent cooed fixing his eyes on Henderson as well. Henderson met Lena's gaze and she beckoned him to say something to them. "Tell us, Daddy, "Itzel's voice echoed again. "Once there was a king and a queen with their prince and princess, they were so happy together until one day a huge wolf invaded the palace and was about to kill the king! Owooooo!" Henderson growled in a frightening tone. "And then came snakes hissing everywhere?" Henderson moved making frightful serpent hisses, which made Lena fidget and clasp to the bed tightly but she tried to keep a neutral expression. She didn't want the kids and Henderson to know that a story was enough to scare her. It was embarrassing, she tried to look brave but deep down her heart was pounding. She hated snakes but here was Henderson talking about them like they were chicken or man's best friend. "Babe, they said they couldn't sleep because of the scary cartoon they watched and now you are telling them a scary bedtime story?" "We love the story, go on Daddy." Trent giggled turning to Itzel who smiling from ear to ear in response to the story. She was flabbergasted by their reactions, she was a full-grown adult but she was scared of the story Trent and Itzel on the other hand appeared to be interested in hearing the rest of it. "Are you scared?" Henderson arched a brow his eyes studying Lena's face, she burst out laughing nervously and then shrugged her shoulder. "Why would I be scared? It's just a story." "Right." Henderson gave a tight nod, a smirk tugging the side of his lips as he stared at Lena. "And the king killed the wolf when it was about to attack the prince. The Queen grabbed a sword and cut off the snake's head." "Yay!" Trent and Lena clapped. "I'm the princess, Trent is the prince, Mommy is the queen and Daddy is the king," Itzel mumbled. "Yes in this case our queen is scared of Snakes and wolves...." Henderson's tone had a tinge of tease to it. They all glanced at Lena and burst out laughing. "That's not true. Moreover, you made up that story, " Lena protested her face twisting in a frown. Henderson's response was a chuckle, "Most stories are made up. Why are you scared of snakes anyway? They are lovely creatures." "I prefer loving them from afar." Lena started. She paused for a second, her lashes fluttered. "No, I would be honest. I'm dead scared of snakes, what's lovely about them?" Lena's nose flared with contempt. "I agree with Mommy. If she doesn't love snakes it is fine, I don't like them too." Itzel supported placing her hand on Lena's thigh. Henderson gasped, " Itzel it's a surprise that those words I just heard came from you. You petted a snake the last time we visited a zoo, you also wanted me to get one and all of a sudden you hate them." Henderson's eyes were wide in disbelief but he wasn't surprised, whenever it had to do with Lena Itzel could let go of her likes for anything. "I only did that because you were so scared to do it, Dad!" Itzel taunted. She shifted her gaze to Lena still laughing. "You are not alone Mommy, even Daddy hates snakes. That day at the zoo he screamed when a fake snake was thrown at him." Itzel exposed. Lena erupted into laughter, and Trent and Itzel joined in as well. Henderson's face twisted in a frown, all Itzel was saying happened two years ago so it came as a surprise to him that she could still remembered every little detail from that day and now she told Lena and Trent about it. He also had a phobia of snakes. He couldn't stand being in the same place as them, so he was amused when Itzel was excited to pet a snake at the zoo even when he insisted she wasn't going to go anywhere near the reptile. But the man in charge told him that the snakes had no venom. Still, it took a lot of reassuring to convince him to let Itzel. Now it was Lena's turn to laugh. She laughed so hard that she rolled over and fell off the bed. Still, it didn't make her stop laughing, she sat on the floor and continued to laugh. "Look who was teasing me? Turns out we are birds of the same feather." Lena mumbled amidst laughter. Once she was done laughing to her heart's content, she got off the floor and sat on the bed. "You are not alone, babe. We are in this together." Lena smiled but Henderson scoffed, his lips curled up. "Yeah right. After laughing at me now you are saying encouraging words." Henderson whined. "Daddy you started it, " Itzel uttered taking Lena's side. She