Chapter 23 Home Sweet Home.
23 Home Sweet Home.
The car parked in front of the house, smoothly and without any abrupt noise. Silence took over the entire, mostly empty street... Even Vergil couldn't understand how this car, which had been speeding at over a hundred and twenty miles just moments ago, could now be so... calm?
The lights were off, and he mentally thanked for that. At least, he wouldn't have to explain anything tonight.
"I hope she's asleep..." he muttered, letting out a deep breath, trying to compose himself after everything he had gone through in just a few hours...
Well, actually it had been a week, if you counted the time he spent in a coma recovering at Katharina's mansion.
"Okay, listen," he whispered, looking at Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne, who were just waiting for him to lay down the rules. "Just... go in quietly. My mom's probably asleep. You can stay in my room for the night, but please, no noise, or else... well, it won't just be me dealing with that crazy woman, and trust me, she's as crazy as all of you combined."
The three women nodded with serious expressions, though there was a glint of amusement in Ada's eyes.
Roxanne was clearly too tired to cause any trouble, while Ada kept her usual disdainful look, though she was clearly curious about spending the night at Vergil's house. As for Katharina... 'I'm going to sleep cuddled up with him!' Her face might have been serious, but internally she was nearly freaking out!
He opened the car door slowly, trying not to make any noise, and carefully stepped out, closing it with a soft click. The three followed him, stepping carefully, mimicking Vergil's effort to avoid waking anyone. Slowly, they walked without making a single sound, not even their footsteps could be heard.
The night air was cool, and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind was the only noise around.
It seemed that, for the first time that day, things might finally calm down.
Vergil unlocked the front door, pushing it open slowly. The inside of the house was dark, except for the faint glow of the moonlight filtering through the windows.
'Phew...' He let out a sigh of relief. Everything was going according to plan, and if they could just make it through the hallway and up the stairs without incident, they might escape unscathed that night.
As soon as they passed through the door, Vergil gestured for the three to follow him. Ada quietly shut the door, and the group moved through the hallway with almost military precision.
But then, it happened.
As Vergil took the third step toward the stairs, the unmistakable creak of a floorboard filled the air.
The sound was like a gunshot in the midst of silence.
He froze in place, his eyes widening.
A second later, all the lights in the house flicked on at once, flooding the hallway and living room with blinding white light.
"VERGIL DAMIAN KENNEDY!" The shout cut through the air, echoing through the house like a death sentence.
Vergil closed his eyes, wishing for a moment that the ground would open up and swallow him, sending him back to the Underworld, to that soft bed in Katharina's mansion.
But when he opened his eyes again, his mother was in the living room, hands on her hips, her expression absolutely furious. Her white hair flew in the breeze that he couldn't even feel. She was wearing her usual clothes, sweatpants, and a light white tank top, and she could easily be mistaken for his sister.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!"
Vergil sighed, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Mom, I…"
"NO! DON'T EVEN TRY TO JUSTIFY IT!" She stormed forward, cutting him off. "You think you can just DISAPPEAR for days without sending me A SINGLE MESSAGE? No phone call, no text, NOTHING?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"
Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne stopped right behind Vergil, watching the scene with curious and amused expressions. Clearly, none of them had expected to find Vergil's mother like this — furious and unhinged. And, frankly, most people would have been intimidated, but the three supernatural women simply watched with an air of curiosity, as if they were watching a show.
Vergil rubbed his temple with two fingers, feeling a headache starting to form. "Mom, I was busy…"
"BUSY?! BUSY WITH WHAT?!" His mother nearly screamed, throwing her hands up as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You were on a 'trip', weren't you? I raised you better than that, Vergil! You could have at least let me know! You sent a woman to tell me? I thought you were better than that, you ungrateful son!"
Vergil winced, remembering that Katharina had mentioned casting a spell to make his mother believe he was on a trip to somewhere he still hadn't figured out. "Yeah, a trip…" he muttered, trying not to sound too guilty.
