The Last Prologue

A faceless house in the beautiful neighbourhood loomed at the end of the dim-lit street. Everything from the evenly-spaced lamps, to the perfectly trimmed grass and hedges contributed to a picture of serene elegance and sophistication that I realized have been exactly the same for the past ten years. You couldn't tell apart one house from the next if not for the subtle change of the numbers written on the post boxes. Owners are like their houses; It's still difficult to remember if the woman driving a sleek black car down the street is my nosey next-door neighbour or the high-school headmaster's wife. They all look, and behave, quite the same. And I never had cause to fill up precious headspace with insignificant faces and information.

The sheer jacket I donned in a hurry did very little to ward off the chill of the evening, and I didn't take into account the changing weather of early august into account. Less than one year away from this miserable city was enough to make me archive everything about it into the darkest recesses of my mind, but alas, my hopes had to be quashed faster than I could spell the word 'free'. Now here I am, in this miserable place once again trudging with my suitcase in tow to the house I spent most of my time planning to escape... What great fucking luck.

"Is that you dear Lilianne?" The all too annoying voice of my middle-aged divorcé neighbour sounded with a creak of her front door. I sighed. Guess it was the headmaster's wife I'd seen earlier then.

Slowly I turned my head towards her, trying not to glare. Her once strawberry-blonde hair was now blood-red, and she wore one of those frilly pink ornate robes that you only see in pre two-thousands cinema. Was she just creeping out her window waiting for me to get close enough? I gave her a tight smile- or, I tried.

"Oh dear, you've been gone for quite awhile haven't you?" She spoke in a cutesy warm voice that raised hairs on my skin. "Your family must have missed you a lot, dear. Your dear father even came all the way to welcome you back. A busy man, dropping work for you." She sighed dreamily.

Ah, this is what she's after. My single father whom she'd barely seen a handful of times in the whole of ten years came home, certainly not to welcome me back. I bit the inside of my cheek and endured the pain. That's a habit I tried and failed to break, chewing the insides of my cheeks to the point it hurt. "The more reason not to keep him waiting, Mrs. Newton."

"It's Ms. Newall." She corrected, annoyed. I took advantage and climbed up the few steps to the entrance. The woman could talk nonsense for hours. She would have been slightly tolerable if her voice were a little less high-pitched. Upon second thought, even that wouldn't make her tolerable at all. What was I thinking? I shook my head and quietly opened the front door.

Leaving my suitcase and keys in the foyer, I was about to announce my presence before the sound of an argument stopped me in my track. This was unusual considering the fact that the only occupants of this house was my older sister Emilia and her stuck-up hubsand Ian, and they were never home at this hour on weekends. That, and the fact that they never have cause to argue since Emilia is such a dutiful obedient little wife who could never argue with her husband like that.

"Be reasonable. You cannot refuse him, are we clear?" A firm cool voice ordered. So confident it would inspire total submission. So certain it would be heeded without second-thought. Only a man who believed he held absolute power and influence could sound like that. The voice belonged to none other than my dearest father.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, not making a sound. It seemed like they were in the main guestroom a left turn from the foyer. I couldn't move closer if I wanted to remain unseen.

"Emilia." Ian's wannabe domineering voice sounded. "Listen to your father darling. You cannot fool with a man like that. Plus, think about it, with or without you he could make it happen. If you refuse, it will only make our lives complicated. You don't want that do you?"

Emilia huffed loudly. She seemed agitated. "You're telling me to not do my own job! I can't just make that report disappear. Do you have any idea what would happen to me if the department head were to be suspicious?"

Father's boisterous laughter cut through her rant, "Ah, sometimes you are pretty dim-witted Emilia." He definitely wasn't amused. Quite the contrary, actually. "Do you think he would be threatened by a few hospital officials? Plus, you forget you're a Hart. Are you that uncertain of your father's influence?"

"I'm not saying that." Emilia fumbled for words. It's easy to imagine her all flustered trying to correct the impression she gave him so that he doesn't misunderstand her. Of course, her daddy's favourite doll must remain as thus. I raked my fingers back through my hair in frustration. I hate not having a clue what they're talking about. If it's something that sollicited the personal presence of the man I have barely seen growing up, it's sure to be something big. Emilia stammered, "What the report proves isn't simple. It could potentially lead to so much more-

"Don't get smart now." Ian spat venomously. "If he wanted to pursue the truth he would have, but the consequences of it weren't worth it. It's not our place to tell him what to do. Just make that report disappear Emilia and let us carry on in peace."

