Ch 2: Cutting family ties

"Mom_" Gisele started but was cut off.

"Don't call me mom! I can never have an ungrateful child like you. This family has only but loved and welcomed you with open hands but now you want to turn your back on us?!" Suzy's eyes blazed in anger for this girl before her.

"My husband has given you everything you ever wanted yet, he's asking you to do just this small thing for him and you refuse! How can you be this ungrateful!"

Gisele looked at her mom who was only concerned about what the Andres wanted and not what her daughter wanted and tears fought to roll down her eyes. To show you how her mother have never considered her as her daughter or even a member of the Andres Family, she had called Raoul 'My husband' instead of 'your father'.

Gisele expected such a reaction from her mother still she was disappointed. Her mother was blindly in love with this man that even if he asked Gisele to cut off her head here and now, her mother would agree without flinching.

She had said he had given her everything she ever wanted? What joke was that?.

For a year, she had slept on the floor of the Housekeeper's room. She had once asked for money to buy a small sized bed but this so-called father who had given her everything she wanted told her he would rather give the money to the dogs than give it to her. She had to save up just to eventually get a comfortable bed under her body at night. Yet her mother... her mother had praised him so righteously.

Gisele sighed and wiped the tears that had found its way down her cheek. "I don't intend to settle anything for the Andres family. I have never been a part of this family in the first place so I am less concerned if it goes bankrupt or is set ablaze. It's your family so settle it yourself!"

" You... You... You ingrate!" Suzy moved to slap her but her wrist was caught in the air by Gisele.

"Mom, I called you mom because this is the last time we'll have such familial ties, from today henceforth I am cutting family ties to the Andres family and will have nothing to do to you." Gisele bowed and turned and began to walk out of the house.

For a split second Suzy felt like her heart was pricked by a needle but even still her heart was already occupied with her obsession for Raoul that guilt had no place to stay.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Suzy rushed and pulled Gisele's hand before she could pull the door open.

"You're not allowed to leave! You're not allowed to leave until I say so! I gave birth to you shouldn't you be grateful! You owe me this much yet you wouldn't help you're mother! You monstrous child!" Suzy tugged at Gisele hands continuously, she was like a mad woman as she shouted and cursed at the top of her lungs.

Gisele watched her mother curse at her, using vile words and wishing she had never be born. Her heart chilled. There was no physical tears to shed anymore but her heart was drowning in self criticism and anguish.

What was it all for?

She wondered why she had deserted her past glory? Why she had fallen out with her grandfather?. Now that she thought about it, all of her decisions were both naive and stupid. Why did she have to suffer for three whole years?

For a mother that never even noticed her? Or a family that only saw her as their commodity?. None of these were worth her thirty-six months of slavery and emotional damage.

She flung her mother's hand away forcefully, opened the door and walked away without looking back. Gisele was completely heartbroken and her mind full of regret.

She was to blame. She didn't regret coming to the Andres house as much as she regretted fighting with her Grandfather.

Remembering all the harsh words she said to him, it felt like her heart was being thorn apart. She should have listened when he warned her of her mother. If only she had known...

Gisele made her way out of the Andres residence and proceeded to shuffle along the road. There was no where she could go. She had no friend and apparently the only person that would have taken her in probably hates her now.

Sigh! Why wouldn't he hate her?

...

"You're just a foolish old man who sits around and idle himself all day! You're unreasonable and disgusting!" Gisele had said to her grandfather as she tried to stomp out of the house.

Despite her harsh words the man held unto her hand and stopped her from leaving, his face held worry and heartache. There was no anger in his eyes

"Little G you should really consider my words, the Andres family had no place for you, you_" his words were cut off.

17 years old Gisele pulled her hands away forcefully, "Liar! my mum wants me! She wants me back! You're only saying this because you are a pathetic lonely man who wants to keep his granddaughter by his side all the time!"

"G_" the man tried to say something else but the girl hastily walked to the side, she grabbed a bunch of documents on the table and started walking to the fireplace.

The Old man's eyes shot open and he hurried to stop her but he was to late, by the time he got to her, she had tossed the documents into the fireplace. He scampered around searching for what he could use to take out the documents from the fire and when he finally succeeded it was too late. The documents were burnt to the point of not being useful anymore.

Seeing the Old man mope over the ashes of the burnt document, Gisele felt guilty for what she had done. She had just burnt all existing documents that proved she was a daughter of the Rhys family. Her guilt lasted for but a second and the anger returned back to her face.

"There! I'm no longer a part of your family again, so don't you try to hold unto me!" She proceeded to walk out of the house and this time around the old man didn't try to stop her.

Like a deserted soul, he knelt down at the fireplace, scraps of burnt paper and a pile of ashes before him.