บท 6: Falling from Grace
That night, I returned to my apartment after rushing to complete my work. I sent my boss an email apologizing for my sudden request to take leave for ‘urgent personal matters’. After packing some clothes along with a few things that I thought I would need into a small suitcase, I was ready to take the next flight back to where I was born and raised.
…
Standing in front of the tall gates in front of the estate where I grew up made me feel uneasy inside. I bet that not so many people felt the way that I felt when they returned to the place that was supposed to be their home. No one was there to greet me, but the gate was left unlocked showing that they were expecting me. Nothing much had changed at all about the estate and the large mansion was still in great condition and the large gardens well-tended to. The money from Anthony’s family along with his generosity was truly being put to good use here, I thought sarcastically as I pushed the gate and entered.
Soon I was standing in front of the front door while wondering if I should ring the doorbell. My eyes fell on the button located on the side of the door before a soft yet delirious laugh left my lips at the thought that I had to ring the doorbell to my own house. I lifted my hand and pressed down hard on the button after telling myself that this place was no longer my home and maybe it had never been. The only things I missed about this place were the memories that I shared with my sister as we grew up together here and nothing more.
“Oh…welcome Miss Dahlia. Your…umm…the lord and lady are waiting for you in the living room…” a middle-aged woman dressed in a maid uniform politely informed me.
I noticed her choice of words but decided not to make any comments. She opened the door and stood to the side to allow me in. I ignored her completely as I quickly made my way to the living room where my parents were waiting for me.
My family wasn’t the only highly influential family in the country. As our family began losing influence and power over the years and generations, another family rose up from a very humble background. The Vulkan family started off as a nameless merchant before growing into a large conglomerate that controlled a vast chunk of the domestic economy and market in addition to having many businesses and subsidiaries overseas. After starting off in trade, they rapidly expanded into energy and the manufacturing of electronics then into real estate and hospitality. In short, over the course of two to three generations, the family became the richest family in the country.
Since the time of my parents and before I was born, the country had been governed by our two families with the royal family acting as the balance of power in the middle. My family contributed to the overall ruling of the country by assisting the royal family while also playing a crucial part in the country’s politics both domestically and internationally. On the other hand, the Vulkan family dominated the business world which helps to drive the growth of the country’s economy.
Our two families quickly formed their own factions in both politics and business and became quiet rivals before evolving into public enemies of each other. Jealousy of what the other family had drove the head of the families to hate each other. Tension skyrocketed as both families competed for power. For many years the competition went on but there seemed to be a balance in power between the two families until one suddenly started to fall from grace.
“You’re here…” my father said passively when his cold grey eyes landed on me.
My mother turned to stare at me and the moment that I felt their eyes on me was the moment that I wished that I would just diffuse into thin air and disappear for good. Although they look like a normal and respectable couple that had been married for many years, the truth was anything but that. My lips curved up into a smirk as I made my way toward the sofa where the guests would typically take a seat while my mind recalled the moment that everything changed for us all.
Everything changed for our family one stormy night when my sister and I were around ten years old when we witnessed our parents arguing. It wasn’t their first time arguing but it was the first time that things turned violent between them, and we were there to witness it. As I grew up, I understood that at that point there was probably no way that they could hide from us that things had taken a turn for the worse for our family.
“This is all because of you! How dare you use so much money when you have never made a single cent in your life!” My father yelled so loudly at my mother that I could feel my eardrums ringing.
“Me? How can you possibly blame it on me? Your job is to work and make money to feed our family,” she quickly pointed out as she glared at my father.
“If only you managed the finances of this household well, this would have never happened. Instead, all you do is throw expensive parties and buy expensive things. All those new cars and collections of bags and jewelry. All those expensive trips abroad to watch fashion shows!” Father yelled back even louder than before.
“I do all of that for the face of our family. Can’t you see how bad it would look if I was missing from all those events or if I didn’t buy those things when the other families are there? All I did was do my job for the sake of our family!” My mother argued with her face red with rage.
“The only great thing about your spending is that now we have a bunch of overpriced junk to sell!” he screamed back at her again as if whoever was louder would win the argument.
--To be continued…
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