Chapter 2 Cat Fight

Milie's POV.

"Andrew… Andrew!"

Oh great. Instead of yelling at me, Mom decided to summon Dad. Because apparently, I had committed a national crime.

"Oh God, what is it?" Dad groaned, stepping out of his room. "You're shouting like someone died."

"Your princess has crossed every limit today," Mom snapped, shaking Sammy's hand off her arm.

Sammy looked at me, his hand gesturing as if slitting his neck. You're done, his eyes said, but unbothered, I rolled mine. 

"What did she do now?" Dad asked, already tired. My poor Dad. He should be paid for mediating between us. 

Before Mom could speak, I jumped in. "Nothing, Dad. Mom tried to auction me off to the new neighbour. I just saved myself."

Sammy's eyes widened. Daxton dragged a hand down his face and lightly grabbed my arm.

A warning to shut my mouth before it gets worse. But it was too late. The words were already out.

"Oh my god… Did you see, Andrew… the words she used?" Mom said sharply. "And outside, she was rude… Unnecessarily rude. She insulted that poor boy."

I scoffed. Here we go again. Every boy is innocent, poor for her. 

"I didn't insult him, Mom. I redirected him."

"Redirected him?" she repeated, disbelief dripping from every word.

"Yes. Away from me. Exactly where he should be."

"Andrew, just look at her! She isn't even ashamed of her behaviour—"

"Aunty, please… just calm down," Daxton, my personal crisis manager, finally stepped in, his voice calm as always. 

"I agree she shouldn't have said it like that," he continued, glancing at me briefly. "But forcing her to meet boys she's not comfortable with isn't right either. It'll only push her further away."

I smiled, almost invisible, a victorious one. No one got me as Daxton did. He always did, whether I'm right or wrong. 

Sammy nudged me hard. "Stop smiling, idiot. You are at fault."

I elbowed him back. "Oh, shut up, Traitor." Sammy loved me, too. He always had my back, but roasting each other was basically our default setting.

"Then what should I do?" Mom said, her frustration cracking now. "All I want is for her to learn a little grace. Act little like a girl. To meet people outside of you two. Sometimes I feel like I should ban you both from her life. Maybe then she'll understand."

My stomach twisted. Those words wiped the smile off my face completely.

"Like I'd ever let that happen." I snapped. I couldn't imagine life without them. They were my everything, sometimes more than my parents.

I wasn't letting anyone take that away from me. And this whole conversation was pointless. I was never going to be the kind of girl she wanted. I used to be softer once…But people have a way of changing you. Now? If someone wants to like me, they can deal with me as I am. I'm not here to impress anyone.

Mom looked at me, teeth clenched, still furious, but Sammy, being Sammy, jumped in before things could spiral again.

He clutched his chest dramatically. "Aunty, that hurt. You just broke our hearts. You literally said that we are bad for Milie."

Mom froze. Guilt flickered across her face instantly. "Shut up… You know I didn't mean that."

"Now… Exactly," Sammy said with a shrug. "It's not Milie's fault, either. She clearly got her attitude from you."

Mom shot him a glare. He chuckled, followed by us. Dad stepped in before round two could begin, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Alright, enough. Honey, let's leave these three idiots alone and go grab some coffee."

"I don't want coffee," she muttered, taking his hands off her. 

"Of course she didn't. She needed drama first, Coffee later." I rolled my eyes, grabbed a slice of pizza, and took a huge bite.

"Ahh… Girl, slow down," Dad said, seeing me stuffing my mouth. 

"Don't worry," I said through the mouthful. "My mouth's big enough."

"Of course," Mom muttered, "she does have a big mouth. Clearly."

"Stella, enough," Dad said, firmer this time. Then he turned to us. "Your exams are coming up. I want you to do better this time. Daxton, I'm trusting you to make sure these two at least pass."

"Dad," I groaned, dropping back into my chair, "can we just eat in peace? I have a basketball match tomorrow. That's my focus right now."

"Oh really?" Mom cut in instantly. "Is there anything you do like to talk about? Then enlighten us, Princess Milie."

I straightened, throwing her a fake smile. "First… don't call me that. I hate it. And second, do you have any other topic apart from introducing me to random boys?"

Her eyes flashed. Mine didn't back down. We were the same. Same temper. Same sharp tongue. Which was exactly why we clashed like this.

"Alright, ladies," Dad said quickly, raising his hands like a referee. "Let's save this debate for another day."

Usually, we were the best mom-daughter duo. We loved hard. But when things went wrong. We could be worse than enemies.

The rest of dinner went on as if nothing had happened, which was funny because everything had.

Sammy, Daxton and Dad talked about random things, trying to lighten the mood. Mom and I? We just exchanged looks across the table.

Later that night, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Finally quiet, no voices, no arguments, no expectations. Just me, and my thoughts when he unexpectedly crossed my mind. 

"Don't worry. I have no shortage of friends." I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned softly. 

"Why am I even thinking about him? Is it because I went a little too far? Just a little. Okay… maybe more than that."

His face flashed in my mind. That shift in his expression, and the way his face fell just for a second. 

"So what if his face fell? Why do I care? I shouldn't. Right? I wasn't wrong." Thoughts kept spiralling until sleep finally overtook me.