Flowers in the attic

Her friends used to joke about how hearing her on one of her rants was like listening to a political party broadcast with her as the only standing candidate.

Sefi sighed, how the times have changed. Just look at her now, She was stuck in some room like freaking "Flowers in the Attic".

The only good thing was that no one tried to molest her. She tried to see the bright side of things. Her darling fiancé seemed so repulsed by her, she doubts he would consider touching her even if she paid him a million pounds.

Besides, she wouldn't pay him a single penny anyway. And the same could be said vice versa.

"Miss Sefi? Your Aunt and Uncle are here to see you." Tracy tapped the door gently before making the announcement. "Young master has asked them to wait in the drawing-room."

Sefi looked at her blankly. Oh crap, the original owner's relatives were here?

She swallowed a few times to calm her nerves. It's fine, she told herself. It wasn't like she could say anything wrong, was it?! She smoothed down the creases on her clothes and re-tied her hair to make herself more presentable.

Inhaling a deep breath, she said to herself mentally. You can do this Sefi! Let battle commence! Second round, ding ding! She felt a bit like Rocky about to go into the ringside.

Greeting her in the drawing-room was a man and woman in their late 30s, each holding a teacup in their hands. The man had longish combed over black hair and he was sweating profusely. Damp patches were radiating from his underarms and man boobs.

The woman had bright red lipstick and had painted her face so white she could've been mistaken for a Geisha.

Whilst Eve may have looked like she just raided the beauty counters at Charlotte Tillbury with the amount of makeup she wore. This lady's make-up, however, was outdated and caked on, and frantically speaking rather cheap looking.

"Sefi, child," the woman stood up from the sofa and rushed over, "how are you feeling? Your uncle and I heard you had a fall, we were so worried, we came as quickly as we could."

The smell of cheap perfume was hitting Sefi's nostrils like a wave of tsunami. She held her breath, reluctant to breathe in any more of this toxic fume.

"Where is your fiancé?" The man asked, looking around for signs of Nathan.

The woman followed suit.

Sefi took that as a cue to move her head away from the woman whilst gulping a big breath of air. Who would've thought clean air was now suddenly a precious commodity?

"Young master has a race tomorrow; he is getting ready to leave for training soon." Tracy bowed her head politely, answering in a clear voice.

But she knew the young master did not want to entertain the guests. His exact words were, "they're not my relatives, tell Sefi to go greet them..."

"Ok, can you excuse us, we have some family matters we'd like to discuss in private." The man waved his hand at Tracy, signalling for her to leave.

"Yes Sir. If you need anything, please ring the bell." She bowed again before leaving the room.

Once it was only the three of them left, the man and woman seemed to instantly drop their eager caring facade. Their faces were mask-like as they sat back down on their seats. They looked like they had been dragged here out of their will.

Sefi was glad to have some distance separating her from the woman, she stood on the same spot and quickly did a few air exchanges in case the woman came over again.

"Why can't you sit down you silly girl? Don't you know it hurts our necks if we have to keep looking up at you when we're speaking?! We're your elders, you should treat us with respect!" The woman said abruptly.

Sefi blinked a few times, surprised by the woman's sudden angry outburst.

"Sit down!" The woman yanked her arm and pulled her down on the chair next to her.

Sefi held her breath again. The smell was overwhelming. The man and woman began to stare intensely at her stomach.

What the hell were they looking at? She wondered, scratching her head.

"Are you pregnant?" The woman asked.

What?! Sefi nearly choked on her own saliva. Were they having a laugh? Then seeing the deadly serious look on their faces, she realised they weren't joking. She shook her head.

"Whack!"

The clear and crisp sound of skin hitting on skin echoed across the room.

Sefi looked down at her hand stunned. The skin had already turned red from the strike.

Did she...just slap me? Sefi couldn't believe it. Even her parents never used to hit her!

"Your skin is too thick!" The woman complained, rubbed her short chubby fingers together to ease the pain.

How do you think I feel? Sefi stared at the woman, ready to jump on her.

"Don't you dare stare at me, you have eyes like a dead fish, just like your mother! You've been living with him for three months now and still nothing! If you don't give birth to an heir soon, they'll kick you out. Then you'll be out on the streets, you can't come back living with us! We don't accept useless people!"

The woman reached into her bag and pulled out a small yellow bottle of pills then threw it at Sefi.

It landed squarely in her lap. Sefi picked it up and examined it, there were no labels on it.

"Just slip one tablet into his drink then it's done and dusted, you won't need to seduce him. Do it a few times, you'll get pregnant soon!" The woman barked

Sefi looked at the woman, then at the man. Were these people being serious? Was this what her life had been reduced to? That somehow, she was going to need have to drug some guy she barely knew and didn't even like to get herself pregnant?

If the whole situation hadn't been so sad and ridiculous it might've been laughable.