"AND NOW YOU SHOW UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH... WITH..." She gestured vaguely toward Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne, as if trying to process their presence.
Her eyes finally landed on the three women, and her jaw practically dropped.
The anger that had been burning in her eyes faltered for a moment, replaced by confusion, and finally, embarrassment. "Who... who are they?" She almost stammered, staring at the women in front of her.
Vergil took a deep breath, knowing he was about to step into dangerous territory. He moved forward, partially blocking his mother's view of the three women. "Mom... these are my... three wives." He decided to be honest—after all, she would know if he lied. She had raised him, she was his personal Wiki, she knew everything, every detail about Vergil.
Even so, his words stunned her.
The room fell into a deafening silence.
Felicia's eyes widened so much that he almost thought they would pop out of her face. Her mouth opened and closed several times as if trying to form a coherent sentence, but no sound came out. She seemed to be in complete shock, unable to process what she had just heard.
A man, bringing three women home?
Meanwhile, Katharina, Ada, and Roxanne were clearly amused by the situation.
Roxanne let out a small giggle, which she unsuccessfully tried to disguise as a cough, while Katharina offered a mischievous smile. Ada simply crossed her arms, watching the scene with her usual air of superiority.
After what felt like an eternity, Felicia finally managed to speak, though her voice trembled. "T-t-three wives?"
Vergil nodded, trying not to appear as uncomfortable as he felt. "Yes, Mom. Three wives. It's a... complicated situation."
"Complicated?!" She repeated, her voice rising again in disbelief. "What kind of complicated situation is this, Vergil?! Since when do you have... THREE WIVES?!"
Vergil scratched the back of his neck, feeling sweat start to form on his forehead. "It's... complicated, Mom. But it's something... normal... for... the kind of life I live."
"Normal?! NOTHING about this is normal!" She exclaimed, shaking her head as if trying to shake off a nightmare. "I... I can't believe that you... you..."
She stopped mid-sentence, finally realizing she was standing in front of three women whom, until now, she had completely ignored in her fury. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and she took a step back, clearly mortified by her behavior in front of them.
"I... ah... I'm sorry," she mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the three women. "I... I didn't know that you were..."
"His three wives?" Katharina finished, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, that's us."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kennedy," Roxanne said, still with a playful smile on her lips. "Vergil talks about you a lot." She lied effortlessly, but his mother had no way of knowing that.
Ada remained silent, but the sharp look she gave Vergil's mother was unmistakable. It was the kind of look that said, "I've already judged you, and I'm not impressed."
Vergil's mother took another step back, as if she wanted to disappear. She shook her head slowly, as if struggling to comprehend everything. "I... I didn't know..."
"Of course you didn't, Mom," Vergil said, trying to stay calm. "I was going to tell you, but... things got... complicated, and it all happened so suddenly..."
"Complicated?!" She repeated, still in shock. "Vergil, you... you disappear, come back in the middle of the night, and now you tell me you have THREE WIVES? That's not complicated, that's... that's... Oh, I give up."
She stopped again, clearly at a loss for words. Finally, she let out a long, tired sigh, rubbing her hand over her face. "I don't know what to do with this."
Vergil gave a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Well... you don't have to do anything for now. They're just staying the night. We can talk more about it tomorrow."
She looked at him, then at the three women, and shook her head again. "I... I think I need a good night's sleep before I can process all this."
Vergil nodded. "Yeah... probably a good idea."
She sighed once more, casting one last look at the three women before turning and heading upstairs, muttering something about "this boy is going to worry me to death."
They could clearly hear her grumbling as she climbed the stairs… "Damn it..." "Polygamy? In the 21st century? Are you an Arab sheik or something?" "At least they're pretty." "Damn, they're prettier than me."
Katharina smiled, crossing her arms. "She's adorable. And here I thought we were going to have problems."
Ada scoffed. "Humans are so... strange."
Vergil sighed once more, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, let's head to my room before she changes her mind."
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<Author's Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!