The ride up the elevator is pure agony. I don't know what to expect.
A slap?
Shouting?
I don't know what Amelia will pull on me this time but since I hit her daughter, it might as well be persecution awaiting me in that house. And I'm right to think so.
When I step into the living room, all three members of my beloved family are waiting for me. Briana is seated in one of the designer furniture pieces by the stone fireplace, weeping. My goodness, she's so fake. The sound of my heels on the white marble floors draws their attention and Amelia, my Stepmom, immediately stands.
"There she is. Are you going to face her or should I Harry?" She snaps at my Dad.
Blonde hair and hooded eyes that look as though he last had sleep a century ago, he feels more like Amelia's puppet than a husband to me. I'm annoyed I adopted his gray eyes. I should've gotten my mother's green ones instead.
He immediately stands at Amelia's command and makes his way in my direction before grabbing my arm and forcefully tugging me to the center of the room. I know he won't hit me. That's the one thing he's never been able to do despite Amelia's pleas for him to do it. I don't know why he can't but I'm thankful either way. The last thing I want to do is use my taser on him.
"Why did you hit your little sister, Leilani?" Dad asks, his voice sounding exhausted already. Sometimes I pity the guy. He remarried a few months after my mother threw herself from the top floor of our house about to commit suicide when I was five. Luckily, she didn't die, but it left her brain dead. To this day she's still in a coma and gets surgeries here and there. Little does she know that her selfish act left both me and Dad in the hands of the devil's daughter—Amelia.
I snatch my arm away from his grip. "I caught her having sex with Noah."
Dad's eyes go wide. He turns his attention back to Briana. "You what?"
"I didn't know it was him," Briana lies.
"Don't lie you little shit. You've seen him too many times every time he comes to pick me up for a date—"
I don't get to finish my sentence before a slap lands on my cheek and I stagger backwards. As expected my Dad remains rooted to his spot as if I wasn't wrongfully assaulted by his wife. That's the one reason I hate him. He's too much of a puppet than a father. A shell Dad.
"Call her a little shit again and I'll have your bank accounts frozen in an instant!" Amelia shouts.
I zip my lips in an instant, holding my cheek. Having my accounts frozen is the last thing I need to ruin my life. How else am I supposed to visit my mom at the hospital and buy her gifts? How else am I supposed to have brunch with Manon anytime we want? I might not be living happily or have my freedom, but I still need the money damnit.
Besides, I have to use what belongs to my mother as her only child. My family might be cocky and whatnot but we all know the main reason the Mayfield family is worth millions is because of my mother's shares. She held twenty freaking percent of the popular international chain of restaurants her parents started before she was even born—The Lopez Room.
But that was before she entrusted my Dad with full custody of her shares if anything happens to her. Then she tried committing suicide, forgetting she had a daughter who'd need money once she was gone. Tsk. They say love's blind but hers literally turned her into a zombie. Look at my predicament now because she chose dick over her daughter.
Think she's too naive for her own good? Well here's more good news for you.
Blinded by love, again, my mother eloped with my Dad when she was 22 at the expense of her relationship with her parents. Now my grandma—who holds 5o percent of the restaurants shares by the way—the only family I have from my mother's side doesn't even like me. I last saw her at the hospital when I was five. That's it. I'm 27 now, turning 28 in two and a half weeks and she's never even bothered to visit me.
I don't blame her though. If my daughter eloped with a broke ass guy whilst I offered her billionaire dudes who come from conglomerate families only for her to commit suicide later after marrying him, I'd hate her produce with the poor guy too. If it wasn't for my late Grandpa feeling pity for his daughter down the line and entrusting her with his shares before he died, I think we'd be living somewhere down the streets of New York by now, begging for a living.
Bless that man's soul.
Amelia flips her head to face my dad. "Well? Why're you not saying anything?"
"Because there's nothing to say, Amelia. Briana slept with her boyfriend. What else did you expect? That she smiles at her and kisses her cheeks sweetly?"
I glance at my Dad, surprised. He's backing me up? That's a first.
Amelia backs away, holding her chest. "I knew it. You favor your daughter over ours."
The way I almost scoff. 22 years of suffering at her hands just for her to pull this line only because my Dad chose to support me for once. What in the ice queen bullshit is this woman made of?
Dramatically exhaling, Amelia lets go of her chest and glares at me. I look away but just enough to see her reactions from the corner of my eyes. Then I pretend to look pitiful. Don't judge me for acting like a doormat. It's for the money and my mental peace. Besides, my Dad is supporting me for the first time in a while. I can't let this chance slip up.
It's Briana's acting versus mine now. May the Oscar-worthy actress win the fight.
"You decide where you stand, Harry. Me or your daughter," Amelia spews, her chin tipped up.
Oh no. I know that look. For some reason it works like magic on my Dad, always. And that includes now. He sighs and gives me one pitiful glance before slowly trudging in Amelia's direction like a zombie.
The hell?! Is he a victim of the love-makes-you-a-zombie shit too?
Once he's standing in front of Amelia, she gives him a peck on the lips. I fight back a gag.
"Come here, Briana."
The devil wearing Prada falls into her mother's arms a second later, still faking her weeping by the way. It works exactly how she wants it to—fueling her mother's rage.
"Now, apologize to your sister before I make you," Amelia orders.
I slowly turn my head to face her, acting dumb. The mother-daughter duo is now glaring at me whilst my Dad looks away, jaw set as he grits his teeth.
Wimp.
I point at myself, blinking nonstop. "You mean me?"
Amelia nods. "Who else?"
Oh hell no! I might love money but not at the expense of my pride and honor. She can do whatever she sees fit with my life but I'm not apologizing to the little devil in her arms.
I'm about to open my mouth and defy her when one of the family butlers comes into the living room. I haven't seen him before. He must be a new one. Amelia fires a bunch of them a lot when they make even the slightest of mistakes. Ice-cold witch.
"What is it?!" She snaps at the poor dude who bows a little.
"I received an envelope meant for Miss Leilani. The man who gave it to me claimed it's from Maria Lopez."
Grandma!
I immediately make my way towards the butler, but before I can grab the envelope from him, Amelia snatches it away. I grit my teeth. She's getting on my nerves now.
"Give it back," I hiss.
"Or what?" Amelia retorts already opening the envelope.
That does it. If today marks the day I finally get killed because I hit both mother and daughter after they pissed me off then so be it.
"Or this happens!" Without thinking about the consequences, I grab the envelope and snatch it back, but not before slapping Amelia's hands off of it.