Stand for Love Ch. 10

"We came to see you." Maria said, looking at Victoria in disgust. "Actually someone, an unknown number called to tell us that you had been sick a few days ago so..."

"Is that..."

"Mother," Adrian called inside making Victoria tremble. She looked behind and saw him coming near the door. The anger she felt at that particular time was indescribable. From making her work since the day before Adrian wasn't satisfied. Did he have to call her friends too? She was fuming, ready to snap but she also knew that she couldn't make that mistake.

Adrian smiled as he neared the door. He could see his mother in law trembling, shaking terribly. He had known that she'd react just like that. It was really, really heartwarming to see her like that, humiliated and embarrassed. All the way to the door, Adrian's smile kept getting brighter and brighter till he eventually reached there.

He'd seen those two women before with his mother in law but he didn't know them personally. It was all thanks to George that everything was going the way it was. Now his mother would learn it the hard way. He knew she was gonna be humiliated.

"Hello!" Adrian smiled, putting his hands together to show respect. "Please, come in."

Victoria's attitude went from anger to rage. Sure, Adrian had the evidence to expose her but inviting her friends to the house was the worst thing that he could ever do. Now what was going to happen to her? She always used every opportunity to boast but now she had no idea what to anymore.

"Thank you!" The two women said, passing Victoria who was trembling terribly.

As the women entered the house, Adrian went near his mother in law, in front and smiled teasingly. From the way she looked at him he could tell that her anger was intensifying. But that was what he wanted, for her anger to reach the maximum. There was nothing he wanted more than that. Her anger would lead to his next line of action.

"How do you like it, mother?" Adrian said, locking his eyes with her. He was so happy contrary to what she was feeling. Her jaws shook, her hands shook and her face glowered.

"Why did you do this?" Victoria asked hoarsely, looking at him in pain and anger.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Adrian laughed, adding to her anger.

"Get them out of here." Victoria suppressed a growl. "Please, get them out of here before..."

"Mother," Adrian was now serious. "Go inside. Your friends have come to visit you. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Why?" Victoria snapped, furiously dropping her arms. "Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to meddle in my relationships?"

"Says the woman who couldn't keep her craws out of my relationship," Adrian snapped, crossing his arms on his chest. "Did you think this was gonna be easy?" He gave a bitter laugh, breathing heavily. "Well, I guess you don't know me."

"You'll pay for..."

"And don't you dare try to warn me." Adrian warned, pointing his finger at her. "Don't forget we had an agreement. Now, mother," He snarled. "Get in there. Your friends are waiting."

Victoria snarled, looked at Adrian in disgust and then rushed inside with anger deep in her heart. She was only suffering because of a simple thing that she had done. If only she could find that CD as soon as possible she'll make sure that Adrian is humiliated in front of the family.

Victoria quickly went inside, sat on a couch and smiled at the guests Adrian had invited without her knowledge. How he even got their numbers, Victoria wondered, clenching on her fists tightly. She could clearly see that her two friends were whispering to each other something that she couldn't hear but from that mocking smile it was clear they were talking about her.

"So what brought you here?" Victoria asked, smiling faintly at them.

"We came to visit you." Joan said, smiling mockingly. "Like we said, someone informed us that you were sick a few days ago."

"Well, I wasn't sick." Victoria smiled, angry at Adrian for pulling such a stunt. "As you can see I'm absolutely fine. Whoever told you that actually lied?"

"Really," Maria shrugged, smiling mockingly. "Well, we were informed wrongly."

"Yeah," Victoria wanted to throw them out of her house. They were her friends but the last thing she wanted was to be humiliated by them. Why did Adrian do this to her?

"Sorry to ask," Maria apologized, moving slowly on the couch. "But why are you dressed like that? Have you turned into a..."

"No," Adrian smiled as he came into the living room to sit on the couch. "Mother just decided to clean the house herself for some days. She's actually changed her attitude."

"Really," One of the women Adrian didn't know asked. "I never thought she'd do that. Well, she kinda swore never to dress like this or work in her own home so it's just surprising."

Victoria was more than angry. It was true that she'd sworn and those people were gonna make fun of her. Why did Adrian have to do that to her?

