Breakfast Quarrel

Thana takes a quick-paced walk in the busy streets of London. Dark clouds and thunderstorms hovered over her head as she walked irascible with fists clenched. She often does this as her usual morning escape from a conflicted place she dared to call home.

Not everyone could seem to afford having a pleasant morning, especially not in Thana's life. 

As always her obnoxious step-sisters find ruining her mood to be their best hobby considering how untalented they can be.

Her sisters were similar to dogs who kept barking for no good reason. They kept spouting nonsense making Thana completely lose her appetite and therefore, she showed them her canines. 

She grits her teeth upon recalling what had exhibited at her home. In fact, she can still hear their annoying voices in her head, recalling what had happened.

"Thana, I heard that you're no longer with Joshua?" Isla batted her fake lashes, seemingly acting innocent with hidden malicious intent. 

"Oh that's incredibly sad. Wasn't he the only lad generous and kind enough to lend you his attention?" Charlotte seconds and she pauses to look around before whispering wickedly but loud enough for Thana to hear across the table, "No one really likes your face so I guess he wasn't as charitable as we thought." 

"No one, I believe, would ever date anyone with that level of ugliness," as if unaware of Thana's already steaming head, Isla aggravated her further. 

After a brief pause to allow all the offensive remarks to sink in, the room then erupted with sickening laughter of two vicious ladies whose enjoyment they obtain by exploiting others with bashful words.

However, they seem to let the important thought slip from their minds every time they decide to ruin someone's morning with their senselessness. 

Thana does not and will not tolerate their nonsense. She is not afraid to claw their eyes out. They can afford surgery anyways, it won't be anything foreign or shocking to them. 

The step-sisters find themselves in an untimely situation since today marks the calendar of Thana's monthly menarches. As everyone knows how women can be when the monthly curse threatens them, they bring the curse to the world. 

"Despicable! Do you honestly think I'd never know of your weekly endeavors with Joshua?"

Isla and Charlotte gasped simultaneously. Their hands quickly going to their artificial chests. They turn at each other before one speaks up, "What in the world are you saying, Thana? Why would we do that- we'd never feed on your leftovers."

"Yeah that's filthy! Mention that again and I will be sick," Isla pulls a disguised look while she nods agreeably at her sister. She then glares at Thana with clear contempt.

"You still dare spout lies? I'll be seeing you eat your words then." Thana pulls out her phone from her pocket and harshly starts tapping on it with her newly trimmed nails before showing the picture to her step-sisters. She had caught them in action. 

The image on the screen shows a loving kiss shared by Joshua and Charlotte outside an all too familiar cafe. Coincidentally, Joshua had brought Thana there for their first date and a couple more dates after that. If only she knew the many girls he had brought there before and even after her. 

By the looks of it, they didn't seem to be as secretive or even careful with their shameful act. It's as if they were intending for Thana to find out. Either way the truth would always prevail. 

The room once again erupted with unbelievable gasps while Charlotte looked rather fascinated with the picture she's seeing. 

Isla, on the other hand, froze on her seat upon seeing the next few images on Thana's phone. It was Joshua and her becoming heated inside her Mini Cooper vehicle. Isla's top goes above her bra, her hair messier than Einsteins'.

"Receipts? I have them." Thana smiles brutally at them although her heart ached so much for she had actually liked Joshua. 

"I left him because I don't like having someone infected by whores. You've been eating after my leftovers, are you ever so proud of that? Luckily for the both of you. I'm feeling rather generous, so put Joshua to your use- he's all yours. Wait, he already is."

Isla stands from her seat, outraged by Thana's ruthless words. She points her long bony finger as she always does when someone gets on her nerves, "watch your mouth you beast!"

"You're only here because father feels every bit of remorse for you."

Isla's lips quivered with discontent as she tried to mask the humiliation in her eyes. The fury burned in all three pairs of eyes present in the room. 

"If only I knew that I would be staying with obnoxious rats then I never would have accepted my father's offer to stay in this stinking place," Thana responds. 

Her emotions were a hurricane and despite it being out of control, Thana tries her best to conceal it. She made certain that her words were loud, clear and sharp enough to pierce through her step-sister's cold heart. 

However she wanted to take it back as soon as she realized the flaws in her statement. Maybe she would have thought about her words more carefully before spitting them out. 

There was not much of a redeeming chance for her when she saw Charlotte's eyes light up after receiving the idea. Thana's face twisted into a more terrible scowl. She mentally scolded herself for letting them have the upper hand on purpose. 

"Yes," Charlotte chuckles reprehensibly, "It would have been best if you stayed in the states with your abusive mother. The one woman that caused you to have those scars on your face."

"You never had a place here. You should go back to your drunkard mother. We don't want you here, we never did!" Isla battles with a smile, content with her scornful remark.

Did Thana flinch? Maybe for an honest bit. The step-sisters knew that bringing up her painful past would make her speechless and would allow them to win the dispute. But this had been brought up too many times.

It has started to become a familiar pain.

Their eyes went wide, seeing Thana smiling instead. Isla's eyebrows furrowed, and Charlotte tightened her grip on the dining table upon realizing that they had failed. They wondered why that didn't affect her as it did before but little did they know; it was not the reason why Thana was smiling.

She stared at the clock while she counted the seconds in her mind.

"Charlotte, Isla, you girls watch those horrid mouths!"

A man in his late forties arrived to join his dear daughters for breakfast. He hoped for an excellent start to his day before going on his long business trip, but it was unachievable to his dismay.

Hopes are shattered in the household.

Both Charlotte and Isla stood from their seats as they started to tremble in fear. They would dare disappoint anyone but their father, the only person that would provide them with all the luxury in the world. Where else would they go when they need new nails or the latest bag releases.

"Daddy! Thana started it. She made us say those things!" Isla exclaimed with a loud voice that shattered Thana's eardrums and made her cringe.

"She called us names first, you know we would never start a fight!" Charlotte followed, whiny as always.

"My goodness, my head. It hurts from all your pitiful and fraudulent remarks. I'm out of here," Thana groaned, massaging her temples too violently that her head might crack at how forced she pushes with her fingers.

Despite her father coming to her rescue, he's so much more useless by scolding her step-sisters at this moment but only to pamper them again later.

Thana had always wondered whether he had only pretended to care about her. Aunt Lolita, her father's sister, had more heart for Thana. She was the reason why her father had the knowledge of Thana's abusive home.

Aunt Lolita and Thana had a beautiful bond, she stood as a mother figure to her despite their distance and their only communication through letters and emails. She became the reason for Thana's rescue. 

If only she knew that the grass was not greener on the other side. 

"Where do you think you're going, Thana. I want to have breakfast with all my daughters before I go on a long trip. Please, daughters, just cooperate for only this once," the man grumbled, pulling his chair rather grimly.

"I hope you accept disappointment because a nice and quiet breakfast with your daughters will never happen. I certainly can't sit and pretend that I enjoy seeing plastic faces in front of me," Thana spat, unable to hold herself back, despite knowing this will only bring her father closer to the edge of disowning her.

"Thana-" the man warned, coming to his last and final straw. He wonders where he went wrong, and the gods would give him this much difficulty to care for his daughters. 

"Pardon me."

Thana left without waiting for her father's response. She's got away as always, and it shouldn't be a new scene for any of them. But she wondered why her father looked determined to gather the entire family this morning. The way he shouted her name to bring her back confused and amazed her in many ways.

Why was he pretending to care now? Why was he acting as if he had a perfect family?

"A bunch of pretenders, it's sickening," Thana mumbled to herself, seeing the door to her freedom nearing her reach.