Quills: the Rise of the Northern Matriarch-Chapter 82: The Banquet (1)

"I feel nervous," Nora said. It was the first time in the longest time that she had been going to an event that was not in the same building as her children for years. The scenery outside the transport flew by as they made their way to the yearly celebration at the Hudai Building on the Shore Ial-jini Channel. The trees were heavy with different wild fruits. If she could, she would stop the transport to check them, but there was no time. It was not like she could go out by herself anyway. Nora sighed. A storm will be rolling in.

"Do not be nervous. They might stare, but it is because you are popular." Kadir said. No one would do anything to hurt her here. That would be a death sentence. It would be at Lara Hudai's hands. She had no tolerance or empathy for anything but herself.

"I am just not used to leaving them. I know Cerez can handle it, I just miss them." Nora admitted. She was used to the comfort of being able to go to another unit and find them safely with family. She was also missing Cerez already. She would have preferred he had come instead of Liem, but that was luck for you. Liem had been withdrawn, more than usual, since they had moved. He was normally quiet. Now, today he was bubbly, it was as if he was looking forward to this.

It felt wrong, the way they wanted her to treat Talan. Kai was an accident. She was only supposed to linger in front of him. However, Cerez suggested it and Liem and Kadir backed him up when she spoke to him in private. She was constantly amazed at the maturity they handled their relationship with. It felt wrong to keep it secret from Kai, but she would let Talan know. She would be honest, it was a test. The air in the cabin of the car seemed tense, all of them looking at her. The cab was filled with her fragrance. The over-bathing did not last as long as Liem thought it might. He could tell Kadir was thinking the same thing he was.

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

'We will actually have to be on guard tonight. Someone would die otherwise.' Kadir thought. He sucked in a breath, looking at her. She was so beautiful. Especially in her uniqueness. She had started wearing the veil in unique ways. It cinched her waist, below her bust line. It he felt posessive. He shook it off, she was not his. It was the other way around. She had accepted him first, it was not the other way around.

"I feel bad that Cerez had to stay home with all of them. He normally helps me with them a lot when you guys are busy." Nora said feeling more terrible that he was missing the party.

"It will only be this way for a while. We have to work hard now, but there will be plenty of time for us to spend together once we have the key members of our team recruited." Liem said, causing a misunderstanding about the night.

"Team? This is not a team for me," Nora exclaimed. "This is my life, I have to open my heart. It only gets harder for me, and then I barely see you. I get what we are working for. But what about us? Do you know how it makes me feel?" Nora said, frustrated. She was beginning to feel like a company prostitute. But she could not say anything since Kai was recruited using her freakish unknown talent for smelling provocative. Tears welled in her eyes from self-loathing.

"I feel used. It is just so overwhelming to raise all four of them and worry about everything." Nora said, trembling. She thought about them, their daughters and all the silly ideas she proposed for food and goods. Cerez always found time for her and the children. She started to hate sharing ideas, everything was being monetized. She did not know if they knew she was sharing her heart when she made them a new dish or showing her love when making a toy or game for the kids or inadvertently starting a product line. It depressed her that everything was being capitalized upon. She felt used sometimes.

"You set your own office hours, Liem, you can change them," Kai said. He looked at Nora's suddenly distraught face. He had heard her complaints. He tried to make up for the busier members of the Bind. But he could see what she was talking about. They were using her for their gain. Nora's goals surpassed Kadir and Cerez's and were multi-generational. She was about to cry. He was pissed off. What had changed in the few minutes she spoke to the three of them? He looked at Liem with suspicion. Kadir was impossible to read, other then a slight twitch of his eye. That could indicate he was also angry with Liem as well or more.

"We have been busy. I am sorry. I promise I am recruiting staff to help me with the business." Liem said, feeling guilty and panicked. Kai was scrutinizing the two of them. "I will be there with you and the children soon. I am sorry Nora." Liem looked at her sad face.