"Yeah," Adrian smiled, taking a seat on the couch. "It's surprising but ever since I came here she's kinda changed her attitude. In fact, she was dying to make her friends some food should they come to visit her. I'm sure she's dying to do so right now."

Victoria's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something but no word came out of her mouth. Her voice was totally gone and she couldn't utter a word. What was really happening?

A myriad of emotions took over her body, anger, rage, hatred, and mostly fear. Adrian was surely gonna humiliate her now. What would happen if her friends told her other friends about what was happening to her? She was scared.

"What?" Victoria chuckled nervously, swinging her hand in the air. "When did I...?"

"Don't you remember?" Adrian chimed in, telling her with his eyes to cooperate. "Actually a few days ago you told me that you'd like to show your friends the new you, cook for them and do..." He paused and then locked his eyes with hers. "...You do remember, don't you?"

Victoria was fuming; ready to shout at the boy but that was not a mistake she was ready to make. She had to cooperate because she had no choice but to. Failure would bring her a lot of problems and endless agony.

"Am...well..."

"I guess it's the magical touch of a son in law." Maria smiled, eyeing Adrian.

"You're absolutely right," Joan chuckled. "I think he's a rare gem. Victoria must really love him a lot to suddenly change like that."

If only they knew what they were talking about. They'd not even utter those stupid words they were uttering. This was so stupid, Victoria thought, looking around for Jake. She got disappointed when she realized that he was nowhere to be seen. How could he just leave her like that?

"I would happily cook for them." Victoria smiled. She had a great plan and she didn't care about the consequences either. "But I'm sure they've got places to go, people to see and..."

"Actually, we have nowhere to go." Maria smiled. "We came to visit you and we'd really love to taste your cooking for the first time."

Victoria gulped as a sharp pain of muscles contracting hit her. It was followed by a sudden pounding of her heart, leading to her body temperature rising. She felt really hot and sweat began forming on her skin, making her shiver in fear. Her whole body reacted by releasing immense adrenaline which made her hands shake.

"Don't worry," Adrian smiled. "Mother was just about to go to the kitchen. She'll surely fix something scrumptious for you."

Victoria raised her face to look at Adrian. Their eyes locked and he saw nothing but anger and hatred in them. This was just the beginning. First he had made them see her looking like a maid and now he's gonna make them taste her awful food. Now she's gonna have a taste of what it feels like to be humiliated and mocked by the people that you love and are close to you. She's gonna feel how he felt the time she had made all the family members insult him. But this time, it is gonna be the friends that she boasts to.

Victoria on the other hand was trembling, clenching her fists in anger. Adrian had pulled probably the highest stunt ever. How could he do that to her? He was gonna pay and that was for sure. It was a promise because that type of humiliation was the maximum for her. She couldn't even raise her face to look at her two friends.

First she was dirty, sweaty and angry. She was dressed like a maid in an ugly apron and now Adrian was making her cook for her friends, fuck! He was gonna pay for everything that he had made her pass through since the previous day. And she had thought that yesterday's work had been tough and humiliating. What was yesterday compared to today, Victoria wondered, her eyes locked with Adrian's.

"Do you want anything?" Adrian asked the guests.

They looked at each other and said, "Juice, please,"

"Alright," Adrian smiled. "Juice will be coming."

Smiling at Victoria, Adrian moved his face away. He knew exactly who to call for that juice.

"Jake!" Adrian called loudly. "Please, come here."

The two women looked at each other and wondered what was going on with Victoria. She completely looked like a dirty maid in the house. They couldn't believe that a woman who had been so boastful, talked about high class, vowed never to look dirty, cook or do any house chores was still the same woman sitting with them.

They couldn't believe it and the worst thing was that Victoria called herself the classiest lady in the city, geez. There was no class in what they saw. Something was probably wrong. The woman was rude and she had humiliated them on several occasions.

Looking at the women, Adrian could tell that they were actually laughing at Victoria in their hearts. It was clear that they wanted to tell her something. Wait until you taste the food, Adrian thought, smiling at the two of them. Nothing was gonna prevent Victoria from being humiliated.