"And think about what's in it for you both." The one and only Dean Hart added, his voice hinting the end of this conversation once and for all. "You've been working your days off in that hospital, as is your husband in that company. You both deserve to be rewarded accordingly. Don't be stupid Emilia. This ends here."

Emilia's sigh could be heard, and a clink of a cup on a saucer. I straightened myself out at the sound.

"In any case, your sister will be here any moment now." Dean's voice was heard. "Pull yourself together."

I guess that was my cue. Taking a deep breath, I opened and shut the door loudly and took off my excuse of a jacket while I'm at it. The heated house had warmed my body enough to smoothe the goose bumps. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror in passing, I entered the guestroom. As expected, very little had changed about the interior, let alone the people sitting on the sofas. They painted quite the friendly family picture had I not known any better.

"Lilianne," My father announced neutrally, the corner of his mouth pulled in an indifferent smile. Ten years have put a little more salt than pepper on his head, and his clean-shaven face made him appear younger than he was. The grey eyes I'd inherited from him glinted in a completely different light from that which mine held. "You're home at last."

I suppressed the unlady-like snort that fought to escape and tilted my head to the side. "Unfortunately."

He chuckled coldly. "Well, aren't you a dose of sunshine? I see you weren't ready to end your dilly-dallying just yet."

"I was at university." My voice was clipped in annoyance. It was near impossible to hide my dislike for this man, despite the fact that I rarely found it hard to mask my thoughts and emotions. He needed to be brought off his damned high horse. "If that's what you call dilly-dallying-

"Where'd you get the ridiculous notion that a Hart would attend that poor institution you call a university?" He waved his hand dismissively. "You've had your fun and wasted precious time. Luckily the people at St. Honors agreed to validate that semester and admit you without setbacks."

"Thanks to dad for being a benefactor no doubt." Emilia chimed in, sucking up to him as to be expected. She directed an admonishing look towards me. "Who leaves a prestigious university to attend an unknown college in the middle of nowhere? I don't know what you were thinking."

Emilia, her father's golden child. They haven't always been on good terms. In fact, she used to hate his guts so much so that she refused to even call him 'father'. But clearly, money and influence could buy a spoilt neglected child's affection. She'd always gotten whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. Cars? Check. Expensive vacations? Check. A top university? Check. A silver-spoon lawyer husband? Check. Why would I expect someone so easily swayed to have a backbone to stand for what they want and believe in? Even I learnt at ten years of age not to expect as much from her.

I bit the tip of my tongue, but what I wanted to actually say was that I could attend whatever university I wanted if they'd just leave me the hell alone. At least I was bright enough to get accepted with my own efforts. No thanks to my dearest father, I could only afford a meager college in the middle of nowhere with a scholarship and working thirty-hours a week to keep up with my expenses. I'm sure my ghost-pale complexion and significant weight loss is indicative enough of my recent tragic struggles. And I would have still preferred it to coming back here and fulfilling this delusional man's fancy of a picture-perfect family. Though, even I wasn't so stupid to think that he would let it go without retaliation. It's not like I've ever been a significant part of his life anyway. After all, I could count all of my interactions with the man on one hand. Yet, he still wouldn't let me destroy his spotless image in front of the world. I dug my fingernails in the flesh of my palm and kept up my best neutral expression.

"It's quite unfortunate that none of my achievements will be contributing to the Hart name." I said solemnly. "After all, I'm not legally your daughter."

"Don't test my patience." The self-satisfied smile on his face dropped and a cold look of contempt replaced it. "As long as you're under my roof you're a Hart for everyone else, so live up to that name alright?"

"Ungrateful brat." Ian muttered under his breath, while Emilia shot me a venomous look. I stood my ground with my teeth clenched. No matter how many years pass and the differing of circumstances, it was obvious these people will stay unchanged. I swallowed the bitter taste of helplessness and sighed. Clearly, I tried to break free once to no avail, and until I claim some form of financial independance and emotional closure, I can't quite leave this miserable place for good.

"You behave and keep your head low like you've always done, good?" Dean said condescendingly, getting up to leave. It was clear that I wasn't the purpose of his visit today. Whatever he's been discussing earlier with Ian and Emilia was important enough to warrant his attention. And whatever gets this man's attention is bad news.

I stood to the side observing the little display of familial goodbyes as Emilia and her husband fussed over the man leaving the house. Mrs. Newton next door, peering from her doorway with a creepy smile on her face. As father left Emilia with a stern gaze and a reminder not to forget what they discussed, I couldn't help but get curious.

What have you gotten yourself into, naive Emilia?