My father always dressed like he was at a meeting with his board members. Even when we were on bankruptcy and begging for help to Sunshine corporation.
His neat ironed shirt and coat ,with ties that had gold pins always , even back at the house in a very quiet summer night none of the strand of his hair were allowed to be astrayed .
He always said that it was to put an example to his children - us . While I tried my best to follow him , Jasper never did .
My brother always felt suffocated by his presence. So he grew more and more unruly - the only time they would ever be talking was when he was getting beaten with the cane .
That damn cane.
" Go ," I ordered Jasper ," Run !"
" But -," he hesitated.
" Listen to me !," I said . I had to protect him . I could not let him be dragged by my father again.
" Autumn ," my father sounded hurt ," Why do I owe this kind of behaviour from you ,darling ?"
I stood up , ignoring the lancilating pain in my leg from the cut I had received from crossing the fence ," Mister Anderson, my husband is here. Do you need the Sunshine Corporation to know about our family drama ?"
" And why would their family interrupt in our family business?," his eyes were cold like ice .
" Cause they care about their rigid stupid moral value ," I reminded him ," What if they decide our characters are not good enough for me to be part of their household. You will lose the connection with the Sunshine forever then ."
He was quiet .
" Tell your guards to not touch Jasper ," I said ," I will go with you and give explanation on it ."
My father , he could not really abuse me like he could with my brother or my mother , since I had to be on television every week , I was the safest bet .
" Alright , I needed to talk to you , anyway ," he shrugged ," I can listen to anything my princess says ."
I turned at Jasper and grabbed his face. He had gone white .
" Jayjay go now ," I told him ," I will handle this ."
" But I am supposed to protect you ," he whisphered in a broken voice .
Stupid , this stupid brother of mine.
" It is alright , go now ! ," I shoved him ," Go !"
This was a responsibility I had to shoulder forever . It was a promise I had made to my mother when she was still sane.
" Oh my !"
Mrs. Ravesh had come back with a tray full of snacks ," You are bleeding !"
" This is okay , I am going to take her to the hospital for a proper treatment," father placed a hand on my shoulder," I am Mr.Dane and you are ?"
I did not know how much exactly my father knew about this place . But I could not let him find my husband's weakness .
" Mrs. Ravesh , why don't you tell my husband that I am going with my father for some business?," I told her ," I don't really think he will like me to interrupt now in his billiards ."
" Yes ?," she looked confused but thankfully noded and did not say much .
I started walking before him .
" We could stop by first for getting your leg treated," my father said in a gentle voice, he snapped his finger and an umbrella was held over my head .
" No it is okay , I would like to talk with you first ," I said .
I stared back at the house for the last time. Liam probably had no idea that I was leaving .
Atleast my brother was gone by now . I knew that eventually he would get caught by dad again but I had to do something about it .
I had to protect him .
" How did you find out this place ?," I asked father .
" Oh please , it is not like I had not been here before ," he shrugged ," In your firs year if marriage, Anderson would toe me here like talk about wasting time . I swear that boy had his brain ruined for this idol business."
I pressed my lips together. There was no way Liam would let the chairman find out about his ' sickness' or whatever he had .
" What were you here for ?," I asked nonchalantly .
" For you , obviously," he noded earnestly," You are my greatest asset . Ofcourse I had to be here for you every Friday."
" For me ? I used to come here ," I was puzzled, I had no memory of this place.
Maybe I was just confused since it had been so hectic for the past few days .
I went to sit beside my father in the car . I wondered if I would be back for the dinner I was supposed to have with Liam .
" Where are we going ?," I asked my father ,even though I already knew the answer ," To see your mother , ofcourse, she must miss us terribly , right ?"
I ignored the lump forming inside my throat .
Father would not hurt me . Cause I was his princess. But he knows how to tear me apart .
" Don't be such a coward ," I hissed ," It is between me and you , isn't it ?"
" No darling , it was never between me and you ," he reminded me in a gentle voice," It was between me and your brother . You are the one who interrupted between us . So it is better for us to have a family discussion now ."
My fingers were turning cold as if I was slowly drowning into the water .
" I thought that I would not have to worry about it now that you are old ," he said , wiping his cane with his handkerchief," You are still making so much trouble for your poor mother ."
I clutched my palms into fists to stop them from trembling.
It was my brother or my mother in anyway . Father knew damn well how I could not really give up on any of them.
" Alright let's go to mother ," I said , trying to smile at him. I was not going to give up yet .
If he was going to give me hell , I might show him one as well.