He diverted his eyes to Victoria and saw anger in her. That was what he really wanted, for her to get angry to the point where she provoked him to show the video to the family. He wanted her to be more determined to look for the CD.

"How could you do this to me?" Victoria thought, breathing heavily. "How will I face my friends or the women who I boast to? Just wait for a little while, I'll make sure that I hit back and I hit back harder. You're gonna pay for this humiliation."

"Jake!" Adrian called again.

It was only minutes when he saw Jake slowly coming to the room. He enjoyed the look he gave him and the fear he saw in his eyes. Nothing was sweeter than humiliating Victoria and Jake just like they'd done to him days ago.

Jake slowly came into the room and when he realized who it was, he got scared and his breaths became violent as a sharp pain made him weak. He began trembling as a series of pants made him sweat. He had escaped being seeing by the people that had come but now he was here, looking at them, his mother's friends. What if they tell his mother that he was like a house help in Nicholas' house?

Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than the situation he was in. He just had to suit with the situation and smile brightly. Maybe he'd open his eyes and realize that it was all a dream.

"Hello...aunt..." Jake stammered, bowing his head.

"Jake!" They both gasped. "What are you doing here...looking like that?"

Jake had no answer to give them. He was screwed. He was totally screwed and he had no idea what he was gonna do. He opened his mouth but no words came out of his mouth.

"Jake, please bring some juice for them."

Jake cursed in his heart and left the room. He went to the kitchen and cursed Adrian for making him look like a total fool in front of his mother's friends. Jake was now determined to get back at Adrian. He had stepped on a tiger's tail and that tiger is gonna bite. Adrian might be laughing but Jake vowed to make him pay once he finds the CD.

He took the juice and left the living room as quickly as he came.

Adrian was having the time of his life seeing Victoria looking embarrassed and failing to make any eye contact. It was beautiful, just like the way he wanted it to. Now it was time to make food, Victoria was gonna make that food and be humiliated even more.

"I hope you are having a good time," Adrian asked, smiling brightly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will even get better when we taste Victoria's food."

At that word, Victoria cursed her friends for being stupid. Couldn't they just leave? Was it too hard to understand that she didn't want to see them? Couldn't they take the hint and get the fuck out of the house?

But why should they, Victoria thought as a bad headache made her feel worse? After all she had humiliated them too at several occasions and now it was time for them to pay her back. She was really hoping they'd leave without any problems because she was gonna deal with them later.

Victoria rolled her eyes in frustration but stopped mid way when she looked at Adrian. He was clearly signaling her to start moving to the kitchen. She glowered, shaking in anger. Adrian was like a sudden nightmare which had entered her life. How she was gonna remove that nightmare from her life was how she didn't know.

"Stupid little fucker." Victoria cursed, feeling a wave of anger sweep her on her feet.

She knew if she ignores him the price would be too intense and that was her fear. She had no choice but to comply.

Victoria furiously rose up, smiling at her guests. Without saying a word, she left for the kitchen, raining all kinds of insults on Adrian. Now she was in for the second nightmare, food. She had no idea what she was gonna cook them.

"Excuse me," Adrian said, getting up from the couch. "I'll go and see what mother is fixing in the kitchen."

The two ladies smiled and he left the living room to the kitchen where he found Victoria furiously hitting the door. She was acting like a crazy woman but he loved it. She gripped a plate and threw it on floor, it broke into pieces.

"What's going on here?" Adrian asked seriousness and curiosity written on his face.

"It's nothing." Victoria said angrily, taking a broom to clear the broken plate.

"What are you doing here?" Jake asked. He was more than angry. He was dying to kill Adrian and make him pay for all the humiliations. That was the height of it and he wasn't gonna let it go until Adrian pays dearly for it.

"I came to check up on your cooking and..."

"How could you do this to me?" Victoria breathed, slowly sweeping the broken glasses on the floor. Her breath was violent and her grip on the broom was tight. She swore right there that her only goal was to find the CD and make Adrian pay for doing what he had just done to her.

"Mother," Adrian said in mocking astonishment. "I thought you'd be happy to see your friends. They also wanted to see you because they love you."

