Chapter 7 Father-in-law Tension

• LEONA CHASE
• "The call between them went very well," I said to my husband, but as usual, he said nothing and concentrated on what he was doing with his phone.
• "He believes he is talking to Samantha, and it became clear to me how much he loved that girl. But in another word, I believe Jordan and Genesis could have made a perfect match," I added, but the car remained silent.
• "You spied on their call?" he asked me, and a girlish grin came to my face.
• "What? I had to make sure neither of them would say anything that might ruin my entire plan," I explained why I had to bug my daughter-in-law's phone. It was supposed to help me intervene between their calls when something was going to ruin my plan.
• "Whatever, Leona. Just get this done and over with," he replied the moment the car stopped. We alighted from the car and made our way to the entrance of our in-laws' house. Liam wanted to see the said girl Jordan would be getting married to in person, so he had made me put aside all I was doing to come with him.
• I personally asked the security guards to stay behind so we wouldn't make the Connors feel intimidated.
• "I'm so sorry for this.. I didn't know you were here, come in," Conor apologized as he saw us in front of the door. Then he came forward and his eyes widened when he recognized my husband. As a man, he did his possible best to acknowledge my husband and went further to ask us what he could offer us.
• "Your daughter.....where is she, I have things to do," my husband said coldly.
• "I am here...right here," Genesis yelled and came out in haste.
• "Mom Leona," she shrieked, feeling more excited than I had seen her since all this, and I smiled widely. She was literally glowing, and I could guess exactly why.
• I got up and pulled her into a hug. I couldn't have asked for a better wife for my son; I just loved her. When I pulled away, I turned to my husband, who looked dumbstruck at the sight of Genesis.
• "That's my husband....."
• "Liam Chase, I know..."
• “Good day, sir," she said excitedly, interrupting me. I turned to Liam and saw the way he suddenly looked dumbstruck.
• Liam got up from the couch, his eyes still on Genesis. I stared at both of them and watched how they reacted to each other.
• My husband tried to cover up his shock when he saw Genesis, but I could tell something was wrong, something was different. And Genesis, for the love of Christ, did not quiver at the sight of the man who was feared by everyone. She stared at him straight in the eye and did not look away.
• "Are you ready to be a Chase?" he asked with his normal tone, and her smile disappeared. I pushed back a smile and the urge to glare at Liam. That wasn’t a question to ask out of the blue; he made it look like she was going for a death race.
• "I think I am," she replied.
• "Being a Chase is not going to be the same as just being you. You have my name to uphold, are you ready for that?" he asked.
• Genesis looked away and bit her lip. She held her hands together, and I could tell my husband was making her nervous.
• "I think I am," she replied again, and that was not a good reply, and I prayed fervently in my heart that Liam wouldn't burst open in front of the Connors. She was to be married to our son, and I expected he had to have a little control over his ego and anger so he doesn't scare her away, but that expectation was cut short.
• "You can't keep thinking; it's either a yes or a no. Being a Chase doesn't come easy, and I wouldn't want to think that I made a mistake. Now are you ready to be a Chase?" he asked in that dreadful voice of his, and I felt like crying at that point.
• I looked at Genesis, who was trembling. The house was absolutely quiet and tense as nobody spoke, neither could I talk at that point.
• After a while, slowly, Genesis looked up and stared at my husband in the face again, daring him. Her reaction shocked me; it was Liam. I couldn't even dare to look at him when he was slightly pissed, but she stood there, overcame her panic attack and looked like she didn't care about her soon-to-be father-in-law and his slight annoyance.
• "Don't get angry about what I am saying, Mr. Chase," Genesis spoke up, noticing the tension in his muscles.
• "I can clearly remember that I was forced to be married to your son. It was never by self-will or by love. I am not ready to be a Chase because, damn... I had just a few days to prepare for a wedding to a complete stranger. So no, don't blame me if being a Chase is not something I had to be ready for," she added.
