Eliza was nervous as she approached the main house where her family stayed. How ironic that she would be feeling this badly just to visit her own family. Or even worse, the fact that she was no longer allowed to live in the main house in the first place. Like a stranger, or a hired help. Even guests received better treatment from them than she did. She took a deep breath as she walked up the steps. She came bearing good news, so hopefully, it would keep their sour mood at bay.
"Oh no. Don't even think of coming in here. I was in such a good mood today. Seeing your face will ruin everything." Francis groaned as she walked into the living room.
Most of them were seated around, only her mother and her brothers' wives were missing. They were probably gossipping in another room or shopping.
"You will all want to hear what I have to say, trust me." Eliza replied, not fazed by her brother's rudeness.
She was used to this treatment already, so it could no longer hurt her.
"I hope you're here to announce that you're leaving my house with your husband." Her grandfather, Henry said.
"That's true. We let them stay here out of pity. But he seems to no longer be retarded, so you both can leave us in peace now. Since you want to turn your back on your family, and remain married to that lowlife. Then there's no need to enjoy our hospitality, right?" Her father cut in before she could respond to her grandfather.
Marco chuckled, and she sighed.
"Don't worry. My husband has already promised me that we will be leaving here soon, but that's not why I'm here. I…"
"The only things I care to hear from your mouth are "I'm divorcing my husband, so I can marry who you choose, or, I am leaving this house immediately. Anything else you think is important that you have to say is useless to me, so get out." He dismissed her without a second look, and turned to continue discussing with her father.
"Are you sure about that? Have you forgotten the challenge you gave us all on your birthday?"
That got her grandfather's attention, but only so he could look at her with disdain. "If you're here to beg for some kind of help, you better discard the idea. You still haven't apologised to me for your husband's rude behaviour that day, and the rag you gave to me as a gift."
"I don't need any help, it's already done." She smiled at him, but the frown on his face remained.
It was Mario who responded instead. "Are you trying to say you got the partnership? So fast? Maybe in your dreams. But I hate to break it to you, this is reality, not a fantasy world." He said and Francis laughed.
"I can show you the email if you want. I did some work for a subsidiary of Crestview Group some time ago, and they remembered me through that project. That's how the partnership offer came about. They even set a meeting time. Tomorrow at the office, by 9am, for negotiations and contract drafting." Her excitement was clear in her voice, but none of them believed her.
"Stop making a fool of yourself and just go, Eliza. We all know you're lying. There's no way…"
"Enough of this nonsense!" She snapped, and it got all their attention.
Her loud voice even attracted her mother's attention, who was in the garden with her daughter-in-laws.
"What is the meaning of this? Why are you yelling in my house? And who do you think you are to speak with such disrespect after the hospitality we have shown you?" Her mother asked, and Eliza scoffed.
"Hospitality? You call what you've been doing hospitality? I wonder what your version of hostility looks like then. Ever since I announced that I would stay married to Alrik, I've been treated worse than a pariah. You all act like I have a contagious disease that would spread to you if you're even around me for longer than a minute. I have to endure your insults and snide remarks, and on top of that, I'm treated with less respect that even the servants. That's what hospitality looks like to you?"
Her voice got louder the more she spoke, and so did her anger. She was tired of enduring everything in silence. She had Alrik back now, and he promised to make everything better. She was choosing to burn the bridge between herself and her family, because she trusted him. Before now, she only stayed silent so they would not kick her out of the house in anger, because she had no place to go with Alrik. Now she didn't care if they got angry.
"We let you stay here when we could have thrown you out of the…"
"Should I give you an award? For doing the bare minimum? You kicked your own daughter out of the house, and gave her a tiny room in the servant's quarters. You never let me have fresh food from your kitchen, only leftovers that I shared with the dogs. Even your servants treat me like I'm less than them, yet I carry the Pratt blood in my veins. All my life, I did as was expected of me. I got the best grades, I graduated top of my class, got so many awards for business before you made sure I was blacklisted, and would not find work with my degree in the companies I applied to after you fired me from the family company. Just one thing that I desired for myself made you so angry that you made my life a living hell."
She laughed, and shook her head. "I worked like a dog, menial labour that I was never used to, but was forced to learn in order to survive. You call that hospitality? I spit on your so-called hospitality. I came here, happy to share the good news I hoped would make you all finally accept me, but you know what? I no longer care to be a part of this so-called family. If this is how families treat each other, I'd rather be called an orphan. Even animals treat their family better than you all have treated me this past two years."
She looked each of them in the eye, before settling on her mother. "Your daughter-in-laws mean more to you than the daughter you birthed. What kind of mother are you?"
For several seconds after her unexpected outburst, there was silence, so she turned around to leave. She paused at the door.
"I've done my part. Be there tomorrow at 9am, or don't. It's up to you. If the partnership fails because of you, then I'll use the goodwill they've shown me to get a job at their company instead. Either way, I win." Then she walked out.