That night, I returned to my apartment after rushing to complete my work. I sent my boss an email apologizing for my sudden request to take leave for ‘urgent personal matters’. After packing some clothes along with a few things that I thought I would need into a small suitcase, I was ready to take the next flight back to where I was born and raised.
…
Standing in front of the tall gates in front of the estate where I grew up made me feel uneasy inside. I bet that not so many people felt the way that I felt when they returned to the place that was supposed to be their home. No one was there to greet me, but the gate was left unlocked showing that they were expecting me. Nothing much had changed at all about the estate and the large mansion was still in great condition and the large gardens well-tended to. The money from Anthony’s family along with his generosity was truly being put to good use here, I thought sarcastically as I pushed the gate and entered.
Soon I was standing in front of the front door while wondering if I should ring the doorbell. My eyes fell on the button located on the side of the door before a soft yet delirious laugh left my lips at the thought that I had to ring the doorbell to my own house. I lifted my hand and pressed down hard on the button after telling myself that this place was no longer my home and maybe it had never been. The only things I missed about this place were the memories that I shared with my sister as we grew up together here and nothing more.
“Oh…welcome Miss Dahlia. Your…umm…the lord and lady are waiting for you in the living room…” a middle-aged woman dressed in a maid uniform politely informed me.
I noticed her choice of words but decided not to make any comments. She opened the door and stood to the side to allow me in. I ignored her completely as I quickly made my way to the living room where my parents were waiting for me.
My family wasn’t the only highly influential family in the country. As our family began losing influence and power over the years and generations, another family rose up from a very humble background. The Vulkan family started off as a nameless merchant before growing into a large conglomerate that controlled a vast chunk of the domestic economy and market in addition to having many businesses and subsidiaries overseas. After starting off in trade, they rapidly expanded into energy and the manufacturing of electronics then into real estate and hospitality. In short, over the course of two to three generations, the family became the richest family in the country.
Since the time of my parents and before I was born, the country had been governed by our two families with the royal family acting as the balance of power in the middle. My family contributed to the overall ruling of the country by assisting the royal family while also playing a crucial part in the country’s politics both domestically and internationally. On the other hand, the Vulkan family dominated the business world which helps to drive the growth of the country’s economy.
Our two families quickly formed their own factions in both politics and business and became quiet rivals before evolving into public enemies of each other. Jealousy of what the other family had drove the head of the families to hate each other. Tension skyrocketed as both families competed for power. For many years the competition went on but there seemed to be a balance in power between the two families until one suddenly started to fall from grace.
“You’re here…” my father said passively when his cold grey eyes landed on me.
My mother turned to stare at me and the moment that I felt their eyes on me was the moment that I wished that I would just diffuse into thin air and disappear for good. Although they look like a normal and respectable couple that had been married for many years, the truth was anything but that. My lips curved up into a smirk as I made my way toward the sofa where the guests would typically take a seat while my mind recalled the moment that everything changed for us all.
Everything changed for our family one stormy night when my sister and I were around ten years old when we witnessed our parents arguing. It wasn’t their first time arguing but it was the first time that things turned violent between them, and we were there to witness it. As I grew up, I understood that at that point there was probably no way that they could hide from us that things had taken a turn for the worse for our family.
“This is all because of you! How dare you use so much money when you have never made a single cent in your life!” My father yelled so loudly at my mother that I could feel my eardrums ringing.
“Me? How can you possibly blame it on me? Your job is to work and make money to feed our family,” she quickly pointed out as she glared at my father.
“If only you managed the finances of this household well, this would have never happened. Instead, all you do is throw expensive parties and buy expensive things. All those new cars and collections of bags and jewelry. All those expensive trips abroad to watch fashion shows!” Father yelled back even louder than before.
“I do all of that for the face of our family. Can’t you see how bad it would look if I was missing from all those events or if I didn’t buy those things when the other families are there? All I did was do my job for the sake of our family!” My mother argued with her face red with rage.
“The only great thing about your spending is that now we have a bunch of overpriced junk to sell!” he screamed back at her again as if whoever was louder would win the argument.
