7 Heavy heart

Grace returned to join the party but stayed alone in a corner. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Everyone looked happy. Why not her? Michael was speaking with some guests while his fiancée was holding his hand tightly like she was scared someone would snatch him away from her. As much as she hated to admit it, they looked perfect together.

A sad smile appeared on her face as she watched them. 

"Finally! There's my lovely big sister." A voice behind her said.

Another person she hated so much. She didn't bother to turn around and continued to sip from her wineglass, but she looked away from Michael.

It wasn't long before the person behind her was standing in front of her and grinning like a Cheshire cat. 

"I looked forward to coming here because I wanted to see you. Been quite a while." He greeted with false excitement.

"We work in the same office. If you wanted to see me so badly, you would have stopped by."

"And have you beat me up for invading your private space? No way!" He exclaimed dramatically. "You think I don't know that you're still taking those boxing classes?"

She smirked. "Is there anything you do not know about me?" She teased with her sharp eyes, looking directly at him. "You have people follow me?" She asked even though she already knew the answer to that question.

He laughed nervously. "Why would I do that? And even if I did, it's because I want to protect you. You have a lot of enemies, dear sister." He smiled brightly at her. 

"Thank you so much for your wonderful consideration, dear brother. I'll also do my best to protect you in my best way." She smiled at him.

She could see how nervous he looked as soon as she said that. At least he got the message. 

He suddenly started laughing loudly to cover up his anxiety. 

"I'm sure you feel sad that Michael is getting married. Didn't you always have a thing for him?" He asked, turning to look in Michael's direction and swiftly changing the topic.

Grace's heart began to thump wildly in her chest, but she had mastered the art of hiding her real emotions.

"You got it wrong, dear brother." She said, turning to look at him before using her finger to draw circles on his chest area. "I have always had a thing for you." She winked pervertedly at him. 

He coughed nervously and pushed her hand away. She could see how flustered he looked and that his cheeks were a little tinted with red.

"You... are crazy." He said, shaking his head before walking away. 

Grace smirked as she watched him leave. She had been learning the best ways to get rid of these people who wanted nothing but to annoy her. It seemed to her that it was all working nicely. 

After about 20 minutes, she could no longer breathe comfortably in there. 

Everyone looked happy. They looked like they didn't have a single problem in their lives. At other parties, she would have been sitting with Michael, so she didn't have the time to think any depressing thoughts. But now, it was just her, and Michael looked like one of those happy people. 

'I wish you happiness, Michael. Keep smiling like these annoying people.' She said it to him in her head and turned to leave with a heavy heart and teary eyes. 

She shouldn't have left home in the first place. Going out always made her feel worse than she already was. She was at least glad her parents hadn't arrived, or maybe they had, but they hadn't crossed paths. 

She returned to the parking lot and was about to enter her car when she heard a desperate feminine voice calling for her. 

She wanted to leave the place in peace. Why can't they understand?

"Grace!" 

The woman was out of breath, as if she had been chasing her. She was in her mid-forties, average height, and very pretty. Her hair was in a neat bun and her makeup was moderate, as usual. She looked as elegant in her black dress as the last time Grace saw her. One look at her and you will know she is an aristocrat.

"What is wrong with you, Grace? I heard you embarrassed two women in there! Why do you keep acting childish every time? Do you want to keep ruining our family's name before you—" 

"Aren't you happy?" Grace interrupted, looking at the woman with dull eyes. 

The older woman looked confused. "Why... would I be happy about your attitude?" 

Grace laughed dryly. "Stop lying to yourself because I can see through you." She said it in an accusing tone. "You get excited whenever I do something stupid in public and end up making the headlines. Because people would keep saying how unfit I am for the position of CEO. And you know who is going to be their perfect choice?" Grace smiled maliciously at her. "It's going to be your son." 

"GRACE!" The woman yelled with a red face. "How dare you say such a thing to your mother? Why would I ever be happy about people saying bad things about you when you are my daughter?" 

Grace looked to the side, trying her best to control her temper and her tears. Her lies were frustrating her. 

"I don't care what caused your tantrum today, but you are going to apologize to Hannah and Aisha and everyone there for the disaster you have caused!" She said it with finality, which made Grace laugh even harder as tears streamed down her face.

The more she cleaned it with her hands, the more tears fell. 

"You sound like you can tell me what to do. It's nice." Grace said this in between bursts of laughter while wiping away her tears. She was glad it was only the two of them in the parking lot.

"Grace..." Her mother called in a softer tone when she saw her tears. She tried to reach for her, but Grace stepped back and glared at her hand. 

"Don't touch me!" She snapped at her. 

Her heart was a lot heavier now. The person who turned her into the sadistic person she was, was none other than this woman. 

"When was the last time you asked me how I was doing?" Grace asked her in a soft tone before adding, "Like a mother would ask her child." 

"...."

"Have you ever wondered how I lived or how I fed myself?" 

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT ME BECAUSE ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS VINCENT!" She yelled at the older woman, causing her to flinch.

"YOU KNOW ALL VINCENT DOES! YOU ARE AWARE THAT HE SPONSORS MEDIA HOUSES JUST SO THEY CAN TALK BADLY ABOUT ME. HE KEEPS TRYING TO DIG DIRT ON ME AND HAS HAD PEOPLE FOLLOW ME AND BREAK INTO MY FORMER APARTMENT A COUPLE OF TIMES!" Grace yelled angrily.

"And all of this is your fault. So you are telling me you are not aware, Mrs. Anderson?" She scoffed in disbelief.

The older woman shook her head. Her face was filled with confusion. "I... I swear..."

"I don't care about what you have to say because you have told me too many lies, and now I don't even know when you are telling the truth anymore." Grace sniffed and used her hands to clean the tears off her face. 

"But tell Vincent this... I am getting to my limit. And if he keeps pushing me, I was sooo going to ruin the hell out of his life. He better watch out." She said this in a dangerously quiet voice before getting into her car and driving off.

*******

(A/N)

Hello people!

For those used to my writing style, I'm sure you're aware my characters are not perfect. Everyone has flaws and I try to portray them in my books and also how they develop into better people with fewer flaws. These flaws can come because of how they were raised or the environment they grew up in.

So you may hate the characters, but remember, we aren't perfect either and some people hate us even though we think we are perfect. Lol.

The story is going to kick off fully and we'll see Grace's development.

I hope you keep supporting this book.

I'll beg for power stones. Please.

And when you feel like it, you can write a review for this book.

Thank you for your massive support. It means a lot to me.