"Unhealthy families discourage individual expression. Everyone must conform to the thoughts and actions of the toxic parents. They promote fusion, a blurring of personal boundaries, a welding together of family members. On an unconscious level, it is hard for family members to know when one ends and another begins. In their effort to be close, they often suffocate one another's individuality."
-Susan Forward-
***
Since Vian was the person responsible for the party, she was also the one welcoming the guests as they arrived. Although the guest was her own family members, sometimes she felt a bit alien whenever she was among them. Yes, she was raised with the same kind of lifestyle they had, good education, never lacked any comfort or privileges most common people would not have, she still felt out of place sometimes because of her mother’s humble background. The previous years she had tried to stay away from the spotlight for the sake of maintaining her own sanity. However, that year she knew she needed to step up and be in the spotlight, in a good way if she wanted to get her grandmother’s attention.
She had a naturally sweet attitude which she often utilized to get what she wanted, but there was one thing that year which made her nervous. It was her husband. Each time she went to welcome a family member they would flash polite smiles at her but would throw this subtle but noticeable judging stare at her husband. Adonis had always remained by her side since the party started since he needed to make an appearance to avoid any unwanted questions. Even though most of the other family members outside their nuclear ones were relatively okay and mostly minded their own business, there were some family members that were much bolder than others.
“Ah, look who’s here, my dear lovely cousin and her… remarkable husband.” Just as she thought, someone had to just come over there and make some sarcastic remark. From her voice alone she could already tell who it was. Cynthia Laurent Sterling. The most beloved grand-daughter and daughter of the sterling family whom everyone praised for her beauty and successful modelling and TV anchor career. She was the daughter of the family’s eldest son who lived in the left wing of the Sterling manor. Although they lived in the same place, they rarely saw each other because of their busy schedule. It was good riddance on Vian’s side, until she made an appearance.
The blonde bombshell had never gotten along with Vian since childhood, they were roughly the same age and instead of playing together and supporting each other like good cousin would, they saw each other as more of a rival. Actually it started from Cynthia who decided to hate on Vian just simply because, like her grandmother, she saw her family like a commoner.
Among all the cousins, the tension between these two were the most noticeable. Vian had three more cousins from her middle child uncle, but she did not really have any issues with them and they were all younger than Vian. Cynthia herself had a younger brother who was a year younger than her but unlike the sister, Vian actually got along pretty well with the now twenty three-years old economist in training. So she never understood where the hatred was rooted by even in adulthood they remained silent sworn rival.
“Welcome to the party. Cynthia, I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here.” She forced a smile as she handed her over the complimentary gift of the party which was a custom made hard cover notebook that was actually designed by Adonis, but of course, she would never tell them that or they would find more reason to throw sarcasm on the man.
“Of course, I’ll be enjoying myself around here. Grandma said last year’s party was the best and the grandest one she had ever seen in her lifetime. She gave me a gold and princess cut diamond necklace as a gift as a reward. I wonder if this year your party could surpass mine. Don’t worry though, I would keep my expectation low.” Vian felt her blood started to boil upon hearing those passive aggressive remarks but decided fighting with her was not really worth it. She simply let it go, but knowing Cynthia, she knew she would not stop at that.
“Oh and nice suit, Adonis, you look handsome in it but don’t worry I would not fall for your good looks trap. I work with male models so I am used to it.” Adonis knew she was basically the troll of the family and was not meant to be taken seriously but sometimes the little remark she spoke did get into his nerves a bit. Although he knew better than to return the favor and just swallowed everything up.
After she said that her fiancé, Andrew walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Despite her awful personality she somehow managed to land a financial advisor as her fiancé, which made her status in the family even higher since everything was about money, status and power in their circle. The more you had to begin with the more you would be given. As if her previous words were not enough, she decided to continue.
“You know my fiancé bought me a new Van Cleef & Arpels matching ring and necklace that I am wearing today. What do you think?” She purposely stared at Adonis who she knew could not afford such gifts for his wife. Adonis who was watching the entire thing could only remain silent in helplessness. He felt pathetic as he could not defend himself.
Vian knew the woman was simply bragging but she was starting to heat up from the conversation. She thought it was time for her to actually stop talking.