glanced at Trent for support and he nodded his head, "That's true Daddy." Trent smiled. "You both, it's time to sleep," Henderson said. He knew arguing with them was going to be of no use. "But we aren't sleepy, " Itzel and Trent said in unison, they turned to Lena waiting for her to say something but she just smiled. "Your Daddy..." Itzel sighed interjecting before Lena could finish her sentence, " No need to say it Mommy, we know you are with Daddy on this. Trent we better just sleep." Trent bobbed his head and lay on the bed, "Good night Daddy, Good night Mommy." "Good night parents," Itzel said in a dramatic tone making Lena and Henderson laugh. They pulled the duvet over themselves and no words were heard from them again. Henderson shook his head, " You two are unbelievable, don't tell me you are upset because I and your mom and said it's time to sleep." No response was gotten from Trent and Itzel rather they started to make snoring sounds. "Baby, we should go outside for some fresh air since they are asleep, " Henderson said in a whisper. Instantaneously, Trent's and Itzel's eyes flew open and they sat up. "Sweeties, I thought you both were asleep?" Lena's brows rose, and a small smile marred her face. She glanced at Henderson and they burst out laughing. "I knew they were pretending to be asleep." Henderson chortled. "If you and Mommy go anywhere, we'll have to go with you. I'm scared." Itzel's voice cracked as she spoke, her hands grabbed Lena's as she clutched to her tightly. "Yes, me too." Trent exhaled. Earlier when they shut their eyes, flashes of the cartoon they had watched earlier kept flashing in their head making it difficult for them to drift off to sleep. "Now I'm curious, what is it about the cartoon that has made you two this scared? You two weren't even a bit shaken listening to the story about wolves and snakes, what could be scarier?" "Dragons and giant crocodiles!" itzel let out. "And monsters too," Trent added. Henderson let out a short laugh before shaking his head, "Aside from the crocodile, the remaining things aren't even real. There is really nothing to be scared about, you both can just go to your rooms. Your mom and I will take you there." "No, " Itzel and Trent wriggled their heads in disagreement. "It's fine, your Daddy is just joking. You can sleep here even tomorrow as well." Lena smiled pulling them into a warm embrace. "Really, " their eyes twinkled with excitement and they looked up at Henderson. "Yes but just for today..." He stated. Trent and Itzel fell asleep shortly afterwards and before Henderson knew it Lena had drifted to sleep as well so he just had to force himself to sleep. The next morning Lena was the first to wake as usual, she went to check on Alia right after she was done brushing her teeth. Alia was already awake when Lena came into the room, her leg was a bit swollen but Lena didn't worry so much about it since the doctor told them yesterday when he came that that was bound to happen due to the strain and that it wasn't going to be a cause for alarm. A knock came on Alia's door as she and Lena were discussing. "Come in, " Alia answered. The door creaked open and Madam Carmen walked in. "Good morning, Lena." Madam Carmen smiled giving Lena a hug. "Good morning Aunt Nana, " Lena returned the smile. Madam Carmen's gaze shifted to Alia. "How is your leg?" She inquired sitting on the bed beside Alia. "I feel better, and the pain is less compared to yesterday." A knock came on the door once again this time Lena answered it. "Come in." The door opened and Henderson sauntered in. His lips curved up happily and he embraced Lena, he kissed her after they broke the hug before shifting his attention to the others who were in the room. "Morning Aunt Nana, " Henderson greeted with a warm smile. "Hope you had a good sleep? How's your arm?" Madam Carmen inquired her voice soft with concern. "Much better now." "Where are the kids Darling?" Lena asked. "Still sleeping, " Henderson told her and she nodded. "Thank you all for your care and concern. Once I've had my bath I'll be on my way back to my house." Alia uttered making everyone's eyes wander to her. The corner of Madam Carmen's eyes crinkled. "Why? Your leg is barely healed and you are talking about leaving already?" "Well, you all have done a lot for me and I don't want to weigh you down with my problems. I don't want to be a burden to you