CHAPTER 5 : FAMILY MEETING.

The meeting room of the family was situated in a secluded area of the mansion. Not secluded as in the real sense of it . However, this part of the mansion was not close to any major rooms . Though, it still had a couple of workers and security people around it. 

In the room, a very large round table sat firmly in the center of the room. Eleven chairs were set around it. The Elliot's family had five children ; three male folks and two female folks. James , being the first , was followed by Lucy and two other men, Brian and Theo, both married , before one would think of counting Annabelle, who happened to be the second daughter and last child of the household. Everyone was already married except Annabelle. 

They were all present with their spouses excluding two people. Annabelle was yet to arrive . Their mom too was yet to be there. 

" Hmmm, " Lucy exhaled tiredly , frustration already creeping out of her face.

" I can't believe this woman , " Tracy muttered beside her husband, James. 

" I just want to go to that lazy fool's room and pull her out , " James chipped in angrily. 

" And why is mom taking forever to come here?" Theo asked . 

" What does this have to do with Annabelle not being here ?" Brian cut in. " Is she supposed to come late to a family meeting? "

" I can't take this!" James said loudly. " Why will Annabelle keep everyone waiting despite knowing there's a family meeting to hold here . I will go to her room right away. "

He stood and wanted to walk away . 

" Will you stop right there? " Lucy said, slamming her palm on the table. 

James halted his move and turned , a glare leaving through his eyes. 

" Are you forgetting that I'm your elder brother? How dare you try to.command me? "

" You chose to obey the command, James," Lucy replied, standing to her feet. " Why are you being dramatic here? We all are waiting. It is not even as if we are actually waiting for Annabelle. "

" Why won't she be here? She's supposed to be," James pressed on. " Are you covering for her here? "

" Calm down, James. No one is covering for anyone. It is not as if we will kick off with the meeting if Annabelle arrives now . We still have to wait for mom to come. "

James gnashed his teeth and strode towards her . But before he could get to her chair, Harold, Lucy's husband, stood up and blocked him off. 

" That's my wife you are walking up to," Harold said. 

James knew he would not lay a finger on Lucy. Harold was well-to-do. Though, not well-to-do enough to push the family's business to the height it used to occupy . 

" Enough!!" Ms Eleanor's voice thundered, sending calm through the entire room. " James, return to your chair right now. "

Hesitantly , James returned to his chair. Ms Eleanor walked to her own chair and sat down. 

" Is Annabelle not here yet? " 

" I am here, " Annabelle said as she walked into the room. 

" What took you so long?!" James fired. 

" Keep it low , James, " Ms Eleanor said . " We will kick off the meeting right away. " She cleared her throat . 

There was a slight pause in the room , everyone eyeing Annabelle one after the other. But she was not flustered. 

" Why are you late, Annabelle? " Ms Eleanor asked. 

" I had to go somewhere," she replied firmly, walked to her chair and made herself comfortable. 

" Without wasting too much of our time, I will go straight to the point, " Ms Eleanor said, clasping her hands together. " Yesterday night, I got a call from Jake Clifford. And I believe you all know what that should mean. "

No response came from anyone. They just glanced at Annabelle who seemed to be the villain amongst them. 

" To cut the long story short , he has threatened to let his father know about the humiliation he had to face in our home. "

" Damn you, Annabelle!" Brian said angrily. 

Annabelle remained unmoved. At least, not by Brian's words. Brian acted like he was concerned . But in the true sense of it , he was only concerned about his quota of the luxurious life the family had. 

" He must have offered a possible solution, " Theo chipped in. " We can't possibly lose their hands over nothing. "

" Over nothing?" James asked. " This witch here slapped the only son of Mr Clifford. "

" Dad must be ashamed of you , James," Lucy said coldly. 

" What ? " James turned to Lucy. " What do you mean?"

" Our father made this business formidable enough to be revered by Mr Clifford. How dare you stain his legacy with your cheap cowardice?"

" Enough!!" Ms Eleanor silenced them. " That's not important right now. What is important at the moment is how to save the situation. We can't afford to let go of that man's hand. "

" What did he say ? " Theo asked. " He must have demanded something. "

" Well, as we all know, he wants to marry Annabelle. But before that, he has demanded that Annabelle should come to his office and tender an apology. That has to be the only way out for us at the moment. "

" That's not a big deal," James replied. " If an apology will solve it, then Annabelle should go right away to tender an apology. "

" Annabelle, what do you say?" Ms Eleanor asked. " You have to be in his office to apologize for what you did wrong. "

" I did nothing to apologize for," Annabelle said coldly. 

" You have no choice here, bitch!!" James fired. 

" With all due respect," Claire, Theo's wife said," mother-in-law, I can't stand this. My sister-in-law is not a bitch. I didn't marry into a family of harlots. "

" Keep your damn mouth shut! " James ordered. 

" You don't order my wife like that," Theo cut in. 

Lucy scoffed. " Someone tried to harass a daughter of this household. And we all are here trying to make her apologize for it. Are we for real here? "

" We don't have enough power yet, Lucy, " Ms Eleanor replied. " You lie low when you have no power. "

While the banter was still going on, the bell to the meeting room rang . 

Who would dare interrupt the meeting? 

Annabelle chuckled loudly. Rising from her chair, she opened the door. When the nasty looking young man walked in, the whole place was thrown into chaos. 

" What the hell?!!"

" Security!!"

" Who is that?!!!"

Annabelle smiled and said," calm down, everyone. I would not need to marry that bastard son of a bitch any more. "

" What...what do.. you mean? '' Ms Eleanor asked , confusion written all over her face. 

" This ," Annabelle said with a smile," is my husband. "

Mike could see the wave of shock that hit them all. Their jaws dropped. They definitely didn't hear her right.