The boy toy she kept was a fitness trainer who always bragged about how tough he was. But he got slapped away by Benjamin, totally helpless, leaving her both angry and scared.
"You wait, this ain't over!"
The lady glared at Benjamin and said in a stern voice. Ignoring the boy toy on the ground, she tried to slip away.
"Hold up, apologize to her, right now!"
Benjamin still had a smile on his face, but it looked super sinister to the fat lady.
"I'm sorry!" The fat lady gritted her teeth and left the store. Most of the women in the store admired Benjamin and envied Ava for having such a protective guy. It was something that made women really happy.
Ava was touched. She didn't expect Benjamin to stand up for her like that. After buying clothes, they weren't in the mood to keep shopping. They decided to head straight home. Suddenly, the shop owner came over with a gift, thanking Benjamin.
Benjamin smiled and took it, but the gift was wrapped in a box, so they didn't know what it was.
After leaving the store, they sat in a car by the roadside and went home. As soon as they got home, Ava asked Benjamin to try on a suit. When Benjamin put on the suit and looked at himself in the mirror, he flashed a sunny smile and thought, not bad, looking sharp.
As Benjamin walked out, Ava was opening the gift box. Inside was a set of mesh transparent lace lingerie. Just one glance made her blush. The panties had a hollow shape in the front, making her feel embarrassed. How could she wear such lingerie?
Ava quickly packed the lingerie back into the box, but Benjamin was behind her and saw everything. The image of Ava in that sexy outfit immediately popped into his mind.
Ava hurriedly packed up the lingerie, and when she turned around, Benjamin was standing behind her in a daze, which startled her.
She didn' t know if he had seen what just happened. Blushing, she scolded, "Why didn't you make a sound when you came out? You scared me to death!"
Benjamin nervously said, "I just came out, I didn't see anything!"
"Really?" Ava seemed a bit skeptical.
Benjamin nodded, "Of course it's true. Besides, even if I saw it, it wouldn't matter. What was in there anyway?"
"Why do you care so much!"
Ava stood up shyly and said, then took the gift box back to her room. When she came out, the box in her hand was gone, already hidden.
"Hey, go watch some TV or something, I'll whip up some food for you!" Ava came out after stashing some stuff away. Benjamin wasn't much of a TV guy, only catching the news now and then. He wanted to hop online but realized there was no computer around, so he had to ask Ava for her laptop.
"Hey, stepmom, can I borrow your laptop? Need to look up some stuff online!"
Benjamin was trying to figure out how to open a hospital and what kind of cash he'd need. It was his dad's dream, even though he ditched medicine for business. The dream never died.
"It's by the bedside, go grab it yourself!"
Ava was heading to the kitchen when she heard Benjamin asking for the laptop and shouted back.
Benjamin snagged Ava's laptop, fired up the Wi-Fi, and plopped down on the living room sofa to surf the web. He checked out some economic forums and browsed through some official sites. A rough estimate showed he'd need about twenty million bucks, and that was just for a mid-sized hospital.
Starting a hospital was way more complicated than he thought, but no matter how tough it was, he had to do it. It was his way of making up for his dad's unfulfilled dream.
Just as he was about to close the browser, Benjamin remembered that business card and decided to search for "Henry" online. Hundreds of results popped up, and he couldn't find the right guy. Plus, he didn't even know what Henry looked like, so he gave up after a bit.
Suddenly, he heard rain pounding outside. He glanced at the balcony and saw a downpour, followed by a flash of lightning and a loud thunderclap, like the sky was tearing apart.
Ava screamed from the kitchen. Benjamin quickly put down the laptop and rushed in, only to find Ava sighing and patting her chest. "You scared me! Where'd that thunder come from?"
"You okay?" Benjamin asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
Ava grinned mischievously. "Hey, good son, I got a job for you!"
"What job?" Benjamin looked confused.
Ava handed him a kitchen knife. "Help me cook!"
Ava was always scared of thunder. Whenever it stormed, she couldn't focus, so she had to get Benjamin to help.
Living on his own abroad, Benjamin had picked up some decent cooking skills, or rather, he was forced to. His master couldn't stand the local food, so Benjamin had to cook to keep him happy. The better he cooked, the more his master taught him about combat and medicine.
"Alright, guess it's only fair to help out my stepmom. But hey, can you wash my clothes?"
Benjamin hated doing laundry. Back with his master, he even had to wash his underwear, which he found super annoying.
Ava rolled her eyes. "I've never seen anyone as stingy as you! Talking about being filial, but you just want me to do your laundry. Fine, I'll help this time, but don't get used to it. There's a washing machine, you know."
"I'm not good with washing machines!" Benjamin shrugged and grinned.
Ava shook her head, went to the bathroom, and saw Benjamin's clothes in the laundry basket, including his underwear. She blushed.
How could he ask me to wash his underwear!
Ava was feeling kinda helpless, but hey, she was his stepmom, right? She grumbled a bit in her head but still grabbed Benjamin's clothes and underwear to wash 'em.
It was her first time washing a dude's underwear, and she blushed a bit looking at them.
After gritting her teeth and getting the clothes washed and hung up, she saw that Benjamin had already whipped up a meal. The spread on the table was so fancy, Ava wondered if he had ordered it from a hotel.
"Alright, let's dig in!" Benjamin came out with the dishes.
"I'll wash my hands first, you go ahead and start!"
Ava headed to the kitchen, washed her hands, and came back to sit down. She grabbed a fork and took a bite. Damn, it was way better than her own cooking. She couldn't wrap her head around how a guy could cook so well, making her feel like her own cooking was trash in comparison.
Ava didn't care about looking ladylike and just chowed down. "Dude, how come your cooking's so bomb?" she asked between bites.
Benjamin was used to his own cooking skills. The old man never praised him, always saying stuff like, "Are you cooking for pigs?" He kept pushing Benjamin to get better until the day before Benjamin left for home. The old man casually said, "You probably won't get to eat your own cooking for a while. Come visit me in Celestoria when you can."
Ava's high praise caught Benjamin off guard.
"Really? Stepmom, are you just saying that so you don't have to cook anymore?"
Benjamin was so used to his own cooking that he didn't think much of it.
Ava smiled and said, "Your cooking is seriously good, but I don't expect you to cook every day. Maybe you can teach me sometime."