Kaiden flinched upon hearing her unimpressed tone. He debated for a bit about the best way to go about answering, but in the end, he decided there was no reason not to be honest. "Aria is the prettiest girl I'd ever seen, alongside my two other girlfriends."
The little sister's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and due to her sheer shock, she even dropped the fork she was busy wiping clean.
"W-w-w-what?!" Lux shouted from the top of her lungs. She couldn't believe this. Did this man just admit to cheating on her big sister? Why would he do that? Did he forget that she could—and would—snitch on him?
"She knows them both; they're pretty good friends, considering they met very recently," Kaiden revealed as he read the girl's inner thoughts like an open book. Lux was very expressive with her facial expressions, so it wasn't hard to do.
"... So you're not cheating on big sis... because she knows of the others and approves of them being with you?" The little miss asked after her confused brain started connecting the dots.
"Indeed," Kaiden nodded and chuckled upon seeing her completely flabbergasted expression. Lux looked like a girl whose entire world had been turned upside down. Her bewilderment was the perfect example of how modern Western society treated harems.
It took her jumbled head a few minutes to get over this universe-shattering news, after which Kaiden asked a personal question. "Could you tell me what happened to your parents? If it's painful to talk, then just remain silent, and I won't ask any questions related to them."
Lux shook her head, grabbed the fork she dropped, and resumed cleaning it while answering, "No, I don't mind talking about them. Father left before I was born, and mother is a drug addict who lost the... I forgot the word. She is not allowed to be our caretaker."
"Custody?"
"Yep!" Lux nodded once Kaiden guessed the hard word she couldn't remember.
"Shouldn't your father pay child support?"
"Uhm..." Lux began thinking inwardly while pointing a finger at her chin and glancing up at the ceiling. "I remember big sis saying something about him not having money but in reality just playing the system."
Although Kaiden couldn't be certain, he theorized that the father might've declared bankruptcy while, in reality, having income sources that were not exactly government-approved, and as a result, he couldn't be forced to pay up.
"What about your mother? Is she locked up in jail?" As a druggie, it could be one explanation for her lack of presence in her children's lives.
"No, she lives with her boyfriend a few streets away."
... Nevermind then.
"When did you see her last time?"
"Hm... Maybe a month ago? Mother is not doing very well; she is very thin, and I think her boyfriend is not a good person."
"Why would you say that?"
"I saw bruises on her face and neck, but when I asked what happened, she brushed me off."
Kaiden could tell that she had difficulty speaking about her mother, it was a topic that made her sad. He decided to ask the rest from Aria.
They spent about two hours around the house before stepping out to go to the fast food place. Kaiden wasn't keen on breaking his no-cheat day streak just yet—the ice cream he ate with Nyx on the day of the casting didn't count because he was doing everything in his power to cheer the pink-haired beauty up and to lessen her extreme amounts of anxiety—so he ate a salad while Lux stuffed her belly full with a Big M*c, fries, and cola.
"Can I get your number?" Lux asked while massaging her stuffed belly with a content smile adorning her lips.
They say this sort of food is good for comfort, which was very clearly true in her case, Kaiden noted.
"May I know what for?"
"To chat if I'm bored."
Kaiden thought it would look a bit weird if he was chat messaging with a girl a decade younger than him, but considering Lux was his girlfriend's younger sister, it was probably okay, so he typed it into her phone.
Once they got back to the house, the cleaning continued for another two hours, after which Kaiden offered to read her a book of her choice, but he was very firmly informed about the fact that she was not a kid, so they said goodbyes and went to bed. He stayed overnight because Aria was still not back with her troublemaker younger brother.
Naturally, Kaiden slept in a different room. Lux showed him Aria's, so he lay down on her bed after a swift shower and quickly closed his eyes.
Today was the most tiresome day of his life. He shot three porno videos one after the other, got disowned, somehow found himself to be the boyfriend of three insanely hot and lovely girls, upgraded his garbage class to an ultra-badass one, and learned that he was the potential successor of a dude named Heavenly Demon who likely ruled over entire worlds. As if that wasn't tiresome enough, he ended the day by cleaning a crack den for four hours.
Kaiden slept peacefully like a baby until he was suddenly awoken in the middle of the night due to some fabric rustling.
He looked up and saw the silhouette of Aria, who tried to climb into the spot next to him as quietly as possible. "Hey."
She flinched for a moment before getting her bearings together. "Hey... sorry for waking you."
"Don't worry about it," Kaiden said in a gentle tone as he opened his arms wide apart invitingly.
Seeing that he was not at all frustrated despite getting awoken in the middle of the night, Aria sighed with relief and happily jumped into his embrace, after which she firmly hugged his torso with both hands.
She could be a very needy girl at times.
"I was floored when I stepped into the house. I can't believe you cleaned up to that degree!" Aria whispered her gratitude before lovingly nuzzling her face into his bare chest.
"I had a helper."
"You invited Luna over?"
"..." Kaiden couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No, I got your little sister to help me."
"..." It was Aria's turn to be shocked.
"That girl helped you of her own volition?!"
"I bribed her with food."
"... You offered her Mcd*nalds." Things finally fell into place in the silver-haired beauty's head as she revealed the results of her investigation in a cold tone.
Kaiden couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "Yeah... Based on your cold tone, I've done something I shouldn't have."
Aria firmly shook her head into his chest, "No, you're entirely innocent. It's that little rascal who I have an issue with. She is banned from fast foods; she used this rare opportunity to go behind my back and get her fill."
Oh. Kaiden couldn't help but chuckle amusedly. What a smart young lady. No wonder she chose that place when he offered a restaurant of her choice, Lux used the fact that her new babysitter wasn't informed of the 'dos and don'ts' to her advantage masterfully.
"I see. Did you manage to resolve the issue with the police?"
"Yeah, he was let off with a warning. They said it was the last time, though. If that dummy does this again, he is going straight to juvie."
"Want me to talk with him?"