POV Ella
Click.
The door on my side of the car opens wide, and I get my first look at the Ingram Mansion. It is everything I thought it would be — huge beyond belief, looming into the sky.
The entrance to the house is a huge double door, preceded by a marble walkway lined by statues. The whole mansion is a spotless white from the outside, with marble detailing, beautiful yet untouchable.
Keith leads the way towards a man in butler's uniform, standing at the doors.
Keith smiles with a familiarity born from knowing someone a lifetime and says, "Howdy Johnson. You aged well while I was away. How is your wife now?"
I look on curiously.
"Welcome home, Master Keith," the butler, Mr Johnson smiles. " It has been a while hasn't it? My wife is doing really well now. It was a tough two years, but I am glad to be back now." His eyes sparkle as he looks at me, "I heard you got married."
Keith stiffens slightly, and I might not have noticed if I hadn't been so on edge. His smile turns plastic but he nods. "I did indeed. This is Ella. Ella this is Johnson, the heart of this household."
" Welcome home Miss Ella," Johnson smiles again.
" How do you do Mr Johnson? It's nice to meet you." I smile back, though my heart aches.
Keith is once again avoiding introducing me as his wife.
"There you both are! You are almost late! Seriously, there is no time for chit-chat!" Haley Ingram storms towards us as if the hounds of hell are at her feet.
She stops right in front of me, and looks me up and down, much like Kat this morning.
I smile to greet her. She frowns instead.
"After so much time and effort, is this all they managed to do? Even miraculous talent and designer labels can't do much if there's nothing to work with." Her frown deepens.
"She looks fine, mom. Let's not keep Grandpa waiting." Saying so, Keith takes his mother's hand and leads her further inside, expecting me to follow behind.
And so it starts.
I try to shove my pain and humiliation into a box and park it somewhere I can forget about, but they resist with everything they have.
I will not show weakness.
I totter behind them on unsteady feet. A fall will just make my humiliation complete. I can only imagine what his family will say.
Look how uncouth she is. Can't even walk straight in heels and is now tasting the floor. Poor Keith.
We reach another set of double doors. "Go on, Grandpa's waiting." Haley ushers us inside, still frowning at me every chance she gets, and shuts the doors behind us.
A distinguished looking old man sits at the desk, the same one from the wedding.
Keith stands at attention, waiting for his acknowledgement and I wait beside him. Grandpa exudes a cold, lethal aura that has my heart thumping loudly in my chest as we wait. I snag a tiny loose thread on my jacket and start pulling.
One minute. Two.
SNAP!
Grandpa shuts the file he's reading, and his piercing silver gaze first finds Keith and then shifts to me. He looks unimpressed.
"So, you've finally come to pay your respects."
Keith bows slightly. "Sorry for being late Grandpa."
"I wasn't talking to you. Step out."
My throat goes dry and I look at Keith with pleading eyes. I don't want to be alone with this wolf.
I gulp, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
Please don't leave me here.
My plea goes unanswered. He looks a little uncomfortable but shrugs— as if to say, what can you do?— and steps out.
I stand there, tense, as Grandpa continues to stare at me, as if to read every thought in my mind.
My breath escalates, and the drama of the day is already taking its toll. I break out into a cold sweat, and anxiety clings to me like a bad odor.
"Sit."
I sit. I feel a little dizzy, having snapped to sitting in a second. I cross my ankles and try to maintain my poise as best I can while trying to stay upright. The silence stretches, and I nearly pass out.
"Grandpa, it's nice to meet you." I speak softly, to break the quiet.
"Save your platitudes for someone who cares, girl. I'm too old to play this song and dance with you."
He shifts in his chair, like a wolf crouching before the attack. He leans towards me, and I'm hard-pressed to prevent myself from leaning back. I'm completely at a loss for what to say, but he doesn't keep me waiting.
"I promised to make Keith the heir to Ingram Tech if he could get me your father's company. He has. But this deal is contingent on your marriage. As such, until this merger is finalised, don't do anything to break this marriage. No scandals, no social events, no family outings."
His eyes are cold as ice as he continues,"Sit in your house, enjoy the money Keith throws at you, and then get out when you're told. If you screw things up for us, make no mistake, I will destroy you."
Bitter fury wells up within me so forcefully it leaves me gasping.
Enough! Where do you get off, treating me like this!
