The next morning when I opened my eyes, the bedroom was eerily quiet. No Joanne. No Paul. Just the stale scent of their sin still hanging in the air.
My head throbbed like I'd been drugged, and for a second, I wished I had been, it would've explained the nightmare I'd walked in on last night. I couldn't forget it.
The look on Paul's face made me want to puke. He had fucked his mother and called it family tradition.
I will never forget that.
Now the shock was gone, I refuse to stay with such man. I didn't care if I had all of the riches in the world, I wanted out of this marriage.
I will never go against my principals because of money.
Still in my thoughts I heard a bang on the door, then I frowned. I had cried so much last night that I fell asleep on the floor. I struggled to rise, my joints aching from the position I had slept with.
I dragged my feet to the door and when I opened it, Nelly was standing right before me. Her face as bright as always.
She's my sister in law, Paul's younger sister. Seeing her now made me want to cry again. Did she know her brother was fucking her mother too?
Did she know their family was so fucked up? I wondered what stupid rules they must have set for her too.
"Sister in law, why are your eyes this swollen? Did you not get enough sleep last night?" She asked with her usual smile and I just broke down before her.
"Why are you crying sister in law, are you alright?" She asked and I just nodded. I couldn't tell her yet that I wouldn't be her sister in-law anymore.
"I'm fine. What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Father called for an immediate family meeting. I don't know why." She said calmly. I knew the reason they had called for the meeting, but no amount of pleas will ever make me stay in this family.
I cannot and will never have sex with my son while calling it a family tradition.
"He asked me to call you for breakfast." She added.
"Alright, let me wash my face and freshen up." I said calmly and hurried inside the bathroom. It was my chance to let them know I was no longer interested in any marriage with Paul Ravens.
Arriving in the dinning room they were all there. The entire Raven family.
Paul's father, Callus Raven, sat at the head of the long dining table like a king in his throne, broad shoulders, gray hair styled back, eyes that could slice a person in half without a word.
He's the most powerful man in the city. A man everyone feared because of his many connections with the government and the law.
Beside him sat Mrs. Raven, but not Joanne, she was Callus's mother. His biological mother. I recognized her from the wedding photos. She was smiling, lips painted crimson, but her eyes were as cold as death.
Joanne and Paul sat shamelessly together on the right side of the table, closer than a mother and son should ever be. His hand rested on her thigh under the table, and her smile looked like the devil himself had carved it there.
The other side was Ruben and Nelly who sat next to each other.
Callus gestured for me to sit. "Veronica. Join us. We've been waiting for you." I didn't bother to greet anyone as I found my way to a seat far from the others.
They were all alliance and have lost my respect. All I wanted right now was a divorce.
"Veronica." Mr Raven called. "I'm sure you ready know why I called for this meeting." He started but I said nothing.
"You should forget about whatever you saw last night with Paul and Joanne and..."
"I want a divorce." I interupted, finally airing my thoughts.
Joanne chuckled like I'd just told the cutest joke in the world. "Oh, sweet girl… you don't get to leave."
Callus leaned forward, his voice firm. "Once you're married into the Ravens family divorce isn't an option, Veronica. Not ever. Only death can seperate us."
"You know more than you should right now. We do not trust our family's laws with just anyone. Ones you get aware, you're officially a part of us." He placed freshly cut tomatoes in his mouth.
The air left my lungs.