How It Began...

*

"Welcome home dear..."

I wondered if I was hearing wrong or wasn't that my ever-loving evil stepmother standing right in front of me, there had to be a mistake of some sort somewhere. I need to get out of her before I get put in danger again.

But I looked behind me, just in case Veronica was standing directly behind me and I wasn't aware of it.

"Oh don't be silly, you know I'm talking to you, my dear. Come along now, I'm sure you must be tired from that awful long flight and the jet lag must be getting to you, you need to rest my dear." Patricia said walking back into the mansion.

Patricia being nice was as good as the sun meets the moon, impossible unless it had something to do with father. A bigger mystery because my father totally detests me.

Watching Patricia walk away turned my stomach, that should have been my mother here not her, my mother.

Daphne Hudson was my mother and the real mistress of the Hudson house who had died of a terrible illness a few years after I was born.

I have only a few memories of my mother, all I wish I had the chance to relive again, and if I could, only if I could, I would trade my life for hers.

The news of my mother's death made my father completely devastated and it didn't help that I was the last person to see her.

This drove my father to the point where he drank himself silly and stayed out late, people began to call us cursed for killing such a sweet woman as my mother.

And because of the status my father held in society, he could neither leave a small child to herself nor leave his mansion without a mistress.

That meant he couldn't mourn his late wife as he wanted to, I always hated that but not as much as I would suffer when my father came home pent-up anger and suffering.

Through the heartbreak of losing his wife and the pressure of society to get a wife so his daughter wouldn't grow up to be unruly, my father married the worse mistake of his life but because of his pain he failed to see all that was in front of him, but you wouldn't blame, he couldn't care less for me, I reminded him of that which he had lost.

During that period my father married a single mother by the name of Patricia Faizel in hopes that she would care for his daughter as her very own, given that they were expecting a child of their own.

But the bitter truth was in truth Mr Sedrick Hudson despised the child he had with his first wife he wasn't bothered and married the first woman that was thrown his way by the council.

Immediately my father married Patricia and she moved in with us, and both she and I have been constantly at war with each other.

When we were children she had told Veronica not to speak to me, and for most of her life she grew up thinking I was part of the mansions maids with certain privileges or something of the sort.

And although we were separated from each other Veronica had good instincts and value and could sometimes be nice and reasonable unlike her witch of a mother.

But yes, Lady Patricia Hudson had an iron grip on even her own and made it very clear that there had to be a difference between ladies of a higher class and peasants, in other words. Me.

"I do believe you're not deaf after living in the states for so long. I said... In." Patricia said again with a smile, but I could pick up on the usual venom in her voice as usual.

My bags were taken up to my room in the furthest corner of the mansion, in a corner where my father was sure he wouldn't see me, even by accident when I still lived here.

"When you're well-rested we'll send one of the maids to come to get you for dinner," Patricia said walking in front of me.

"What's going on? Why did my father request that I come home?" I asked suspiciously, questions that I had been asking myself for a while and if anyone could give me answers it was Patricia.

But she laughed. Patricia laughed.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with that father of yours but he requested that you be brought home immediately. Frankly, I couldn't care enough if you were brought here dead or alive, my Veronica is all I need." Patricia said as she continued walking away.

I was enraged but what could I have done in that situation, I was an outcast in my own home, there was nothing here for me and absolutely nothing I could do about it now.

I decided not to think too much about the situation I found myself in and went straight to my room. I threw off my shoes and jumped on my bed, sure it wasn't the comfiest but it was mine.

I was even surprised that she had my room cleaned too, what was the old man planning? I wondered.

I shrugged my shoulders, picked up my phone from the corner table and went online to tell my American friends that I had gotten home well.

Not long after I started talking to them that I felt the jet lag set in, my eyes became heavy and before I knew it I fell into a peaceful sleep.

Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!

I heard from my dream, they wouldn't leave me alone even in here. I sat up being woken up by the person knocking at my door, I turned and pulled the covers over my head to get some more sleep when the said person said nothing after knocking.

Knock! Knock!! Knock!!!

The knocking became persistent this time getting my full attention and leaving me with a splitting headache. I groaned as I sat up in my bed.

"What?" I shouted at the door.

"Sorry miss, but your presence is requested in the dining room." Whoever was at the door said.

"I'm not hungry," I answered.

"I'm sorry miss, but I've been ordered to escort you to the dining room." She said again.

"Fine." I sighed as I threw my blanket off my bed and unto the floor agitated.

I freshened up, put on a fresh pair of sweats, tied my hair up in a bun and proceeded to the dining room with the maid that was sent to get me.

She looked at me with a hint of disgust behind her eyes as she scanned what I was wearing.

"Forgive my rudeness miss but don't you have anything a bit more sophisticated to wear, if I may ask?" She said.

"Do you have a problem with what I'm wearing?" I said in an intimidating voice.

"N-no miss, I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries." She said walking away, that'll teach her to stay in line.

I followed her to the dining room, I walked down the hall and it all felt so new to me again, I never ran across these halls as a kid, fuck I don't even remember playing as a kid. I laughed to myself.

We reached the dining area and the doors were open for me, I walked into the brightly lit room to find Patricia, her husband and Veronica already seated.

"Sit!" Father's voice thundered down the hall, I looked him dead in the eye before strolling down to take a seat, my dinner was already set so I began.

"So Daddy, I don't think I like my current position at the office, I want to be in the marketing team, that way I can be more productive before I get married." Cyra choked on her dinner.

"W- what?"

"Your sister has found herself a suitable suitor and will be getting married soon,"

"How soon?"

"This winter and I need everything to be perfect." Veronica gleamed with joy.

"And this is why you insisted I come home? Father do you know what you cost me!" I said unintentionally raising my voice.

"Manners!" Father said shutting me down.

I couldn't believe what was happening, so I didn't, I took a deep breath and stood up.

"And where do you think you're going?" Patricia said eyeing me.

"I'm only going to say this once, I'm only staying for Veronica's wedding and immediately after that, I'm moving back to the states. And that's final." I said about to leave when father spoke again.

"It doesn't matter what you say or want, I don't care. I am your father and I will dictate your life as I please." Father said unapologetically.

I couldn't believe my ears, I was fucking 26, and I had a right to my own life. Over my dead body before I let him ruin my life the second time.

Never again.