"HE IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE"
"TROUBLE, YES," SHE NODDED, "BUT NOT NOTHING, NOT NOTHING."
-ATTICUS.
CHAPTER 1
Life's pretty hard when you are a teen' ,was the only conclusion Millie could derive from the extensive analysis of her fifteen year old brain.
All the things that had occurred in her fifteen years of her existence were nothing but a bunch of bad lucks and hardships. People often called her the black sheep of the family, not that her parents cared as they were too busy handling their famous wineries out of country. Having the perfect blend of PINOT NOIR and CABERNET SAVIGNON bottled up was much more important to them than their daughter's perfect report cards and shiny trophies and that's the reason why she taught herself to be alone over the years , but deep down she still was just a kid that yearned for her parent's love and care. Even her name was short and hurried, like her parents didn't want to waste their time on it too. To keep herself busy and her brain from going rampant Millie had started reading and soon these bound pages become her new best friends. From going on perilous adventures with Sherlock Holmes and DR. Watson to exploring the magical world with Harry potter and his two friends , she had read quite a lot of books , but none were as good as the stories told by grandma pearl.
Grandma Pearl was the only person she treated as her friend other than her books . She was the most enigmatic person Millie had ever seen and her attitude was just as piquant as MR. HOLMES. Her golden eyes always had a mischievous glint in them as if they were hiding a great mystery behind them. There was always something peculiar about her that Millie never understood but wanted to find out. On quite a lot of occasions she considered expressing her curiosity to Grandma pearl but for some reason she never could , even today on her way to the Millers she hoped to unravel the mystery behind that glint .
Summer season had always been despised by Millie, something about the cloudless skies and the scorching heat always seemed to make her sad and depressed not to mention the summer trip to the to the Millers every year. The Millers were partners with the black family and often helped them with their wine business out of country . Every year Millie was forced to visit The miller's , as it was the only time of the year that her parents would come back and get some time to spend with MR and MRS. Miller.
The Millers family was a big one, with 4 children , grandma pearl and grandpa Alex and the vast business , they were quite famous and reputed. The only thing she ever admired about that family were grandma pearl and grandpa Alex , without them it was safe to say that their house was her nightmare and the children , the devils of her life. Rebecca and Sebastian were the eldest , Rebecca being elder to Sebastian than a minute, the only people who liked them in that house were her grandparents and the little packets of the family, Octavian and Arianna, Both of them seemed to like her a bit as they never created any problems for her , but maybe it was just their young age that kept them away from planning and plotting against her. All those years of bone-chilling experiences with her cousins had put her in a spot that made her feel paranoid about everyone around her , to her , for potting a perfect revenge, age never mattered that much.
" Hello dearie , how are you ? I hope your journey wasn't quite troublesome?" Mrs. Miller's squeaky high pitched voice with a fake English accent greeted her as soon as she got out of the car , her voice and her appearance always reminded her of an overly dressed toad with her face being dipped in gallons of make up. Her dresses always consisted of the same plain colored blouse paired with a tight pencil skirt, a fashionable coat and a pair of nude pumps . She always had her hair tied up in a bun , tight enough to give someone a migraine. Mrs. Miller's looks screamed elegance and grace but only Millie knew about her true character.
"I'm fine Mrs. Miller , how about you?"
" I'm doing fine too . Well its good to see that you have managed to inculcate and improve some manners in you this summer."
" and I'm glad to see that you have managed to improve that accent of yours this summer." Millie replied with a sweet smile stretched across her face while being perfectly aware that it would frustrate Mrs. Miller
After that gruesome comment Mrs. Miller was about to lose her temper when Millie's mother interrupted them.
" oh Millie you are finally here , come on in everyone's been waiting for your arrival quite eagerly." this was the first time Millie was thankful for her mother's sudden appearance , although what she said didn't make sense to Millie cause it was pretty clear to her that nobody would wait for her , unless it was grandma Pearl. Her mother's looks hadn't changed much from the last time she had seen her , which was last year. She still had the same pale wrinkle free skin, articulate cheekbones that were sharp enough to cut through diamonds , silky smooth dark hair and a flawless complexion. with eyes are green as the rainforest, She was indeed a beauty. Millie sometimes wished for her mother to look like an ordinary being as her perfection would always scare her . There hadn't been a single time when Evangeline Black had made a mistake , except for giving birth to her, at least that's got Millie felt every single time . Mrs. Black always wanted her to follow her in every aspect of life , while she did the exact opposite of it. This behavior that she inherited had always disappointed her mother.
" Its been a while mother."
" It sure has . Now stop wasting my time and follow me in. Mr. James please take care of Millie's luggage."