• I felt like giving her the appraisal of a lifetime. A small smile crept to my lips. At that moment, I knew she could handle my son, no matter the circumstance. But I had to hide that smile to myself. From the look on my husband's face, he wasn't pleased, though the hardness in his jawline softened with her words.
• He forced a smile. To the others, that was a genuine smile, but I knew it was forced. Oh, he wasn't pleased.
• "Well said... well said. Welcome to the family, my dear," he forced.
• Genesis smiled and glowed at what my husband said, and the tension in the room disappeared.
• "I will have to leave. I have seen all I came to see, and I have to return to work," he said soon after, giving me the hint that he wanted to leave.
• I joined Liam in the car, and we drove off.
• "I don't like her," he blurted out, and my heart ceased beating for a moment.
• "What do you mean?" I panicked, and he went mute, his muscles twitching.
• "Did you hear her in there? She..."
• "She said nothing wrong. You can't be angry about that," I interrupted him, and his cold gaze met mine. I looked away immediately, fearing his anger.
• "She looks like a girl who would go against my every word. Did you see those eyes of hers? Jordan will change because of her." he said.
• "I saw the look in your eyes when you saw her, Liam... there is something more to this than you are saying," I blurted out what I felt while looking away, and he went quiet, confirming my gut feeling. But I knew too well that he wasn't going to tell me what it was, and that was more annoying.
• "She is getting married to your son; you just have to live with it," it was my turn to dare him. It wasn't like we had the time to pick a different girl, so yes, Genesis was my son's wife already.
• GENESIS
• I walked back to my room, the events of the day replaying in my head.
• Liam Chase was a scary man, and everyone in my house confirmed it when he left.
• When I got to my room, I just sat down absentmindedly, thinking about what life could be like having such a father-in-law. It didn't sit well with me at all.
• Just as my mind kept drifting back to him, my phone rang, and I absentmindedly picked up the call.
• "Yes..." I spoke into the phone.
• "How are you?" the person on the other end asked.
• "I'm good... I guess," I replied, and the line went quiet.
• "What's wrong?" a firm and hard voice boomed through the phone, and I jerked.
• "Jordan..." I blurted out and immediately checked the caller.
• "I am so sorry, I was just..." I tried to think of how to explain that I was talking without realizing it was him.
• "Are you okay?" he asked, concern laced in his voice. It calmed me down and eased my nerves.
• "I am fine," I lied. And don't blame me; what was I supposed to say to him?
• "I can tell you are not fine... don't lie to me. I despise lies," his voice sounded cold, and my heart skipped.
• "It's nothing to worry about," I said, and the line went quiet again.
• "It's my father, isn't it?" he asked, and it was my turn to go mute.
• "My mom told me a little about his visit today. But don't stress, he has always been that way," he said, trying to make me feel better.
• "I saw your gown, by the way," he said, changing the topic, and I jerked.
• "What... are you supposed to see it... I haven't even...." he chuckled and interrupted the little tantrum I was about to pull. That was what made me feel better, the sound of him.
• "Did you make the choice yourself?" he asked when he had his fill.
• "Mom Leona already had everything set up by herself," I grumbled.
• "Tell me, what your dream wedding is supposed to look like," he suddenly said, and my eyes widened with surprise.
• "Uhmmm... it's... are you sure? It's a long list, from the gown to the flowers to the decorations. It's really long," I blurted out. I had dreams once, never thought I would have someone ask me what they were.
• "You even have a gown in mind... wish I can see it," he said as if he was talking more to himself than to me.
• "I have a sketch of it, it's somewhere... I think," I blurted out.
• "Good... now let's do this, tell me every detail of your dream wedding and find the sketch of the gown while you are at it, so you can send it to me," he said, and I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to know all those.
• "And I have a lot of time, do not miss a single detail," he warned, and a smile crept to my lips. I had time too, and hearing his voice was something that soothed my heart. So there we had it... me blabbing about my dream wedding while I went about looking for a sketch of my wedding gown. He teased and laughed about a lot of things and even provoked me to stop but kept apologizing, he kept urging me to continue.