Chapter Three

Lenora

I was suddenly thrown to the ground, too shocked to process the slap. Blinking back tears from the shock I turned back to find her looking at me with a sneer on her face.

“You ungrateful bitch,” she hissed, her words like a blow to my chest.  Before I could say another word she grabbed my chin, tugging it to meet her disdainful sneer.

“Are you serious? Do you realize how much we've spent on the wedding? After all the preparations we've done, the fanfare, the press, you want to cancel it?”

I never asked for that, I wanted to scream. I didn't mind having a simple wedding if it meant that I could be with Liam . It was them that dictated every detail of the grand wedding they wanted full of publicity.

Tears sprung from the pain of her fingers digging into my cheeks. And then, it suddenly loosened. 

I blinked, barely processing what was going on when her face was drawn to a disdainful smile.

“Then again, I knew you wouldn't disappoint."

What?

She stepped aside and that was when I finally looked around. On the faces of Renee and Jackson there wasn't shock or even anger. Only a deep seated expectation. Even satisfaction.

“Calm down Penelope, You wouldn't have wasted your energy on a nobody like her,” Jackson, my father in law said as she sauntered back to him to my absolute shock. 

“I couldn't help it.” she scoffed, looking at her nails and hand. “Id been holding back on teaching her a lesson for so long. Truly a waste of time.”

My belly roiled in protest. Something was wrong.

“What's going on?” I breathed out “Father in law.” 

My voice cracked as he looked at me. Where there was something akin to neutrality or warmth, a look if once latched into with hope that I was getting somewhere with them, now laid calm disdain.  

“Since we're shedding all pretense, let me clear. I've never approved of you. My son has always deserved someone better than you. You should be grateful he was even marrying you in the first place but did you think he would be content with someone like you? " I flinched against his words. “That friend of yours, Amy, at least knows how to hold herself up. Just because of a little cheating, you actually planned to leave. Cheap people have no idea of value.”

My cheek throbbed painfully. As I looked at them, all I could feel was a bone-chilling disbelief. 

They knew. Knew about Amy and Liam cheating behind my back. But they didn't care. To them, I had been a nuisance this whole time. 

And somehow, they had expected me to find out. Why?

Was this the family I had devoted myself to for the past five years? 

My jaw hurt from how hard I clenched it, the knot in my throat growing bigger. I didn't have any words to say, what would explain this?

It felt like I was seeing their true faces for the first time. I had been blind.

“If you're so adamant, there is one solution,” Renee said, making me snap up. She stood aside in a fur coat, before staring at me. “If you're so set on breaking off the engagement or don't attend, you might as well refund us all the money we spent for the preparations. Press announcements, hall preparations, all the balls and galas we've had. The invitations and more sum up to approximately 3 million, give or take. Can you do that?” 

My blood turned cold. Snapping to the faces I once called mother and father in law, I only saw a tacit understanding between them. They looked at each other, as if this moment of theirs was rehearsed. Like this was their plan all along.

“You can't do this.” I whispered.

“You’ll find Lenora, that we very well can.” Jackson stepped forward, patting Renee's shoulder slightly, “If you don't comply, we'll take you to court and sue you for fraud. We can accuse you of being a golddigger that seduced my son and wants to run away. Nobody would dare defend you. We can hire the best lawyers and take back every cent for the past five years you spent leeching our family.”

“Uncle, do you think she can handle that?” Janine huffed before turning to me, “You wouldn't be able to pay us back even your whole life.”

Her words sparked laughter. Soon she was laughing  along with the rest of her thrice damned family. I could only watch in horror as they stared at me, disdain and expectation in their eyes. 

“But if you can’t?” Jackson's face fell, “Then shut up. You'll attend the wedding.”

“But…” 

But he wouldn't be there, I wanted to say. Yet staring at him, I knew that they knew it already.

I inhaled sharply as I realized what they were expecting of me. There was no way that Liam  would be attending the wedding, yet they wanted me to be there.

 They were expecting me to humiliate myself at the altar for the sake of their reputation.

“Your presence and association already humiliated my son and our family name more than enough.” Jackson said, glaring down at me imperiously. “You should be grateful that we are handing you this slight. After all, you practically begged us like a dog for it.”

I flicked at his words but Penelope looked vindicated.

“Exactly. This is the least you can do. Nobody like you dared to reach for our family, so you should bear all that comes with it.” Penelope sneered, heels clicking until they stopped in front of me.

“So what do you say?”

…

“Those bastards!” Reese cursed out, pacing, “They let that asshole cheat, encouraged it even, just so you can call off the wedding and make you pay? So this was their plan all along?”

I  remained numb, sitting on the couch. I couldn't recall how I'd fled the Hampton’s mansion to Reese's place without giving an answer, or how long I remained sitting in place until Reese returned, finally shaking the truth out of me. 

Reese hissed, dragging her hands through her hair. She looked so incensed one would ink that she was the one burned with the threat of millions in debt.

“There has to be something you can do…ANYTHING-”

“There's nothing Reese.” I replied hollowly.

There were only two choices. I canceled the marriage and was saddled with millions in debt, or I would have to endure a one-sided wedding and all the humiliation that comes with it.. It didn't matter which side I chose, because their goal was to ruin whatever last shred of dignity I held. Even if I accepted the marriage, that wouldn't be the end

They had never liked me from the start but the depths of their cunning was too deep. If I accepted, they could watch me humiliate myself and become their punching bag. If the wedding was canceled, they can also extort any money I had as compensation.

It was their sick, twisted punishment for me daring to reach for their son's as Penelope had put it.

‘How freaking vile.’

The reminder of how they stood above me, mocking, sneering, made my heart ache. I couldn’t believe how low I had sunken.

How had I become like this? How did I become this Weak?! 

“You need to tell your family.” 

Reese's words forced me to snap up. I'd only told her my true identity after she pieced some hints together by accident. Since then, I made her promise to never disclose it, not even to Amy, who we considered a friend. It wasn't just to hide my identity, but because the memories themselves were painful. She had looked at me, then, determined and agreed. Till then, she followed through with it and hadn't wavered. 

Until now.

She looked nervous, her hands clasping and unclasping before she sat beside me.

“I'm sorry for mentioning them, but it is the only way Lenora. The only reason why they can treat you like this is because they don't know who you are.  Perhaps if they knew who you are, they wouldn't mess with you. They could teach them a lesson.”

I swallowed.

“A Sinclair never bows to anyone.”

I closed my eyes at the reminder of my father's words. The code of my family legacy. The codes of A Sinclair.