“If you want me to stop calling you master, then go get changed. Your odor is not so becoming here,” Betty said, pushing Ryan even farther up the stairs after they all made it inside the grand foyer.

“All right, all right, enough, woman, enough.” Ryan laughed, then made his way to his suite. “I’ll get back at you for this, Betty.”

Ryan smiled, watching his stepmother wind her little hands around his father’s waist in a loving way, leading his old man to the main lounge. He shook his head, then went inside his room to wash away the stench that was staring to corrode his nostrils.

Life for...