"Maybe you should tell your grandson this." I reply coldly. "It's not me who is likely to create a scandal." It takes all of my fury and strength to muster the courage to say this.
His eyes go colder, if that's even possible.
"I don't think you understand the position you are in. Your father did warn me of your stubborn streak and stupidity." He looks me straight in the eye.
"You are unwanted. Your father specifically mentioned that they want nothing to do with you now. You belong to the Ingrams as long as you and Keith are married. No one is coming to save you. You will do as you are told, or suffer the consequences."
All the fight drains out of me. No one is coming to save you.
He leans back in his chair. "Your father has told me all about your tendency to cause trouble. Even your sister has mentioned how much of a liability you are. So I'm drawing the lines of your box, and you will stay within it."
All I want is for the earth to open up and swallow me. Why would my father do that? What was the need?
You shouldn't have come into the world when it was inconvenient for them. Now pay the price forever.
My whole body hurts. His words hit me like barbs, piercing my heart with unerring accuracy. Despair engulfs me.
They don't even care to know me. I am just a pawn in their big, important games.
Everything that has happened since this morning hits me like a freight truck. I gasp, and my whole body shivers with suppressed horror and fear.
Everything I am, and everything I could've become is reduced to one state — unwanted.
"I want this deal done as soon as possible. You will stay out of everyone's way. There's no need to come to the other lunches. No one here cares to know you. Now get out."
He turns away from me. I'm clearly dismissed.
I get up on shaky legs. Slowly but surely, numbness spreads through my entire body.
What did I do to earn such cruelty?
I step out of the door, but there is no one. I don't know where to go, or what to do. I look around blindly, blood ringing in my ears. My head pounds, and I can't feel my fingers.
I turn left and start walking. No one cares to know you. Indeed.
I turn another corner and stop short. Keith is right there. I start towards him. Maybe he will choose to see me today. He shifts a little and I spot a head with blond hair and green eyes. Why is she here, at a family lunch?
I stop again. I didn't think I could endure more despair today. How wrong you are.
They don't even see me.
"I'm glad I got to see you today. When are you leaving for college?" Keith's voice with Eliana is different. Softer.
"Next month. I'll be coming back for my birthday though. Mom and dad can't abide not seeing me on that day." Eliana smiles, then hesitates. "How are things with Ella? Is she troubling you a lot?"
Keith hesitates, as if debating what to say. His face is thoughtful, as if remembering all the time we've spent together. He opens his mouth once, then closes it. He seems to make up his mind before continuing in the same soft warm tone. "No, not really. Nothing I can't handle. Did she give you too much grief?"
Eliana shakes her head but says, "She's always acted out when she was jealous or wanted something. We put up with such behaviour as much as we can, but mom and dad have had it. I feel bad for her, you know. She is my sister after all."
Keith nods along like it's the most natural thing he is hearing. Is he insane? Can't he see she is putting on an act?!
I snort in disbelief. I want to scream. I want to break them. I want to destroy the world. And yet, I stand there. Unable to move.
My vision starts to go red. My cheeks feel wet and cold. Pain spikes in my head. I can't feel my toes anymore either. I keep hearing Keith and Eliana's conversation on loop.
They both look up at my snort. Eliana looks delighted, before she puts on her mask of concern. Keith looks at me, his face going through a range of emotions. He looks frustrated first, at the interruption. Then he frowns fiercely, fists clenched at his side. Then his scowl falls away to be replaced by concern and he starts forward.
All of this I see, as if in slow motion. Time seems to lose all meaning. I feel as if I'm underwater, heart thundering, drowning under the weight of everybody's hate and dislike.
I suddenly feel fingers grip above my elbows and I'm whirled around. A hand rises.
CRACK!
I feel sharp stinging pain bloom across my right cheek. My lip hurts, and the taste of copper fills my mouth. My ear starts ringing, and I hear shouting in the background.
A woman with a pair of silver eyes — like Keith's — glares at me with such vitriol I'm sure she's going to kill me with her bare hands. I almost welcome it.
The hand rises, but I feel no impact. My knees give out and I fall to the floor. Chaos erupts all about me, and I just sit there on the floor, shocked and broken.
In this chaos, I feel a pair of warm hands lift me up, carry me to the side and seat me on a bench. A pair of silver eyes enter my field of vision. Worried this time.
"Are you alright?" I don't know.
Will I ever be?