FOOLS AND GENIUSES

CHAPTER 54

Karan being blissfully oblivious to all the tension above.

metanoia

(n.) the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self or way of life

Rolling over in her bed, Kiara snuggled into the warmth emanating from the hard surface beside her. The minute a heavy arm flopped across her waist, she stilled as her mind raced through various scenarios. It was then that the events of last night flashed through her mind and she realised it was just Chris. Turning to face him, she traced her finger over the light dusting of freckles on his cheek. Running a hand through the soft strands of his adorably ruffled bedhead, she brought her lips up to the underside of his jaw as he slowly woke up.

Sleepily rubbing his eyes, he grumbled, "Morning, trouble."

Letting his warm cinnamon scent envelop her, she nuzzled into his neck, "Morning, hero."

Forcing herself out of bed, Kiara grabbed the first shirt she saw and tugged it on before standing to pull the curtains open. Unfortunately Karan chose that moment to barge into her room, consequently getting an eyeful when her oversized shirt rode up and practically left her ass hanging out.

Taking one look at the shirtless actor then at his half-naked sister, Karan shielded his eyes before dramatically collapsing to the ground and wailing, "Of all people, why me?"

She scrambled to cover herself, jumping under the covers, as Chris remained comically scandalised while clutching his chest, "Kunjetta, I can explain!"

Shaking his head in denial, Karan cautiously peeped through his fingers to make sure they were decent before awkwardly backing away but as luck would have it, the tell-tale sounds of Samuel's footsteps echoed up the stairs. 

Karan threw his head back and groaned in frustration before gesturing at Kiara to make space and begrudgingly getting in bed between the couple. 

Holding up a finger to shut her up, he hissed, "Not. A. Word. I'm a pacifist so I'd rather we didn't start the day by arguing with Appa."

Sighing in resignation, Karan shoved Chris into hiding under the covers as Kiara silenced his protests a hand over his mouth. She quickly threw a leg over his body to make the suspicious lumpy form beside her seem a little less obvious just in time for Samuel to walk in and freeze at the scene before him. The siblings had the duvet pulled all the way up to their necks, wearing sheepish smiles as they pressed close together in a bed that quite clearly could afford to accommodate them both. To anyone with half a brain and working vision, this entire situation reeked of bullshit but by some miracle, Samuel hadn't caught on.

Frowning in confusion, he chuckled, "While I am glad my children get along so well, this is very out of character for you two."

From where Samuel stood, Chris was completely obstructed from his line of sight but that would quickly change if he took so much as a step closer. Karan, on the other hand, schooled his features to neutrality as he tried his best to appear perfectly normal while sandwiched between his sister and future brother-in-law.

He held a hand up to stop Samuel from closing the distance before their elaborate charade unravelled, "No elderly allowed during brother-sister bonding time."