guys." Alia sighed. "A burden? You are not a burden Alia. We have to make sure you are perfectly fine before you leave." Lena countered. Henderson chipped in a smooth tone."Yeah, you'll stay until you are fully recovered." Alia didn't protest against it, she wanted to be with her family and soon to be sister in law but because of the mess she had managed to create she felt it was going to be weird but now that Henderson himself said she could stay, she felt welcomed. "Please I need to get to the bathroom, Lena can you help me?" Alia requested. Lena nodded and strolled to Alia's side just when she was about to take Alia's hand, Madam Carmen stepped in and stopped her. "Don't worry, I'll do it." Lena shook her head, " Aunt Nana, I can do it. You have other things to do while I really don't have that much on my plate at the moment." "You can go take care of your fiance, he looks like he needs some morning attention. Probably a quickie, " Madam Carmen said in a whisper making a blush find its way to Lena's cheek. Madam Carmen didn't shy away from teasing Lena and Henderson whenever she felt like it. Alia who overheard the statement nodded in support, " Aunt Nana is right you should go." Henderson stared at Madam Carmen and Alia with arched brows when they threw mischievous glances at him. "Henderson you can't wait for the wedding right?" Madam Carmen spoke up. "Aunt Nana, we haven't done anything yet..." Lena blurted out making the two older women turn to her. After their eyes scrutinised Lena's face for a while, their glances darted to Henderson. "I can see that, " Madam Carmen nodded. But from the tone of her voice, Lena could tell it was a sarcastic remark. "You two do your thing, we won't interfere." Madam Carmen chuckle putting her hands up in the air. Henderson ambled over to where Lena was, his left hand slung around Lena's waist and he leaned in and kissed her. "I better get to the bathroom.." Alia coughed making Lena pull away and look in her direction. She smiled trying to hide the shades of her cheeks which were now tomato red. She glanced at Henderson who had a smile dancing on his lips, his grip around her waist still firm. Why did he have to kiss her in front of them? "Alia, we'll bring breakfast to your room. So you don't have to worry about coming downstairs for breakfast." Alia stayed in the mansion for close to two weeks, she only left when the doctor confirmed to Henderson and Lena that she was fully recovered. She still visited the house since Henderson's and Lena's wedding plans had started. The cast on Henderson's arm had been taken off and he was now completely well. Irene poured some wine into the empty glass and handed it over to Brian whose eyes widened in surprise, he started at the glass extended to him reluctant to take it from Irene. They were having a meeting in regard to Lena's and Henderson's wedding plans. The wedding planner had come over to the house. Irene was serving drinks to everyone present in the living room at the moment so Brisn didn't really expect that he was going to get one since Irene was the one serving the drinks. "Take it already, I didn't poison it so you don't have to be scared." Irene chuckled. Still, Brian didn't make a move to take it from Irene he just stared at her with amused brows. An annoyed sigh left her lips, she picked up the drink which she poured for herself and extended it to Brian who took it immediately. She scoffed rolling her eyes at him. "Poisoning you is what I consider a waste of my poison." Irene shrugged her shoulders. "Here I was thinking you were going to give Brian a drink. I guess you were saving the last for him. How sweet!" Cleo purred dramatically placing her hand on her chest. "It's a surprise, Irene why are you nice to Brian?" Lena questioned. Irene frowned playfully as she shifted her gaze to Lena, " what are you talking about? I'm nice to everyone." Brian snorted, " everyone with the exception of me, right?" Irene chortled, afterwards she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Let's put that behind us, Considering the fact that you are the best man and I the maid of honour. We should try to get along so the wedding can be a success, " Irene smiled politely at Brian who let out a huff in response. "What are you up to Irene?" Brian questioned giving Irene a suspicious look. He doubted if Irene actually meant her words or if it was some kind of prank.