Morning After

"Where is she!?" Gary Miller demanded as he banged on the gates of the ancestral home of the Miller family.

"Which she young master Miller?" One of the maids asked as she opened the gate for the young man.

"Maya, that whore," Gary accused as he pushed the maid aside and walked towards the old mansion. "Don't tell me she slept in that man's bed? The nerve of that woman!"

The staff of the Miller residence were in shock when the young man suddenly accused Miss Maya of being a whore.

Everyone knew that the young madam had never been with any other man. She had always only loved one man, the man that had abandoned her.

"Sir, Miss Maya came home late from the Annual Cityhood Charity Ball and Auction. She is still in bed," one of the maids said as she chased after Gary.

"Bring her to me!" Gary roared angrily as he kicked open the doors to the mansion, making Maya's parents, Edmond and Caroline Miller, jump in surprise.

"Aren't you too old to be throwing a tantrum, Gary?" Caroline asked the young man as he walked over from the foyer to the receiving room where the couple sat having their breakfast.

"Uncle Edmond, Aunt Caroline good morning," Gary said in a respectful tone as he seemed to calm down. "Where is my cousin?

Edmond calmly placed down his cup of coffee, taking his time, not rushing to answer his nephew's question.

"Which cousin?" Edmond asked.

"Maya, I need to speak to her," Gary said as he held back his anger. He knew that if he made demands in front of his uncle he was less likely to be able to speak to his cousin.

"She's resting," Caroline told the young man.

She looked at him from head to toe with a clear disgust in her expression.

Gary could feel his blood run cold with the way his Aunt Caroline was looking at him. He couldn't help but wonder if the news had traveled so fast that they had already heard of the actions being taken against him.

"I need to speak to her, it is of the utmost importance," Gary said as his voice shook. He was struggling to remain calm and not show his panic or anger to his Uncle and Aunt.

"Come back later," Edmond said as he dismissed his nephew. "She should wake up in a few hours. I don't want her to overwork herself."

Gary was about to thank his Uncle and leave when another angry person joined them, Gary's father and Edmond's younger brother, Harold Miller.

"Edmond! Are you really going to send my son away after your daughter caused such malicious news to spread about him?!" Harold Miller might be younger than Edmond Miller, but he had not aged as well as his older brother.

At first glance, people often thought at Harold was the elder of the two brothers, thus leading to much suffering on his part.

People always assumed that he was the heir to the Miller family and often asked him for favors. When he couldn't deliver or when people realized that he was only the second son, he would often be left embarrassed.

It was from there that his resentment towards his elder brother Edmond came, and now that his niece, Maya, had caused his own son some trouble, he could help but be furious.

"What are you talking about, Harold?" Caroline asked her brother-in-law as she massaged her temples.

Just as Harold and Gary were about to explain the situation, Maya came down dressed for the day.

"What's going on? Why is everyone shouting?" she asked as she slowly climbed down the stairs to join the rest of the family.

"The great whore of Arlington City appears," Gary scoffed as he glared at his cousin.

"Watch your tongue in my household young man." Edmond Miller threatened as he stood from his seat. "I think you forget who is still head of this family and who is set to inherit."

Gary laughed and shook his head.

His father's presence made him braver, he was no longer afraid of his Uncle and Aunt.

"Uncle, your daughter used her own charm to get the President of DLR Enterprises to go after me," Gary said as he pointed an accusatory finger at Maya.

Shocked by his words, Maya looked around to see if it was coming as a shock to everyone as well.

To her surprise based on the way even her own parents were reacting, they all knew that the President of DLR Enterprises had made a move against her cousin.

"That doesn't make it her fault," Caroline told Gary. "You are brash enough to get into trouble without anyone's help, why are you blaming your cousin? Are you trying to further ruin the family name with in fighting?"

Maya's mother, Caroline Miller, was a strong and vocal woman, she was never just a society wife content with arranging charities.

Just like her husband, she was involved with the many businesses they owned and managed.

"You were not there, Caroline," Harold said as he raised his voice at his sister-in-law. "Everyone who was anyone in the state of Franklin saw how Mr. Alistair De La Rue was clearly head over heels with your daughter at the party."

Maya clenched her fists as she bit back the urge to shout at her uncle.

She knew that such a direct and primal way of arguing with him would get her nowhere.

"Even if Mr. De La Rue likes Maya, how is this involved with the news of your son's multiple mistresses and illegitimate children?" Edmond asked his brother. "If anyone, Gary should be the one apologizing and working on a way to pay the family and the company for the damage to its reputation he has caused."

"Mr. De La Rue did it for her! He saw us fighting, I'm sure he did it to avenge her!" Gary shouted like a madman annoying Maya even further.

"I didn't cause this Gary!" Maya argued back. "What do you even want me to do? You dug your own grave when you slept with those women despite being a married man!"

"Go to Mr. De La Rue and ask him to stop, he is releasing all of my dirty laundry to the public, it's only a matter of time till—" Gary caught himself before he said anything that would cause him harm.

"Till, what Gary?" Maya asked as she raised an eyebrow and glared at her cousin, waiting for him to finish his sentence.