023 Breakfast With The Marshalls (2)

Eden cringed at his forced expression, knowing her father was unable to fake his care for her. He didn't know her after all but that was fine with Eden.

Now wasn't the time to get to know any of them. The had their chance to get to know her and tossed every opportunity aside.

She would only sit down and eat her breakfast, then think of how she would discreetly move out either that evening or the next day early morning.

"I'll have some toast and eggs with juice," Eden said softly to Gertrude, she didn't usually eat in front of her family as they would often make fun of her so she decided a light breakfast would be the best right then.

"I'll get that right away,"

Frederick chuckled and flipped his paper as he read it.

"Quite the appetite you have this morning, what is it? 9:00 AM?" he said.

Eden paused, growing self conscious at the man's words. She drummed her fingers on the table, not letting her emotions show.

'He only wants to keep hurting me because I won't do what he wants, this is a perfectly reasonable breakfast,' Eden though, calming herself down.

"Healthy body, healthy mind," Eden said in response.

Lily giggled.

"You think you have a healthy body?" she cackled, the brunette watched Eden's raction but was met with a single curled lip of disgust.

Lily's swiftly lost her smile. Eden wasn't finding her antics funny and she was no longer shy to express it.

"Gross," Eden said injecting as much venom as she could into the single word. It had the desired effect on her sister.

Upon hearing that, Lily sat up swiftly, feeling self conscious about what she said. Somehow Eden had mastered an expression so cold it could cut her down with only a single word.

"Eden don't be mean to your sister," Frederick said as if they were still children in kindergarten, he didn't seem to acknowledge his children were adults now and their behaviors determined how people would perceive them.

"Only if she reciprocates, dad," Eden said.

Gertrude set the plate down in front of her, the blonde thanked her and began taking bites out of her bread and taking sips of her orange juice.

"Don't eat it all in one go," Her father said.

"What makes it look to you like I'm eating all in one go?" Eden said rolling her eyes. "If the implication is that I'm fat, get new jokes, the material's getting stale," she took a bite out of her sunny side up and crunched some more toast between her teeth.

'Ah so they called me down here to make fun of me, but I can never be beaten down mentally like that again,' Eden thought. The initially feeling of self consciousness was gone now, replaced by annoyance at the fact the thought these childish insults would work.

They stung, especially since they came from her father and sister but she could not let them get to her.

'I have to work on my mindset,' Eden said shaking her head.

"Oh calm down, it's just banter," Frederick said.

"We don't have that kind of relationship," Eden replied.

Frederick frowned.

"There's the matter of discussing where you went yesterday," Fredrick said, finally putting the paper down. It all said the same think anyway, Minxy toys was squashing them and quickly becoming the household name for toys in Meadowlark.

Eden shrugged, finishing off her two pieces of toast and eggs until only the orange juice remained.

"I went to a Realtor's office yesterday," Eden said openly as she sipped the sweet beverage.

"What?" Frederick hissed.

"I went to a Realtor's office," Eden reiterated slowly. "Is your hearing getting worse or something?"

"You watch your mouth,"

"Like you and Lily do around me I suppose? Careful I'm not fighting fire with water anymore," Eden said flipping her short bob. Her father stared at her slack-jawed while her sister continued to bite her nails nervously.

"What were you doing at the Realtor's office?"

"Looking for a house," Eden said, staring pointedly at her father.

Fredrick laughed.

"Do you think I'm going to pay for that?"

"With you debt?" Eden scoffed, "You'll be lucky to pay your staff!" she laughed, just as loudly and just as venomously as her father could.

"No, I never expected you to pay for my apartment because, unlike Lily, I've actually had to work for a living. So, I saved up this thing called money? Perhaps you've heard of it, or maybe not," Eden shot him a mocking pout.

"I'm growing tired of your attitude," Fredrick hissed.

"I'm not. Get used to it or don't, I won't be your problem anymore," Eden shot back, she sat down confidently and watched her father's face burn red with rage at her responses.

"But Eden why are you moving out?" Lily asked suddenly in distress, "Why are you abandoning us?"

"You abandoned me?" Eden said.

"I did nothing of the sort,"

"When's my birthday," Eden asked, she rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her knuckle.

"I don't need to know trivial things like that to prove I-" Frederick stammered, spewing rubbish to cover up the fact he did not know her.

It didn't hurt like Eden expected it would, she only matched his sputter, making fun of him as he stammered.

"How old am I?" Eden asked again, this time to Lily.

The brunette didn't answer.

"Uhh, case in point. You've been living with a stranger for years and that stranger is about to make an exit," Eden said excusing herself from the table.

Before she left, she turned to her father for one last word.

"Didn't you notice, when you barged into my room that it was bare? I was literally packed up!"

Frederick lowered his gaze, looking at the wooden table and his cup of tea. Lily squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable about what was unfolding before her.

"You want to sit down and play happy family with your daughter? That's fine, keep playing," Eden said, she turned around and ran up the stairs leaving them to their thoughts.