Millie silently followed her mother in with Mrs. Miller hot on her tail. The mansion looked pretty much the way wannabe aristocratic peoples 'mansions' looked. With ornately designed pillars and Shakespearean built, It appeared as if the 1800's had threw up over it, but this kind of architecture was what Mrs. Millers believed to be 'rich' . Decorative tapestries, polished tiles , shiny floors , grand chandeliers gave their house a look of a royal palace, she wouldn't be surprised if women donning poufy dresses, corsets and hats way bigger than their heads jumped out of one of the rooms holding fans in their hands and talking about a formal evening tea party . But the entire setting was quite ironic considering the people living in this palace were actually the spawns of Satan thought Millie as she walked down the corridor. Mrs. Black lead her toward the dining area where the entire family was sitting. The children were busy with their electronic gadgets and Millie's father, Conner Black appeared to be in a heated discussion with Mr. Miller . It was only then that she noticed the absence of her grandpa and grandma.
"where are they?" she expressed her concern in an anxious voice . She couldn't help but worry as their absence made everyone and everything around her feel foreign.
"oh look here comes our precious little Millie, we couldn't start eating without you." said the voice she had been dreading the most. At the age of 18, Sebastian was a cliché in existence, the man every girl dreamt about and every guy wanted to be, but only she knew about his real identity and that of being her Greatest tormentor. she never really understood the hostility he held towards her, he was just her parents best friend's eldest son, she had never done any wrong to him or that's what she remembered and even if she had done something wrong, the gruesome period that Sebastian and his sister had put her through couldn't be an excuse. Millie had always tried to talk to her parents about it but every time she was either called stupid or an attention-seeker by the people who had given her birth . Sebastian's voice had always seemed to scare Millie because it was as cold as his icy blue eyes that every time she gazed into them, gave her the impression that they could turn his enemies into a block of ice, it was a shame taking into account his angelic face or that's what the girl who he was dating him had said in the text she had sent that Millie had 'accidentally' read. his dark soft mane sat on his head with just the right amount of messiness, a few rebellious strands fell on his forehead covering those cold shards that unforgivingly pierced through her soul shredding it into pieces, turning it into a shivering mess, his dark pink plump lips stretched into an amused smirk the minute he noticed her shivering form. Next to him his twin sister, Rebecca appeared as if she couldn't care less about her arrival, she was busy typing away on her phone. Her movements so perfect, fast and in-sync that Millie almost didn't believe it . Rebecca and Sebastian were carbon copies, the same dark inky blue hair, tanned skin and drop dead gorgeous faces they were the epitome of beauty, the only difference between them was their gender.
"Millie , you're here , I really missed you." Octavian ran towards her and hugged her knees tight , Arianna followed suit. Octavian was a cute little kid with the entire package of chubby cheeks and dimpled chin, his appearance always seemed to work on Millie like magic. he loved her and her stories, according to him Millie was the only cool person who deserved his friendship because of her legends about dragons and magical schools. Arianna on the other hand loved her because of the braids that she made out of her hair every holiday Millie arrived. Sebastian released a frustrated grunt seeing the cute reunion. the way she was smiling as she held onto the kids struck a few chords in his heart that he didn't know existed. even when he wanted to deny he had always looked forward to Millie's arrivals, her soft giggles, her imaginary friends, her cute little expressions that formed on her petite face the moment she held a new book in her hand, he missed them all year, but he never wanted to accept the way his non-existent heart skipped a beat the minute she gazed into them. it was dangerous, the way he felt her presence the very minute she arrived, the way he felt when she shrunk behind, trying to hide from him, scared, the way he felt when he saw her for the first time covered in mud, crying while holding a teddy bear, even then he wished to run to her and turn every tear that fell from those golden pools into smiles and even today, He wanted to walk towards her, snatch her away from the two little kids , hold her soft shirt in his fist, feel her expanse against him, weave his hands through her waist and bury his head into the crook of her neck and inhale her sweet blueberry scent, but he couldn't, he never could because for some reason she had always ran away from him. He curled his hands into tight fist and refused to listen to the carnal side of him that compelled him to do what he had wanted to for the past 9 years.
Unknown to the battle that was going on Sebastian's mind Millie hugged them both and said "I missed you both too." and took her place at the dining table.
" where are grandma pearl and grandpa Alex , I don't see them anywhere."
"apparently the entire family waits for you anxiously and the only thing you are worried about is them ." Rebecca replied in her sassy tone.
Of course Millie would worry about them they were the only ones with whom she actually shared a real relationship with , rest were just as superficial as professor Gilderoy Lockhart claiming to be a brave wizard.
The dinner went on with MR. black and Mr. miller's business talks and the frequent taunts given out by the cousins to Millie and Mrs. Miller giving her, her famous stink eye from across the table . The only thing that disturbed her apart from her cousins was her parents indifference towards her.