"It has been just so hard without you. I know what we are doing is important. But you are too, we are." Nora said sadly. He regretted being away from home so often. Kadir looked at his spouse's quivering lip, it had been weeks since he had been at home during the day since he was working on the program to teach the Droids how to self-repair. Part of that was done by breaking them in precise ways, which roped Kai into helping him. They were literally isolating them and putting all the household work on them. On top of that, Nora was running her own new project and Cerez had been running his. They had really been unfair.

"It has been a year of being so busy. That is why I helped you, Kadir. I missed you, and you just disappeared to the factory floor to proceed with your plans. I wanted to take some time to breathe with you, and you left us, Kadir. It was so disappointing." Nora said, firmly, her guilt changing into anger. "Then you refuse to stop talking about business in front of the children and out vote me on it when I tell you to stop. It is not fair that my vote as their Mother is so meaningless. Do you know that they ask about you, that I have to lie?" Nora said and slapped her leg with each syllable. She crossed her arms.

"You are right Nora, it is not fair that our votes are weighted so heavily in a situation where you should get an equal say," Kadir said. "I should be there, you are right. I am so sorry. I was clueless. I did not look at your motive. I just assumed that you were fine alone. It would be very disappointing to have the same experience. I assumed being working close was enough. I was always engrossed in my work. I have not had time for Astra, or you beyond being intimate with you some nights. Work is not more important than family," Kadir said. He felt terrible, they had been truly using her selfishly. She did not demand anything from them. Liem blotted at the tears.

"Sorry, beautiful." Liem said. Nora shoved him. "I am sorry. It has been really busy. I promise we will talk this out and apologize to Cerez when we get home. I am sorry that I have not been there for Sirona either. You definitely need a break. You have even been helping me, Nora. We are supposed to be equals, but you have been doing so much," Liem said as he worked on calming her down. Nora fumed. She had been more than patient in waiting for them to clue in themselves.

"I need a break?" Nora looked at Liem incredulously. He spent ten hours a day in the office, claiming that the kids were too loud.

"Choose. Your. Staff. Quickly," Nora said. She plucked a ring off her hand and whipped it hitting his forehead.

"Ow." Liem complained and laughed.

'Is he purposefully doing this?' Nora thought she was so pissed off at Liem she could cry. She wanted to call him an asshole.

'Did they need to sacrifice their children and Nora for their personal goals? Society was different from their family, and it was run entirely by females. Nora's reputation was enough to bend any clan's knee, it bent his mother's knee. She was obsessed with how their relationship was and if he was having problems,' Kai thought. He had no reason to respond now. He was free. He grasped her hand.

'At least, I am there more than they are. Would Kadir be upset knowing how much of a stack of artwork his daughter had personally created for me? Poor girl misses her Father,' Kai thought, as his thumb rubbed her hand. Nora gripped his own hand for comfort. He was happy to comfort her.

"Alright, we are about to be monitored, there is no way around it." Liem said. The transport, slowed as it queued at the front of the building as the HudaiLink software was taking care of the large amount of arriving transports and directing traffic.

"Please wait until the chime to depart your transport." an artificial notification said in their ears. Nora looked up, that was jarring to her, the voice was in her head. She hated the technology in her body. She hated the onslaught of chimes in her ears when she got up in the morning. She always had her own smartphone on vibrate or silent before she came her. Now she had no choice. It was only off when she was sleeping. She wanted to punch Lara Hudai in the face, simply for that.

"Good, it did not see anything on the scan," Kadir said in Korean, looking at Nora. He was relieved that the Virtual Games were protecting them all. Talan had followed through with approving the games release and allowing the slight tweak. A fatal command would be painful but it could not kill them.

"The development certificate gives us certain rights. But you can never be too sure." Liem said, in Korean, explaining, after a grateful, relieved sigh. Keeping his eyes on Nora, Liem continued talking to Kai.

"Remember, one of us has to be at her side, or watching, unless she is dancing to protect her from any unwanted touching and advances. She will give you the 'Help' hand sign", Liem finished. Nora did the hand sign to show him again.

"You will help me if my Calloran is hard to understand, yes? I am very nervous tonight." Nora said in Calloran. The men nodded for any video surveillance. They felt the transport move and stop. This took a while. Nora had time to sufficiently calm down after their fight, and they had time to check her hair, makeup and dress before the chime went off.