“Good for you, but you know what I really need to see grandma now, they said she’s in the lobby and I’d like to personally greet her there. So if you would excuse me.” She walked away and Adonis followed behind her to meet her grandmother. He thought she was just making it up but no, the grandma was actually in the lobby.
It was not the first time Adonis met her, but each time he always had this terrible hunch whenever he was around her. Something about her demeanor was a huge turn off for him. Despite all that he made sure to always remain polite to her for the sake of his wife. That time was no exception.
“Grandma, welcome, I hope you enjoy the party.” Greta stared at her least favored grand-daughter indifferently. Her icy blue eyes pierced through her soul with disappointment and she knew it.
The old woman was already wheelchair bound, yet she remained the most powerful member of the family and it was showing through her attire. She wore a purple velvet coat with black fur lining which appeared like they belonged to the past. Her brow was arched, drawn in dark brown pencil. She had dark red lipstick on and a horrendous looking blue eyeshadow which accentuate her icy blue eyes even more in a negative way. Sometimes she wondered how can someone have so much money and still could not find a proper makeup artist but of course Vian would never say it out loud to her.
Of course there was not a single day spent without her jewelries so she made sure to wear her large marquise cut sapphire ring with diamonds all around it. The ring was a family heirloom which could only be worn by the heiress of the family. It would be passed on after Greta passed away but as long as she was breathing the ring would never leave her side.
Greta stared around the room and her gaze land on Adonis. A small snort escaped her lips. Vian knew right away she was ready to throw on some mockery his way.
“So you decide to bring this good for nothing husband of yours to the annual family gathering, I see. It appears you have no shame. Your mother was already a disgrace and this year she and your father doesn’t even dare to come here but here you are with this useless poor man.” Those harsh words escaped her lips with no filter.
Adonis felt utterly hurt by those words. It was the reason why he had never liked her grandmother at all to begin with. Yes, what she was saying was the truth but still, he thought she was just being rude. It was so unnecessary, he already knew that he was a failure as a man and a husband, there was no need to constantly remind him about it.
His pride was scarred and Adonis decided to excuse himself. Vian watched as he walked away. Her heart was torn because at one side she could not go against her grandmother and defended Adonis but she also felt bad for him because no matter how broke he’s, the man was still her husband.
“Look at him, he’s so rude. Listen, my dear Vivianne, you are so much better without that man. Anytime you wish to divorce him you just tell me and I will help you. We already have the prenup settled anyway.” Of course it was all she thought of. She did not care whether or not Vian was actually happy in the relationship or if she was content. All she cared about is the fortune. Vian almost found it a bit ironically amusing.
She thought she could no longer stay there or she might not be able to hold her tongue back. She politely flashed a smile to her grandmother and excused herself.
"It's a feeling without a lid, of what you would do, physically, verbally, to protect the one thing that is your greatest love."-Lena Headey-***Adonis barged into the restroom to calm himself down a bit. All the insults which had been thrown at him in the past hour was too much. He had no idea why they hated him so much, he had never done anything wrong or bad to them yet somehow they always treated him like he was not even a human being. Was it because he was poor? Don’t poor people deserve even the slightest bit of respect and human decency? Why were they so cruel?He knew it was useless to question it because it would not change anything. That family was one of the worst he had ever seen. Prior to meeting them he had never believed that some wealthy people were arrogant bunch because the ones he had known before were all very kind and humble. Sometimes he would question himself on why he even got into the family. He s
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of others."-Charles Dickens-***Once they had arrived home, the first thing Vian did was to turn on all the lamp and rushed into the bathroom to take the first aid kit. She knew it might have been too long for her to start mending on his wound but she thought it was better than nothing. She pulled the drawer and took the box out of the shelf and brought it to their bedroom.Adonis was seated on the edge of their bed when she returned, he had taken off his suit and changed into a casual t-shirt and shorts for bed instead. His eyes were staring at the full length mirror right across him and saw the bruises on his lips and cheek from Carson’s punch earlier. He did not like how it looked because he knew they would only darken overtime, maybe turned a bit green and odd looking, but there was also a part in him that felt a bit proud of the bruise because it was a
