Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 16: Family

Chapter 16: Family

Crack.

Grandpa looked back at me, finally noticing my intense stare.

Only he is capable of making that kind of decision. So now, I can’t deny it anymore. I’ve been sold off again by the same person.

Crack. Crack.

I am dead sure that I’m imagining it, but my chest felt so tight I’ve begun to hear cracking sounds.

Surprise, annoyance, indignation, and lastly guilt. His face flashed those emotions every time Aunt Ingrid and Alexa opened their mouths.

They’re blabbering—I know they are—but I’m unable to make out the words because, frankly, my pulse may be a bit off—maybe severely off.

Anger, utter disdain, and disappointment are clouding my ability to judge. And I’m standing by sheer willpower.

"Alexa!" My Dad roared at her. Something that he’s never done, especially not in public. Not even Jasper’s dick going God-knows-where got him roaring like that.

It was his anger that broke the seal on my ears, suddenly enabling me to hear the shit that was about to go down.

Suddenly frightened, Alexa hid behind the Mother of all sluts, Aunt Ingrid. Acting all wounded and bullied.

As in unjustly wronged, she screamed, "We didn’t want her to feel sad about being left behind again, so we hurriedly found someone who’s a good match!"

By now, she’s shivered, sniffled, and showed signs of fainting. And by the looks of it, she’s got no intentions to stop.

"How can you scream at Alexa like that?! We’ve only considered Eliana’s future, and you’re treating us like this." quacked the mother duck. She was trying to reproach my Dad but only looked at me, clearly unable to meet my Dad’s eyes.

I wanted to speak, more like curse, but the acid that’s been rising has me buckling up.

So I mustered a laugh.

My bones felt like clattering every time I laughed, but nothing could stop me. And I probably sounded maniacal because the sounds I was making felt so foreign even to me.

Now everyone was looking at me, focused on how I was taking all this. I actually felt like tears were beginning to form from the pain of my bones clattering, so I made a motion to wipe them off.

"Left behind?" I managed to ask with crazy eyes.

Before anyone else managed to speak, I gripped my parents tight. I may be burning in absolute rage, but I will never allow them to tarnish my parents by using them in their plot. So I held on tight because my mother was inches from pulling every single fake eyelash on Aunt Ingrid’s eye.

Of course, they resisted, but I’m persistent.

"Yes!" While pointing at me accusatorily, she continued. "If only you could keep men interested in you, then we wouldn’t have had to find anyone to take you!"

"You ungrateful girl!" Added the actual ungrateful woman who feigned the act of supporting a weakened Alexa.

"This personality of yours is why they keep on throwing you away. Do you know how hard we had to look just to find someone who’d be good for you and the family?!"

Crack.

"Your Grandfather put a lot of effort into this, and you couldn’t even be considerate enough not to humiliate the family in front of everyone."

Crack. Crack.

"Even Lucian couldn’t stand you-"

"Dad, it would be possible to remove me from the clan’s registry, right?" Suddenly calm, like a blade just waiting to go, I asked.

"Eliana!" Indignantly roared by the man I used to call Grandpa, someone I used to respect. Whose call fell on deaf ears.

"It will be done by tonight. At all costs," my dad replied, understanding me, probably even more disappointed than I am.

Gasps from people who had managed to stay silent in the middle sounded.

And Alexa, God bless her sole brain cell, decided to share her opinion on the matter.

"You think you can leave?! That’s up to Grandfather to decide! Don’t you dare think about running away from your duties! You’ll be nothing!"

Crack. Hiss.

"Alexa, shut up."

She was shocked, her mother was shocked, heck, even I was shocked. For years, I’ve endured this little bitch. I’ve allowed her to fester to this point by calling my reactions "the high ground."

Grandfather’s repeated teachings of having to give way because that’s what’s honorable. Having to understand because that is what’s expected of me. And that bullshit about having command responsibility? All of it is flooding me now.

And if that is what it means to be honorable, you can kindly stuff that up your ass, thank you.

"You...You’d be nothing without the Thornhill name!" Alexa recovered from being told to shut up for the first time.

"Nothing?" I sneered, nearly manic.

"Then it’s great that I’ve long been Eliana Selene Thornhill Sinclair. Without the surname Thornhill, I’d still be a Sinclair."

"So, don’t drag me down to your level." I stepped closer, wanting to nail every word onto her forehead.

"For even after my beauty, fame, and inherited fortune are taken away, I’d still be left with my brain, achievements, and dignity. None of those you’ll ever get to have, even after adding ten more surnames."

My anger was palpable, and I’m sure it’s being reflected in my eyes.

"So do all of us a favor, and shut the fuck up."

I’m seething, and rage has started to govern me. But in return for my body shaking wildly, my mind has suddenly cleared. It was as if a mask had been forcibly torn off, leaving me with no choice but to see clearly.

The spectators are aghast, but right now, I couldn’t give a fuck about their feelings. Because, save for my parents, none of these people really cared about me as a person.

"How...How dare you?!" Alexa screamed. Now she’s really angry, for even her nostrils were flaring.

"How dare I?" I asked back, enunciating every word. "You ask that when you’re standing in our hotel, eating our food, and living in our house? Even that nose of yours is highly likely ours, too. And you ask me how I dare?"

"Eliana, you’re going too far. You should stop now." My soon-to-be ex-uncle finally spoke up. And here I thought he’d lost the ability to use his mouth.

"Sir, you’ve long lost the authority to discipline anyone." I pointed at Alexa to make my case. "That creature, right there, is the spawn that you’ve raised and spoiled. From the day you stood by silently, her words and actions have been yours. I hope you’re happy with your reflection."

I’ve had it with these people. How can they live with themselves?

"This is not the place to talk about this. We will hear you out, but not here. There is no need to embarrass your family." The old man sounded authoritative. I used to fear that tone when I was younger, but hearing it now makes me want to laugh.

"Embarrass the family?" A mocking voice asked.

There were footsteps from behind me, and I turned to see Lucian, who was clad in a three-piece suit and looked comfortable strutting into the lion’s den. He’s very young, but the aura he emitted already resembled that of a seasoned leader.

"It would be impossible for my wife to embarrass me, " he said languidly, pulling me against his chest while wrapping an arm around my waist.

Right, he’s my family.