[TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic Abuse]
The car ride back home was filled with an angry tension so thick that Serenah was nauseous from it. Her father's fury pulsed all around, suffocating her with its intensity. She knew it would be like this. Once Romeo said her sister was below her in rank, she knew she would suffer for it. Her father did not tolerate her being ranked higher than her sister in anything. School was not an exception. Serenah wanted to weep in frustration. It wasn't her fault that her classes were more advanced.
It didn't matter. All her father cared about was that his precious firstborn lagged behind her sibling. She feared his wrath and the consequences she'd suffer for it. It wasn't fair! Nothing in her life was fair. She'd learned that a long time ago when her mother died. Life had been hell since then. She'd do anything to change the past. Her mother would have made sure she was loved and not hated.
She blinked and tensed. They were pulling into the garage. Her anxiety rose. Father's fury had not abated. It still smothered her with its intensity. The punishment for eclipsing her sister was going to be bad. She could feel it deep in her soul. The car came to a stop and her father got out of the car, slamming his door. Her head came up to track his movement. He came to her side, opened the door, and roughly jerked her out of the car by her left arm.
Serenah yelped and was rewarded with a hard slap to the face. Her hand flew to her face in shock. Her father released her arm and tangled his fingers in her hair instead. His grip brought tears to her eyes as he forced her to stumble along to his office. He opened the door and flung her inside. She hit the floor hard, her breath getting knocked out of her.
Her father's heavy footfalls as he circled around her synced with the racing thumps of heart. Autem, please don't let him hurt me too much, she prayed.
"Serenah, do you know what I hate more than useless people?"
She didn't respond, too afraid of the consequences of saying the wrong thing.
Her father continued speaking without waiting for her to answer. "I hate people who don't understand their place in the hierarchy of life."
She trembled in fear. He was going to punish her for her ranking. It wasn't fair! She couldn't help that her classes were more advanced than Amanah's. She only took the classes that Lord Hulight had registered her for after taking the placement tests to get into school.
"You will fix this problem. You will make sure your sister reaches the number two spot. If you don't accomplish this by the time the end of semester grades come out, your schedule will be changed."
Serenah whipped her gaze from the floor to her father's face. He was serious!
"How will I do that? Amanah won't let me tutor her."
She wasn't prepared for the backhand slap he gave her. It rocked her head, split her lip, and made her nose bleed. She gasped in shock, tears streaming down her face from the blow.
"You tutor your sister? Ha! You really are starting to think too highly of yourself."
She didn't understand how she was supposed to get her sister to second place if she didn't tutor her.
"Wipe that dumb look off your face. You will do all your sister's homework and write any papers required to increase her grades. She'd better have all As by the end of the semester. If Amanah's grades don't improve or they drop, you will be banned from dating Romeo and removed from Lancaster's internship program."
"Wait that's not fair! Besides, the teachers will know if I cheat for my sister. Our writing styles are completely different," she protested, forgetting for a moment the position she was in. Her anger at her father's unreasonableness and demand rankled. Why did she have to help her sister who had never helped her once?
Her father's chilling laugh sent shivers down her spine. She watched him walk to the glass cabinet near his desk. He opened it and took out something. She couldn't see what it was but dread filled her. She was still on the floor on all fours, having not received permission to stand.
She heard the swish of air and her startled gaze went to her father. Was that a cane in his hands? No, it couldn't be! Serenah started to stand but didn't make it all the way upright as the cane smashed into her stomach doubling her over. The pain raced along her nerves robbing her breath of air. She couldn't even scream; it hurt that bad.
"You will make sure you match your sister's style," her father ordered punctuating each word with a brutal blow from the cane along her back. She hit the floor, curling into a ball to protect herself.
"Please stop, Your Majesty!" she howled.
"Do you dare to order me, Serenah?"
She cursed her mouth. She should have stayed silent. She just wanted it to stop. She didn't deserve this.
"You never learn, do you, you useless thing," he growled, slamming the cane down twice in quick succession across her right side, breaking her ribs.
A scream of agony was wrenched from her as the excruciating pain from her ribs flooded her body. Her senses were drowning in her suffering. Her father didn't stop there. He kicked her in her stomach.
"Shut it! You're not hurt. You will start on your sister's work tomorrow. Now, get the hell out of my sight, useless child."
It took Serenah two tries to get to her feet and stumble from her father's office. Every breath hurt and her stomach cramped making it worse. She finally got to her room. She pushed open the door, lost her balance, and fell to all fours, violently vomiting. She didn't know how long she threw up but she saw blood mixed in. She was really hurt. She collapsed to her uninjured side, curled up into a ball, and cried her misery to the heavens.