i am not a replacement

chap7(the bright side)

"How is life?" dad asked Edwin as we were gathered on the table having dinner

"Good" he kept his answers short the whole time, I guess he finds this whole thing awkward too.

"Work?"

"I am taking over the tv station"

"Xhat about the rest of the corpo?" Joshua asked

"My sister is taking over our food chains, and my stepbrother, is taking the hotels"

"And you're only taking the tv station?"

"He was always interested in photography that's why" I explained instead of him, which was a reckless move from my part since I got every kind of look from my family. Mostly the smug kind of look, which was noticed by Ed as he grinned widely, looking at me from across the table before he turned to look at his plate.

"Well that's a good thing, choosing what you're interested in is better than being greedy" dad stated as the rest of us nodded in approval.

Thanks for the save dad!

"Heard you were into acting" Ed turned to Aiden and all he got was a nod as that kid kept munching on his food "Well if I get some scenario that is worth sponsoring, I will try to get you in auditions"

"YOU WHAT?!!"

"Don't" I interrupted firmly, making sure to block this whole exchange between them.

"SIS!" he whined like the little kid he was; shaking his shoulders and throwing his head back to prove that he was somewhat annoyed but his huffing and puffing doesn't work in this family.

"You will go to auditions on your own, no use of relationships" I glared as a warning for the way he was behaving. He noticed it and chose not to indulge in this subject anymore.
His annoyance, on the other hand, wasn't overlooked by my part as I noticed his every move; him fixing his posture and sitting up straight, him holding his fork and stabbing the food before pulling it to his mouth to munch on silently... He was being childish.

Ed seemed to notice the way the two of us tensed and how no one was interfering "It's fine, I don't have that much of authority. Well for now, at least" So that was his attempt of mending the situation.

I averted my eyes from Aiden to my glass of water on my right, lifting it to my lips "Don't encourage him" I said before I put it to my lips, taking a sip.

"But -" he didn't finish when I glared at him still with the glass in contact with my mouth as i kept gulping its content.

"You two are acting as if I'm your child and you're deciding my future for me" Aiden muttered shutting both of us up. But also making the rest of them burst out laughing.

"That was some skill right there." that was the phrase Edwin chose to announce his presence in the kitchen with me, after staying with the rest of my family in the living room.

The dinner was over, after sharing simple questions and indulging in small conversations, and before I insisted on dealing with the cleaning as the others accompanied our guest.
But here he was joining me, as I was about to complete my task.

"What skill?" I asked, rinsing the dishes with cold water, not even bothering to turn and face him

The sound of his footsteps got closer to where I was standing before he covered it with his own "Your food was to die for"

"Really now?"

"Really" he affirmed and I noticed how his voice came from right behind me before he maneuvered his body to stand right beside me grabbing my attention with his wide smile... Genuine wide smile.