Mwah-ha-ha-ha! I Was Hoping For An Alien Abduction At A Certain Household In Bluewater But I Didnt Think

Mwah-ha-ha-ha!  I was hoping for an alien abduction at a certain household in Bluewater but I didn’t think it would happen so soon!  Mwah-ha-ha!  I love it!

“And this must be the kitchen,” Abby said.  “Tell me, does Mr. Landgraab cook for himself?”

“He does,” Malcolm grinned.  “The current Mr. Landgraab is, as you know, a master of reheating frozen food.  He has learned quite a lot since the days when he would burn his macaroni and cheese.”

“Oh I’m so glad!”

“So, about those secrets?”

“Now we come to the upper portion of the Landgraab manor.  This floor is dedicated to all of the bedrooms, including two nurseries, two children’s rooms, and two master bedrooms.”

Abby frowned. “That’s a lot of bedrooms. I thought there was kind of this tradition of just one kid per generation.”

Malcolm shrugged. “There is, but that’s more because everyone’s gotten lucky and had a boy on the first try.  Technically the legacy rules don’t limit the number of children.  You just have to have a boy and name him Malcolm.”

"Do you think you’ll have more than one kid?” Abby asked.  “Or will little Malcolm V be the only one?”

Malcolm felt his face flush.  He ran a hand through his hair.  “I haven’t really thought about it yet,” he said.  “I have to get married first.”

“Not necessarily,” Abby said with a grin. 

Malcolm grinned back. “Okay, technically I could have a kid before I get married, but even if it was a boy, I don’t think he’d count as heir.  There’s a lot of rules about how and when I have to get married.  It’s a requirement to keep the legacy going.”

“What if you don’t get married?  What if you didn’t want to?”

“I’d lose everything.  The legacy would end.”

“Yikes!”  Abby laughed.  “That’s kind of old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

“It’s tradition,” Malcolm said with a shrug.  “Believe me, if I could get around it, I would.  The marriage rules are driving me nuts!  Let’s keep going with the tour, okay?”

“Lead on, Mr. Landgraab!”

9 am. Bluewater Herald offices.

“Bluewater Herald. This is Abigail Slater.”

“Abigail, my dear.  I was so delighted to see your story in the paper this morning.  Well done!”

“Thanks, Uncle Howie. And thanks for your help.”

“You are very welcome, my dear.”

Emotion Prompt: Hurt

Malcolm is feeling hurt because of Abby.

Malcolm’s hands had stiffened on the edges of the newspaper, his knuckles turning white.  The thin pages were crumpling in his fingers.  It would have been easy to tear the whole thing into pieces.  It would have been so easy, except that he was frozen, numb, unable to do anything but read the words over and over again. 

Phrases kept popping out at him.  “...looking for love in all the wrong places.” “...my efforts finally paid off...” 

Had it all been a lie? A farce? A trick, just to get the inside scoop?  Was she that ruthless?  That heartless?  How could she have lied to him?  How could she have...He had been so sure!  He had been so certain that she loved him the way he loved her.  It had only been a season, but he had been certain.  After last night...He had entertained the thought of going to the bank for the ring.  And now...

He closed his eyes against the words on the page, but it was as if he could hear her voice in his head, reading them. 

“Mr. Landgraab seems content to profit from his family legacy, joking about all the ‘important work’ he does taking calls from his business employees and ‘other annoying people’.  Said employees report that Mr. Landgraab has been heard yelling on his cell phone at his businesses.  

Apparently, Mr. Landgraab is not as keen on the actual rules of his family legacy, which legally require that he marry within a certain time frame.  Mr. Landgraab said that ‘the marriage rules are driving me nuts’. 

Those rules, according to Mr. Howard Fleming, the Landgraab family lawyer, and the autobiography of Malcolm Landgraab I, require the heir to marry within a certain time frame or lose everything his family has built.  The current Mr. Landgraab is running out of time.  Will this reporter be the woman to help him keep what he has?  Unlikely, readers, but only time will tell.”

He wanted to find her.  He wanted to scream at her, shake her, demand that she take it all back and apologize.  How could she do this?  How could she betray him like this?  

Was I only a story to you? he wanted to ask. Was I only a chance for you to get a big break at work?  Was it all a lie, an act?  Did you ever even like me, or did you just pretend so you could twist my words and take things out of context and stab me in the heart?

His fingers finally tore the newsprint.  The paper fluttered out of his hands and floated to the floor.  Malcolm brought his hands to his face instead.  He had lost everything.