"There are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths,"-Mark Nepo-***He had just sent more resumes and CV to different companies and thought of making himself a lunch. Apparently the whole family members really did not want to have anything to do with their family because they even placed a separate kitchen and dining room, but for Adonis this was an advantage because he could do everything he wanted in peace without any disturbance from the others.Every day Adonis would prepare the breakfast, lunch and dinner for him and Vian. The household had some staffs to clean up their place but occasionally he would also clean up the place here and there. It had become his habit for almost a year. Besides, he would also schedule his day and that day his schedule was pretty darn empty.He thought of spending the day going out to the market to shop for groceries. Yes, he could have just asked one of the staff to do it for him but he mu
"Everything can change at any moment, suddenly and forever."-Paul Auster-***There was a time when Adonis thought he was born to struggle forever, yet it all changed in a snap of an eye. He slowly drove his car to the restaurant where he would meet the man who claimed he knew of his father. He did not wish to put so much expectation in just yet for he did not wish to be disappointed but he did have a bit of faith within him that told him to continue driving.Once he arrived he mentioned the man’s name to the staff and she led him right through the caller man. He had booked a quiet spot in the corner just for the two of them, where no one could disturb their lunch. For the first time ever he met the mysterious caller that made him lose his sleep. The man appeared to be in his sixties, with trimmed white beard and hair all over. His skin was wrinkly all over as proof of his life maturity. He wore a well-tailored black suit
"All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else."-Mae West-***Vivianne arrived at work that day and she was immediately greeted by the receptionist who had informed her that she received a gift that day from a mysterious sender. She walked over to the desk and the woman handed her over a box and a bouquet of pink and white tulip which was one of her favorite flower. She looked a bit confused, who could possibly send her that kind of gift, she already knew it could not possibly come from Adonis. That man barely gifted her anything before just because of his financial situation.She brought it back to her office desk and checked the card which came along with it which wrote, ‘for my dear Vivianne, I love you.’ She had no idea who sent it because there was no sender’s name. Opening up the gift, she found a velvet jewelry box with an Italian private jewelry brand embossed on it. She
"Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood."-Oscar Wilde-***Adonis could not really sleep well that night for various of reasons, the first one being that he was too excited to start his new training at the company which legally belonged to him. Second reason was he kept on thinking about Ana and felt a deep and dark sense of jealousy and possessiveness he had never felt before when she told him that her ex wanted her back, even sending over some flowers and gift for her, because he knew Adonis was not a man who would often send her such gifts due to his circumstance. He tried sleeping soundly but each time he closed his eyes, those two things clashed and haunted him. He ended up tossing himself back and forth on the bed. Until he turned himself to her and decided to ease away his fear of the newfound competitiveness by staring into her face. He did not know why but each time he saw her sleeping like that he felt a strange se
"An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more."-Mark Barrowcliffe-***Carson had just finished taking a shower when he looked at himself in the mirror and out of nowhere recalled the memory of what had happened in the lobby that evening. He could still remember how angry Vian looked when she saw him, her eyes had radiated such a strong hatred for him which he did not quite understand why. It was such a strange sight for him because in his vision and in his mind, he had done nothing but good to her and sure there were some days when he was a bit rougher with her but it was her own fault for making him jealous.Had she been a good girl with him and obeyed everything he said and wanted from her, he would definitely treat her like a queen, it was her own mistake for being bad so she had to be punished. In his mind, Carson did not understand why she saw him as such a villain, he had even bought her gift of the
"There is safety in small beginnings and there is unlimited capital in the experience gained by growing."-Henry Ford-***The room felt rather cold and empty that morning for some strange reason. No, it was not one of those supernatural things which Vian did not believe in, she thought it might be the winter air that had gotten inside the room. She opened the window curtain to let some sunlight inside and turned to her bed to find Adonis gone from there. It was a rather usual sight, he always woke up earlier than her to make breakfast for the two of them. It had been a week since his first day at work and she had found he had woken up even earlier so he could make breakfast and get ready at the same time. She had suggested to him several times they could hire or bring on of the existing house staff to cook for them but Adonis refused. He found joy in cooking and making meals for her and so far had continued to do so despite his busy sc