Chapter 4

Ariana’s POV.

I turned to look at him as he draped a shawl over my shoulder. I gasped when I saw his face. He was so handsome in person, and I finally understood why mama was still in love with him from afar, despite all that he did to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked in that crisp voice I usually heard on the tv.

“D…dad?”

“I’m here,” he said, patting my head. “You’re safe now.”

He then turned to Blair and her friends. “What is this? What are you doing to my daughter?”

Blair crossed her arms over her chest. “And what about me? Aren’t I your daughter too?”

He looked at her with disappointment, shaking his head. Then he turned to the other kids. “Everyone, out. Now!”

They scrambled out, some discreetly taking bottles of wine along with them.

“Drop that,” he said to one of the kids. “You’re not eighteen, are you?”

The boy’s smile faltered. “No, Mr. Sinclair.”

He joined the others and ran out. I saw Jake give Blair a look of disapproval before walking to the door. She ran after him.

“Jake, wait!”

But he paid no heed to her and walked away. Soon, it was just me, Blair, and my father in the living room. Why did he look like he was angry for what she did to me? That doesn’t make him different from the rest of them. He had the power to stop it and did nothing.

“Thank you, Mr. Sinclair,” I said to cut the awkward silence.

But things only got worse. He looked at me with hurt written on his sharp features. Looking at him now, I could see that I had more of his features, while Blair had more of mama’s. While Blair had a soft, angelic face, I had more pronounced features.

A chiseled jawline, high cheekbones, dark almond eyes, full lips, and a thin straight nose. On the other hand, she had a fuller oval face with a pointed chin, large doe eyes, a straight nose, and lush lips.

It was a pity that she carried just mama’s face, and not her character.

“Call me father,” he told me.

“No, she won’t!” Blair yelled.

“We talked about this already, Blair, stop throwing tantrums.”

She scoffed. “You won’t even call me your gem because of her. You just called me ‘Blair’ because of this girl.”

“This girl is your sister, Gem. Don’t get jealous. I should love you two equally.”

“You can’t do that!”

I cleared my throat. “Can I say something?”

“Go ahead,” my father said.

“Thank you, Mr. Sinc…” when I saw the pained look on his face, I corrected myself. “Papa…”

Blair burst out laughing. “Papa? What kind of ghetto name is that? You can’t even listen to a simple instruction. How embarrassing.”

“Blair!” he thundered.

She stared back at him defiantly. “What? I’m only stating the obvious.”

“I can’t believe you’re like this,” I whispered in disappointment.

She became angry suddenly. “Do you think I care about what you believe?”

“You’re just straight up mean.”

“And you’re just straight up ghetto.”

“I hope you change one day.”

“I hope you leave us alone one day.”

My father put up his hand. “That’s enough, girls.”

He turned to me. “You must be cold. Go to your room for a warm bath and a change of clothes.”

“I’ll do that after I ask the questions in my mind.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did you leave mama? She always hoped that you would come back for her. She died without seeing you and her second daughter.”

He sighed. “Did her heart attack start suddenly? Or did she have symptoms of it earlier?”

“Does it matter now? She’s dead… gone! She didn’t die happy, and it’s your fault.”

“Some things are better left unsaid, kid. I wish I could tell you everything, but you wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m sixteen for crying out loud! I’ll understand… So please, stop saying that to me, just like she always did.”

“We’ll talk about this later. You must be hungry. Change our clothes first, let’s…”

“Did you know about me before?” I asked.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. That was the main question on my mind, and I really wanted to know if I meant anything to him or not.

“I didn’t.”

“I don’t believe that,” I deadpanned. “You know everything you want to know.”

“Because I’m rich?”

“Yes. How could you just leave without turning back? Even not for my sake, but for mama’s sake.”

“We’ll talk about this later, Ariana,” he said.

He turned to talk to a woman whom I hadn’t noticed. “Please, help her clean up, Rachel.”

“Yes, Mr. Sinclair,” Rachel said.

Then he turned to me. “This is Rachel, your nanny.”

My nanny? I was sixteen for crying out loud, not six!

*** ***

School wasn’t as bad as I had pictured it to be. Due to what happened at Blair’s party, I had thought that there would be a continuation of it when I got to the school. But to my surprise, they all seemed to have forgotten about me.

It was as if they didn’t know who they had bullied last night. They probably took pleasure in bullying anyone they had access to. I tried my best to stay invincible, since that seemed to be the only way I would go unnoticed amongst them.

During the lunchbreak, I wandered around, looking for the cafeteria. The place didn’t even seem like a school. It was as if I were in some relaxation center. I got my food and walked to the corner of the cafeteria where I was sure that there were no prying eyes.

I sat down and began eating. I had barely taken a bite of my food when a hand reached out and swatted my food off the table. Plates and cutleries came clattering to the ground as my food spilled.

I looked up to see Blaire smirking at me. Everyone had gone quiet now. They were eagerly anticipating what would follow. I felt humiliated at what had just happened. They all looked at me like I was some outcast, including my own sister.

“What’s this, Blair?” I asked.

“Didn’t you learn manners and hierarchy in your old ghetto school?”

I sighed and looked at the mess on the floor, my stomach growling in hunger. “What does that mean?”

“Are you really asking me that?” she scoffed. “The fact that the cafeteria is full, and no one is sitting here should tell you a lot. This seat does not belong to you. Stand up right now.”

I remained on the seat as I calmly brought out a handkerchief to clean the stain on my blazer. When she saw this, she raged even more.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said stand up!”

I looked up at her finally. “I won’t. You met me here, and I won’t leave for you.”

Everyone began to talk immediately. It seemed like they weren’t used to anyone defying Blair, and it somehow made me feel unsafe. What if she did something to hurt me because of this? After all, I had come to know her as someone who is power hungry.

She looked at her girls. “What are you waiting for? Drag this ghetto girl away from here. Don’t forget to clean the seat too while you’re at it.”

They immediately dragged me as I stubbornly held the table. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and fell to the ground, my face deep in the mess my food made. Everyone burst out laughing immediately at my misfortune.

The meal I was having was spicy, so my face burned. I couldn’t see properly as my eyes were on fire, so I reached out to Blair for help. But instead of offering me a wipe, she smeared more hot sauce on my face, causing me to scream out in pain.

“Please, help me, Blair,” I cried. “My eyes hurt, please.”

I could hear her laughing with the other kids. This made me wonder why they were all so heartless.

“What is the meaning of this?!” I heard an angry voice.

I couldn’t see what was going on. I reached out, hoping that I would somehow be guided to my bag. But that was not what happened. Masculine hands grabbed me, and everyone gasped. In no time, those hands began to wipe my face with wet wipes.

I was impatient. I really wanted to see who my knight in shining armor was.

“Jake, what are you doing helping that ghetto girl?” Blair blurted out.

Jake? Why was he helping me now?