Sam turned Alia's body so that she faced him and away from that crazy woman. Even though Alia was drunk and looked like a mess, she was still beautiful, and her figure was outstanding. Any men who saw her would drool and fantasize about her.
Her long black hair, fair skin, and voluptuous body could attract any straight man's attention. Not only that, despite her age of forty-two years, she didn't look a day older than thirty. Alia's beauty was incomparable, even when she didn't wear any makeup.
"You're just a young brat who knows nothing. This woman is a home-wrecker! She seduced my husband!"
The crazy woman started to spout nonsense again. Sam clicked his tongue in annoyance, not wanting to waste more of his energy on her.
"I've never even seen anyone this pathetic and shameless before. I'm sure your husband doesn't even love you, right? With this attitude, it's not surprising if he looks for someone else." Sam couldn't hold back from saying these words.
He had never been one to keep his mouth shut when someone was being rude to his loved ones. And this time was not any different.
The crazy woman gaped and screeched, "You! How dare you!"
"Yeah, yeah, I dare. What are you going to do about it? Oh right, you're going to call me a brat again. Ha! Get lost, you crazy old woman!"
Sam closed the door, making the woman scream in anger. He could hear the woman shouting in the corridor for a few minutes, and then she was gone. Good riddance.
"Mom, you shouldn't have bothered with her. You know she's crazy. Why waste your time with her? If you ignore her, she'll get tired and go away on her own."
Sam shook his head and led his stepmom to the living room, sitting her on the couch. Then he got on his knees and helped her remove her high heels.
Alia didn't reply, only staring at Sam with a dazed look. After a while, she sniffled and sobbed softly.
"Ah... Mom..."
Seeing Alia cry, Sam couldn't help but hug her. He patted her back and murmured, "It's okay... It's okay... Don't cry."
"It... it hurts, Sam..."
Alia clutched onto his shirt and buried her face in his chest, sobbing. "It's so hard... I had to hold it in at work, trying to smile even though I wanted to cry so badly. And that woman always comes to disturb me... I just hate it so much..."
"I know, Mom. I know..."
"Tell me... What did I do wrong? Am I wearing any inappropriate clothes to attract men? Did I flirt with anyone? I didn't, right? I was just walking down the hallway when Mr. Johnson greeted me, and then she started screaming at me again. Why? Why is she like that? What did I do to her?"
"Mom, calm down. You did nothing wrong, okay? That woman is just sick in the head. Don't let her bother you anymore."
Sam kept hugging his stepmom while rubbing her back soothingly. He could feel his chest getting wet from Alia's tears, but he didn't mind.
His poor stepmom had to go through so much ever since Dad passed away. Not only did she have to take care of the family expenses on her own, she had to deal with all those jealous and gossipy women at her workplace and in their neighbourhood.
She didn't act flirty with anyone nor wear revealing clothes. She was just being herself, and people seemed to be bothered by it.
Even now, with her smeared makeup and slightly dishevelled simple dress, she was still pretty and attracted other men. It was her charm that drew people in but also caused trouble.
Sometimes Sam wanted to punch all those annoying men and women who were trying to harass his stepmom. But it wouldn't do any good. Instead, it would make things harder for Alia.
He could only sigh in frustration.
They sat there, embracing each other, until Alia's tears subsided.
"Are you feeling better now?" Sam pulled away from the hug and looked at Alia's face. He took a tissue from the side table and wiped her face carefully.
Alia's eyes were swollen and red from crying, and it pained Sam to see her like that.
"Yes... I'm sorry, Sam. I'm just tired. I shouldn't have cried like that. I didn't mean to burden you." Alia held Sam's hand and caressed it. "You're still young and you don't need to be bothered with this kind of stuff."
"What are you saying, Mom? We're a family, and family should support each other no matter what."
"You're right. But I shouldn't have bothered with that crazy woman and should've just ignored her. Then I wouldn't need to let you see me like this."
"It's fine. You should take a hot bath and go to sleep. It will make you feel better."
Alia nodded and stood up with Sam's help, but her body swayed. "Ugh... My head's a little dizzy. I think I might've drank a bit too much."
"That's not good, Mom. You know your alcohol tolerance is low, yet you still drank that much? Let me help you."
Sam wrapped his arms around Alia's waist to hold her up. She leaned her body against his and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Together, they went inside the bathroom.
Once inside, Sam looked at Alia and saw her cheeks flushed red. It was quite adorable and alluring. But he quickly shook that thought off.
"Okay, I'm going to go now. If you need any help, just call me."
Alia nodded and slowly released her hold on Sam. Once she was standing on her own, Sam turned to leave.
But he stopped when Alia held his hand. "Wait... Help me unzip my dress, Sam. I'm too dizzy to do it myself."
"Oh? Ah... Sure."
Sam hesitated for a moment before turning around to face Alia. His eyes went straight to the zipper behind her, and he slowly unzipped it, revealing her back and a bit of her white underwear.
Once the zipper was all the way down, Sam quickly turned his back to Alia and said, "I'll be outside if you need me."
"Okay, thanks."