--To be continued…
“You can’t sell my things! I won’t ever allow that…” my mother countered as her face transformed into a mask of shock.“We don’t have any other choice. Stop acting so selfish!” my father screamed back.“Me? Selfish? How can you blame this on me when you’re the one at fault!” she shouted back while pointing her index finger at her husband accusingly.“Contact your brother or someone from your family. I’m sure they have some money to lend us,” my father suggested.“Stop! I won’t let you embarrass me any further. This is already bad enough for me…” my mother said through gritted teeth.I had never seen her so openly angry before and she never spoke this way to my father. Normally, she was obedient toward him, and it seemed like the only person in our family whom she would direct harsh words toward was me. I felt my sister’s arms around my waist as she hugged me close. That was when I realized that I was scared of what was happening and also about what was going to happen to us in the fut
“There’s no need to threaten me. I’ll do my best to find her even if it’s not for your sake,” I replied in a flat voice.Back then, I had no idea what he had in mind when he told me that I would have to take responsibility if I couldn’t find my sister.…**The next day**Despite telling my parents that I would try my best to find my sister, I still didn’t have any solid idea where I would find Diana or why she had suddenly decided to disappear. The timing was just too perfect because it was so close to her upcoming wedding. The only source of comfort for me was my gut feeling that told me that she was doing fine wherever she was. If she was truly distressed or if she needed help, I was sure that she would have tried to get in contact with me by now.After making my escape from my parents and out into the long hallway of the mansion, I ran into one of our oldest housekeepers. The way her eyes lit up told me that she was pleasantly surprised to see that I had returned. Lauren must have
After thanking Lauren again and giving her a brief hug, I quickly made my way out of the mansion. The sun would be setting soon, and I wanted to take a stroll in the city for a while to take some photos for what I needed to do next. Although I wasn’t absolutely sure what Dina was up to, I had a very good guess.The city center felt even busier that early evening when I arrived than I remembered the last time that I was there. It seemed like a few more shopping malls had popped up and some new skyscrapers that were under construction the last time that I was there had opened up as well. As usual, the crowd was a good mix of people ranging from couples, university and high school students and regular working adults. I used to come here with my sister all the time to hang out after high school or whenever we were allowed or had the time.After finding a good spot in front of one of the shopping malls that my sister and I liked to frequent, I took out my mobile phone and snapped a few sel
“Come back home. This is just another fling of yours and it will be over in less than a month or two based on your historical track record,” I snapped as I clutched my mobile phone tightly in my hand.“You’re wrong, Leya. This time it’s definitely different. I don’t blame you since you’re no longer living with us. You see, I’ve been secretly dating him for almost a year now and we are truly in love with each other,” my sister announced while sounding very proud.A year...“You’ve been engaged to Anthony for over ten years! Also, please don’t make your success in staying in a relationship for longer than a few months sound like a lifetime achievement because it is not!” I barked through the phone.After shouting for so long, my throat had started to hurt. I was panting as my anger started to boil over. It wasn’t that Dina never matured from the days that we were kids but she had matured in a way that was uniquely and completely her own. Her view of the world wasn’t normal but I couldn’
**Back to the present**‘I can’t wait for tonight to arrive…’I had no idea why Anthony decided to say something like that to me. The playful and extremely flirtatious smile that he showed me made my heart skip a dangerous beat and for a moment I didn’t quite know how to react. I wasn’t sure if the Anthony that I knew would say something like that. Then again, it wasn’t like he was in a position to say something so playful and suggestive to me while he was my sister’s fiancé. Just like me, he probably never thought that he would end up marrying me instead of my sister.“Diana dear! Congratulations on your wedding. You have no idea just how long we’ve been waiting for this day to come. You look stunning! This dress looks perfect on you. You couldn’t have chosen a better dress,” a middle-aged woman with light blonde hair said while smilingly widely at me.“Thank you very much for your kind words. I hope you enjoy the party at the reception later on,” I replied smoothly.It felt like a s
His kiss felt gentle and loving yet demanding at the same time. It felt sweet yet slightly aggressive and unlike any kiss that I had ever experienced before. It left me curious and also eager for more. His lips worked to seduce mine until I felt like my body would melt in his arms. My lips slowly parted to grant his seeking tongue entry into the wet depths of my mouth. Anthony let out a satisfied moan as he thrusted his tongue firmly between my parted lips and into my mouth.“Mhmm…” I heard myself moaning even louder this time as my eyes drifted closed.The way his tongue seduced mine in a fervent dance of passion told me just how experienced and skilled he was. I had thought so since the first time that we kissed that he was such a good kisser, and he was probably the best that I have ever had. Although I knew that countless pairs of eyes were watching us, I couldn’t stop myself from kissing him back hungrily. My mind felt intoxicated with the pleasure of his kiss and thoughts of him
Since we are now married, it was only natural that I would be moving in to live with Anthony at his family estate. I recalled the large white mansion with a large French-style garden out front from my numerous visits there during childhood after the engagement between Anthony and my sister had been decided. Although the mansion that belonged to my family was already overly large, the Vulkan family estate where Anthony lived was much larger. I smiled a little to myself when I thought of the many encounters that we shared when we were younger whenever I had the chance to visit his home.After waiting for too long, Anthony and I were finally on our way back to what would be my new home. After leaving my mother and making my way back to Anthony’s side, he welcomed me back warmly before leading me to a large black limousine that would take us back to his place.“I still can’t believe that father invited that many people to our wedding,” Anthony commented with a hint of complaint before he
I automatically looped an arm around his neck as I pressed my body against his. Our tongues ground against each other as we both desired to feel closer and more connected. His hand moved to cup my shoulders before sliding down to caress my upper arm. I moaned softly into our kiss before he began sucking on my tongue teasingly. The jolts of pleasure that flooded my body and made my core clench with desire also made my body feel weak. Therefore, I was thankful when Anthony’s hand caressed its way all the way down my arm to my wrist before he took the champagne glass that I was still holding from me. It was a small miracle that I hadn’t spilled any champagne by that time given how busy we were with each other. I heard a small clinking sound when Anthony placed my glass down on the table.“Ahh…” I moaned before letting out a long sigh of pleasure when Anthony finally broke our kiss.I was panting hard as I stared back at him with almost teary eyes. He was such a good kisser, not that I di