Chapter 5.

The man in front of her let out a disheartening sigh at her silence, she had been staring at his face for the pat minute without saying anything, “I will just assume that you are as dumb as the other girls that flock around my step-brother”,

“Excuse me?”, she heard him loud and clear, did he just call her dumb? What a rude thing to say to somebody you just met!

“I really do not have time to bicker or talk with you, it is enough torture that I have to be in the same space as those two goons, now if you would get out of my way”, he did not hold back the sass in his tone or the fact that he wanted to emotionally hurt her with his words and this made her angry,

“The fuck is your problem?”, the frown lines on her forehead were more prominent than ever, the guy that stood before her was a complete dick, his ego could fill Alex’s entire room.

“My problem is you standing in my way, do not make me call security to take you out because I will”, she could not see his face properly, the hallway was dark but for someone to be as arrogant as he was, they had to be extremely breathtaking. She almost fell to the ground as his large frame pushed past her, it was obvious that he was trying to trigger her, the hallway was anything but narrow, in fact, it could fit the both of them perfectly- he was just an asshole and it did not take a rocket scientist to tell who the jerk was.

Gabriel O’Connell- he was everything his step-brother had said he was; arrogant, egotistical, mean, smart mouthed- you name it. She had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but after her small encounter with him, she realized he was a very horrible person, the type of person that one should stay clear of. He reminded her so much of her mother- the way he had judged her at first sight was extremely bitchy and immature, she immediately decided that she hated him, he was the worst out of the three step-brothers.

She snuck out of the deserted area quickly and headed towards the staff quarters, she pushed the door of her mother’s suite open and went inside hoping within her that her mother was throwing orders to the other staff that worked under her inside the main building, at least, she would not have to see the woman’s irritating face- unfortunately, her luck was always spread out in a very thin strip, “Where have you been?”,

With a deep sigh of exhaustion, Tessa turned to face her mother, “I really do not see how my movement concerns you”, she spat out, she was not in the mood for her mother’s unnecessary questioning, her mood had already turned rotten by the devil in human skin, yes, she was now referring to him as the devil as nothing else suited his overbearing attitude.

“You are still a minor and under me”, the woman snarled angrily, her face was twisted up in her signature scowl that indicated her hatred for her daughter,

“Really?”, her hand went up to her chin as she thought of her next words carefully, she could not let her mother have the glory of getting the last word, no, she would win this round, “Because I am looking into getting emancipated from you”, it was a lie but it was worth the shot.

Bethel’s face was filled with dread, not that she cared about Tessa leaving for good, but because she cared too much for her name, how would people look at her if they found out that her teenage daughter got emancipated from her, “You wouldn’t dare”, her voice was hoarse as she dropped it an octave lower than usual,

“Test me and we would see”, satisfied with her win, Tessa walked away and went into her room, locking it with the key. She had been locking her door ever since she got there, especially when she was asleep- knowing how petty her mother was, she knew she could try to murder her in her sleep. It was funny how Tessa had actually thought about emancipating herself from her mother times without number but it felt like she was also emancipating herself from her late father, after all, emancipation was done to get rid of both parents and she just was not prepared to get rid of her dad- ever, even though he had already gotten rid of her.

She pounced on the bed and tried to close her eyes when she heard pounding on her door, “I know you would not open the door but I am warning you Tessa, do not come out of this house tonight. I do not know what you do at the main house but not tonight, Mr. O’Connell and his sons are having dinner and your presence is not needed”, Tessa rolled her eyes, her mother was so quick to assume things about her- she barely even knew her. If she did, she would know that Tessa preferred and was a first-class graduate at minding her own damn business, she wasn’t even concerned with the dinner. She would not be able to deal with the tense atmosphere or the amount of negativity that the three rivals would emit, no, she was staying far away from all that.

She finally closed her eyes once she heard the slam of the front door, her mother had finally left, good. Hopefully, she would not come back, Tessa smiled at the mere thought of never seeing the woman’s face again, maybe she would get hit really hard by the noisy lawn mower the gardener was using to trim the grass, that would be a blessing.

As Tessa wished her mother death, the O’Connell step-brother were just entering the dining room in preparation for their dreadful ‘Family Dinner’, why have such a dinner when none of them saw each other as ‘Family’, the were anything but and their father knew this well enough to still force them into the same room.

Maids and security guards were scattered around the room, all of them dreading the event that was sure to take place, they were already anticipating it as the boys never held back when it came to insulting each other and calling themselves out. Sometimes, it looked like their father enjoyed the scene, he never tried to stop them and he would even add fuel to the fire with his interjections. He had that much power over them; the power to make them fight whenever he wanted them to, their father was a manipulator, a shrewd business man that got what he wanted no matter what and no matter how he got it.

The three men sat at the dining table quickly, the faster they start the earlier they finish and get out of this choking space, the only thing holding them back was their father, he always came to these family dinners unnecessarily late, they could tell he always did it purposely as he was not known to be tardy- ever. He would set these things to seven o’clock sharp and arrive thirty minutes later, they on the other hand were not allowed to arrive a minute later than the time set. If they did, he would remind them that they still lived under his roof even though he was the one that never allowed the three grown men to move out of the residence. He always threatened them with their inheritance, they move out and lose all the luxuries that came after his death, none of them were ready for that kind of life. They had never been broke in their life, losing their inheritance was not in match with their lavish lifestyle.

The room was silent, the only sound coming from the ticking of the clock on the wall. The tension in the room could be sliced by a knife and they all avoided eye contact with each other, if they looked into the eyes of the enemy, they would turn to stone.

The double doors flew open, welcoming the CEO of O’Connell banks and Industries, the three men stood to their feet, their backs as straight as a ruler, maybe the boys did fear something after all; their father.