Victoria was silent, too silent. She had a really bad headache and her muscles were contracting painfully causing her whole body to spasm in pain. The only thing on her mind was revenge but she had to be careful not to provoke Adrian. She was angry and will be angry till she gets back on Adrian. Right then she had nothing to do but let the humiliation continue.

"By the way," Adrian winked, signaling them with his hand. "Make them something scrumptious okay?"

"Why are you making us..."

"Uh-uh," Adrian didn't want to hear anything from Jake. All he wanted was to see them cooking and not talking. "Less talking more action,"

"Seriously..."

"What's wrong with you?" Adrian snapped, giving Jake angry eyes. "Didn't you hear what I said?" He looked at him for a long time and the guy was absolutely scared. He loved seeing him scare, helpless and vulnerable.

"In case you didn't," Adrian rolled his eyes in anger. "Then listen to me. I said, start cooking for the guests. I don't want to repeat myself, alright?"

Victoria threw the broken pieces in the bin and came and stood beside Jake. She decided to give Adrian a smile and she did. She smiled faintly but deep within her there were hatred, anger and rage trying to rise to the surface. Maybe her friends wouldn't embarrass her. She had nothing to worry about. They were her friends after all.

"Don't worry," Victoria sneered, dying to slap him. "They're my friends and I'll take care of them. You have nothing to worry about."

Adrian smiled, bringing his finger to rub his temple. He knew the woman was angry because she couldn't fool him at all.

"Alright," Adrian sneered. "I'll entertain them while you fix something scrumptious for them."

Victoria smiled and nodded in agreement. Deep in her heart insults were raining down on Adrian for pulling up a stunt. She made herself calm by believing that her friends would completely understand her. She was smart after all and if they pulled up any insult...she'd get back at them and they knew it very well.

"Happy cooking," Adrian smiled and left the room, dying to see the drama about to happen in a few minutes. By the way, by something scrumptious Adrian meant 'something awful.' Now all he prayed for was for her friends to tell her something bad. After all, whenever she was around them, according to George, all she did was brag about her clothes and style. Now let her style humiliate her. He couldn't wait for it to happen.

"I swear I'm gonna kill him." Victoria yelled, hitting her hand on the table. "I'll make him pay for doing this to me. How did he even...how could he?"

Jake slowly moved and rubbed Victoria's back. He was just as mad as Victoria was. Adrian had really overdone it this time. Not only did he cross the boundary but also humiliated them in front of those women in the living room.

"Don't worry, mother," Jake said, squeezing her shoulder. "All we need to do is find that CD and we'll make him pay for everything that he has done to this family and most importantly to us. Humiliating you is the height of it all."

"I wonder what they must be thinking of me." Victoria's heart was restless. She didn't even know if she'd ever show her face in front of her friends again. The last thing she wanted was her friends talking about the way she was currently looking.

"We've got no choice." Jake said softly. He was angry. "It's what we need to do...for now. There is nothing more we can do but do as he says. You know the consequences of disobeying him."

"He's becoming a thorn." Victoria snapped, moving away from Jake. "Now I don't even know what to make for my friends and worse..." Victoria paused, furiously putting her hand on her face. Her hearting was racing, pounding painfully in her chest. "...I don't know how it'll taste."

"It doesn't matter," Jake reassured, going nearer to cup her hands. "They are your friends and they'll understand."

"I hope so." Victoria muttered. She was really hoping so because she had vowed to always look her best. What was worse was that she was the queen of all her friends. She was glamorous, stylish, down to earth and absolutely stunning. Right then, she didn't even look like a queen at all. She looked like a laundry maid.

"You're right," Victoria said softly as she gathered herself. "They'll probably just forget about it."

"Yes," Jake chirped. "They're your friends and you're the queen. Just go out there, smile and serve them. Nothing will go wrong and Adrian will be the one who'll be embarrassed."

"You're right," Victoria smiled, caressing Jake's cheeks. "I'll just go out there and show them that I'm still the queen even if I'm working."

Jake smiled brightly and gave her a tight hug, patting on her back. She gave him a quick kiss on the head and pulled away from him, holding his hands tightly.

With a tight squeeze and smile, she said, "Come on help me fix something for my friends."

They both chuckled as they started preparing something for the guests in the house.