Chapter 13
Confrontations
Elena
"What's the condition, Aunt Sarah?" I asked softly, my eyes fixed steadily on her as my mind raced with thoughts.
'What condition could Aunt Sarah have for helping me?' I wondered, staring into her dark eyes.
"It's nothing serious," Sarah suddenly smiled, easing the tension. "I just want you to understand that after this, I won't be helping you anymore."
Silence. My heart thudded as I silently weighed Sarah's words and my heart beat erratically in my chest.
She wasn't going to help me? I felt a deep sense of disappointment at the thought, if Sarah wasn't going to help me I couldn't think of anything else I could do to salvage the situation.
"Aunt—"
"Call me Sarah," she cut me off, her lips pursed. "Calling me Aunt won't win you any brownie points," she chuckled, adjusting her sitting position.
I nodded, exhaling, "Sarah, you do know how father is, he won't —"
"He will," Sarah cut me off coldly, her eyes gleamed with impatience. "I said I'll talk to him, and this time he'll give me face."
Sarah's expression hardened and she glared at me, her cold gaze snaking around me. "What else do you want?"
"I…" I swallowed, at a loss. She'd made it clear that I wasn't welcome here. If it wasn't for Lily, I honestly didn't know if she'd let me past the front door.
I'd expected a lot of outcomes from this meeting. Just not this one.
"It's nothing," I finally whispered, trying not to show my disappointment. "I'm grateful."
"Hmph!" Sarah snorted, glancing away. "You take after your mother," she added, her tone neither warm nor cold. "So soft, pushy, and…"
"I didn't know much about her," I interrupted, my voice low. My mother had always been a touchy subject, father never really cared for that conversation.
He never cared for me really.
"What was she like?" I asked, sitting forward, my hopeful eyes on Sarah. "I barely remember much of her," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion.
"Your mother?" Sarah's brows shot up and she paused, her eyes clouding over with emotions.
"She was calm and quiet," Sarah began, her eyes fixed elsewhere. "She always had her nose tucked between the pages of a book…" Sarah's words made me chuckle.
Guess I now knew where my eye for books came from.
Even Sarah had a small smile on her face. "She was like that," she continued. "Always so curious, naive. She believed in fairytales," Sarah paused, staring at me.
"And then she married your father, and he put an end to her stories," Sarah's smile faded and she regained her cold indifferent look.
'What!' The breath seemed to have been punched out of me and a lump formed in my throat. The room fell silent for a long moment, Sarah's last words still hung in the air.
"Why?" I whispered, breaking the silence. "Why did she marry him?" I stared at Sarah, looking for answers.
As far as I could tell, Mother wasn't exactly from a poor family. They weren't lacking anyways. So why did she have to marry someone like Father? The question burned in my mind, becoming a raging storm of emotions within me.
The girl with dreams of fairytales and happy endings getting married to a man like father? It just didn't feel right.
"Hmph!" Sarah snorted, her expression closing off. "You can ask him that when we see him," she announced, getting to her feet.
"What!" A bad premonition flashed past my mind and my eyes widened. "Wait! You mean we're going right now?" My eyes were wide as I stared at Sarah.
It'd taken me days to sneak my way around town and a fair bit of luck to find her. And barely hours after that and she was taking me back?
"Freshen up," Sarah ignored my question. "We leave in an hour," she walked out, leaving me gaping behind her.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
The estate looked as grand as I remembered, the huge towering gates with security stationed at the gate further giving it a different feel.
My heart thudded at the pit of my belly and my insides felt like they'd been tangled into knots.
I'd spent years feeling imprisoned behind its walls, especially after I'd taken in with Lily. Traveling abroad to school had been a welcome escape.
And now I was returning, under different circumstances.
I turned to glance at Sarah. She sat regally, her pose without any nervousness or insecurity. If anything she looked annoyed at having to come back here, because of me.
We gained entrance easily and within moments we were pulling up in front of the house.
It seemed Father was already expecting us because we were led inside quietly without question.
My heart was at my throat now, and I kept sneaking glances at Sarah as we walked in, heading to Father's study.
I just consoled myself with the fact that Lily was still at Sarah's house. She had motion sickness so the helicopter ride hadn't been advisable.
Father was behind his desk when we walked in, his eyes fixed on the paperwork at hand as he worked.
"It took you long enough," Albert chuckled, his hands moving swiftly across the paper. "After all these years, Sarah, what—" Father trailed off, his eyes freezing over as he finally noticed me.
I felt my stomach summersault as his cold eyes bore into me. "Good evening, Father," I whispered, managing to speak. Albert looked ready to tear into me, I couldn't help but glance at Sarah, seeking support.
"You're quite the father figure, aren't you?" Sarah chuckled coldly. She took a seat without waiting for Father to offer her one.
"And this is what you do with your spare time?" Sarah continued, not minding anything. "Frightening my niece and fooling around with misplaced priorities."
'What!' I felt my heart freeze over at Sarah's harsh words and I swallowed the lump in my throat. My legs felt like I was standing on pins and needles as I sneaked a glance at Father, wondering how he would react.
Aunt Sarah had fired shots the moment she got here and I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.