Kiss Me Not

At Country V.

Kimmy was both nervous and excited to meet Cain's mother for the first time. Currently, they were all waiting in the living room, the giddy woman pacing so much that her fiance had to hold her shoulders.

"Relax, Kimberly," Cain reassured her. "It'll be fine."

Almost immediately, Kimmy shook her head in appreciation, "Thanks."

"Hmm… I notice you're the only one calling Kimmy by her real name," Leila commented, to which Cain only had a bashful smile.

"I love it, Mom," Kimmy waved off her mother's words with a grin. "I love that he's the only one calling me by my full name."

Hearing her daughter's reassurances, Leila only shook her head in mirth. Perhaps her daughter just liked the way her name sounded with his voice.

Looking on, the older woman was about to tease the couple more when Abel finally arrived. Pushing a wheelchair towards them, there sat Cain's mother. She had a bonnet on her head, and Kimmy felt her heart sink at the thought of how numbered her days were. Still, despite the possible doom, it wasn't visible on her face. The woman still had a bright face and a cheerful aura.

"Finally!" Evelyn warmly greeted, opening her arms wide as she looked at Kimmy. "Come here, my child!"

Kimmy turned to Cain, who simply gave her a nod as she then immediately approached the woman. Giving her inlaws a cheek-to-cheek kiss, she wholeheartedly hugged her back.

"I'm so glad to finally meet my daughter-in-law," Evelyn sweetly smiled. "Thank you, my dear, for accepting my son into your life. You don't know how long he's waited for-"

"Mom…" Cain cut her off, a blush showing how flustered he was getting.

Taking her cue, Evelyn laughed and gently let Kimmy go before turning her head to Leila. Giving her a nod, she whispered, "Princess… It's been a while."

Leila nodded in turn and approached Evelyn for a hug. "Yeah… It's been ages since we last saw each other. It's so nice to see you again, Evelyn. And of course, I'm glad we've also become in-laws!" She cheekily smiled, "Please, there's no need to address me so formally. Just call me Leila."

"Okay then," Evelyn chuckled. "Also, you guys should stay for dinner. Cain's siblings will arrive soon, and Abel will be preparing for dinner." She then motioned to the sofa, "In the meantime, we have some catching up to do over some tea while we wait."

"Oh, that sounds great!" Leila beamed.

Moving on, Evelyn also greeted Sean and signaled them all to sit on the couch. Meanwhile, Abel excused himself to get some tea for the group.

"Let me help you, Father," Cain quickly offered, and he was about to stand up when Abel stopped him.

"It's alright," the man nodded with a smile. "Just stay with your Mom."

Giving the man a nod in return, Cain returned to his seat just as Kimmy excitedly gave her present to his mother.

"Oh, this is so pretty, my dear," Evelyn warmly thanked, looking at the box of jewelry on display in her hands. "I love it. Thank you so much."

Kimmy felt so enthusiastic as she watched Evelyn fiddle with her gift. Feeling impatient, she offered, "Let me put it on you, Mother."

"Thank you, my dear."

By the sidelines, Cain had a bright smile on his face as he watched his fiancee bond with his mother. It would seem that Kimmy got on well with his mother, seeing as she was being genuine to her. In the end, they all had a great conversation where they reminisced about their past experiences with Evelyn back home.

"Ah, the good old days," Evelyn uttered wistfully before she turned at Kimmy and mischievously said, "Later, you should see my son's room. You'll see how he's much he's really head over heels for you."

"Mom, stop that already. I'm your son," Cain complained with a pout. "You should be on my side…"

In retrospect, the state of his room was kind of bad. He had a big portrait of Kimmy on his wall. It was taken during the day of her graduation… a stolen shot he took with his phone. He remembered Kimmy looking so pretty and adorable in that shot that he had it printed out and framed to hang in his room so that he could still look at her face even if he was in another country.

Everyone had a good laugh at Cain's misfortune. Soon enough, hours passed, and Cain's brother and sister soon arrived.

"Cain!" exclaimed the man who quickly hugged him.

"Hardin!"

"Big Bro!" the woman greeted just as excitedly as she also hugged Cain.

"Haha! Let me breathe," Cain amusedly complained, forcing the two to let him go. "Let me properly introduce you all to my fiance!"  With a flourish he began, "This is Kimberly, my mother-in-law, and Sean."

"Hardin at your service," his brother said, gesturing for Kimmy's hand to kiss her knuckles, and he did the same to Leila. "Welcome to our humble home, Your Royal Highnesses," he politely said.

Cain laughed, watching his brother acting coy in front of their guests.

"Stop that," Leila chortled. "Just call me Aunt Leila. Also call Kimmy, Sister."

"Fair enough," then Cain's sister nodded with a timid smile. "I'm Alice. A pleasure to meet you all"

With introductions sorted out, Leila and Kimmy hugged the newcomer warmly. It was then that Abel reappeared with a smile on his face. "Alright, I'll be preparing dinner with Hardin and Alice now, so you all best go back to catching up." He then chuckled as he dragged the two with him. "We won't take long."

The rest simply went about their conversations, and soon enough, dinner was ready to be served. At Abel's signal, everyone gathered in the dining room.

"Ah, Son, do you think it's possible that you and Kimmy can have a simple wedding just here in our house?" Evelyn chimed in. "You can set it up in the front yard garden, right? You can even have it done before you all return to country B. I would like to at least witness one of my children getting married befo-"

"Yes, Mom. We can do that in two days!" Cain quickly interrupted, knowing what his mother was about to say next.

He was way too uncomfortable with how calm and vocal his mother was whenever she was talking about dying. Some days, he couldn't help but think if it was possible to cure her using his blood like what Cedric did to him. It would be a selfish choice, but he wouldn't want to risk it, knowing full well that the human body could have different reactions to the infection. He was already considered a special case in the first place; his condition having nothing but only positive effects in return.

Hearing her son's words, Evelyn smiled and nodded. She knew why her son was cutting her off. He was always like this even in his calls whenever she would open the topic about her impending death. In truth, she had already prepared herself for such an occasion, and she might as well prepare her family to brace for the inevitable. At the end of the day, her time was up, and all she could do was accept it and enjoy the remaining days she had to the fullest