“She’s with the man that she loves and that’s why she’s not coming back,” I replied simply without raising my voice.
“The man that she loves...?” my mother mumbled with a look of pure shock on her face.
“That is complete nonsense! Diana knows very well that she’s supposed to marry Anthony. There is no way that she would do something like that...” my father yelled quite loudly as his face started turning red from anger.
“That’s right. Diana is a very responsible person. You’re lying, aren’t you? Just like always, you’re lying!” My mother threw her accusations at me.
My sister was the one who deceived them and eloped with her lover while I’m the one dealing with the mess that she had left behind while also facing our parents to let them know the truth. However, I was the one being called a liar while my sister still managed to maintain her label as a responsible person.
“Listen to me properly because I’m going to say this only once. Diana, your precious daughter and my dear twin sister, eloped with a man that she’s in love with and has been secretly dating for around a year. She would rather live her life with him than marry whoever you chose for her. That is all there is to it,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Diana...eloped? That’s impossible!” my mother yelled after jumping up from her seat.
“She would never do anything like that,” my father quickly agreed.
I watched as my mother took the few steps to come stand right in front of me. She glared down at me while her body shook from her harsh breathing. I could tell that both of them were furious and were also in denial.
“How dare you lie to us?! How dare you accuse your sister of something so despicable?!” my mother yelled.
“Mother...” I muttered.
She reached for my arm before yanking hard on it to pull me up to my feet. Whether I was sitting down or standing up, it wouldn’t change the fact that my sister had eloped with one of the family’s drivers. I stood up from my seat to face her just like she wanted. Her eyes searched my face wildly as if she was trying to detect signs that I was deceiving her.
“Diana eloped with the man that she loves. She’s not coming back, and you should leave her alone,” I told her again while making sure to stress every single word.
“Did you talk your sister into doing something crazy again? You did, didn’t you? There’s no way that she would do this to us! There’s no way that Diana would leave us. This is all because of you...” my mother said deliriously.
“I’m married to Anthony now and so the union of our families is complete. My sister is not needed anymore. Please just let her go,” I requested patiently.
“Tell us where Diana is this instant!” my father yelled as he too approached where we were standing.
“I already told you. I have no idea where she is,” I repeated my truthful answer again.
“You’re trying to ruin our family again. How can you be so selfish?!” my mother screamed right in my face.
I blinked rapidly while staring at her red face. She looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears. Another sigh left my lips as I wondered how much longer we were going to show Anthony and the bodyguards stationed around the room the ugly drama within our family.
“You ungrateful bitch!” the sound of my father screaming caught my attention.
When I turned to face him, his hand was already raised in the air. A corner of my lips curved up into a daring smirk as I stared at him challengingly. It wouldn’t be the first time that he would hit me this way. Somehow, I had gotten used to it. Maybe I did deserve it a little this time for actively playing the accomplice in my sister’s mischievous little getaway plan. Unlike the times before, I could find some sort of entertaining reasons for me to proudly take a slap to my face.
I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth together while picturing the face of my sister laughing joyously in the arms of a faceless man whom she called the love of her life as I waited for the blow to land against my cheek.
3...2...1...
“Did you just lift your hand against my wife?”
The blow that I had anticipated never landed. Instead, a very cold voice spoke up from quite close to me. My eyes sprang open to see Anthony standing close to my side with his hand holding my father’s wrist.
“What are you doing? Let go of my hand!” my father cried out as he struggled to tear his arm away from Anthony’s grip.
I was still quite confused about what was going on as a look of panic entered my father’s face. It seemed like no matter how hard he struggled; he couldn’t shake off Anthony’s hold on his wrist. In fact, it looked like Anthony’s grip only tightened the more than my father struggled.
“Stop this madness!” my mother turned to scream at Anthony.
“You haven’t answered my question. Were you about to hit my wife?” Anthony asked calmly.
“She’s not your wife. She is Anthony’s wife!” my father screamed before whimpering from the pain.
What is father even saying?
I couldn’t follow what was going on anymore. What does he mean when he says that I’m not Anthony’s wife but at the same time, I’m Anthony’s wife. It felt like alarm bells went off in my mind and I wasn’t sure how to process the scene unfolding in front of me. Anthony had been silent all this time, so I never expected him to jump into the fray like this.
“Is that so?” he replied passively like he couldn’t care less.
“Absolutely! You’re just a body double for your brother. How dare you speak to us this way. You better know your place!” My father spat with the arrogance that he was so famous for.
--To be continued...