"I refuse!" This was Gisele words after standing mute for what felt like hours. She raised her hands and wiped her tears stricken face.
Though her heart was very broken, she had made up her mind not to shed any precious tears on this family before her.
"You ungrateful brat, how dare you spout such nonsense" Old Matriarch Andres shouted at the top of her voice, her shriveled old face scrunched up in contempt and anger.
"I've always known that you were an unfilial child. The Andres family should never have welcomed a bastard like you into our house!. We have taken care of you, feed you and given you a home and a family and yet this is how you pay us? You refuse? Hmph how dare you refuse?! You ungrateful being!" The old woman pointed at Gisele.
A soft chuckle rang out in the room, it started softly but then grew into a boisterous laugh, at least that was what it sounded like. With tears rolling down her eyes uncontrollably, Gisele held into her stomach and laughed like a manic that had lost her soul.
They have taken care of her?
What an exaggeration!
She had spent 17 years of her life being stereotyped cause she was born out of wedlock and her very own mother had abandoned her in the hands of her grandfather and fled to live with another man. She grew up always wanting to be acknowledged by her mother, she did whatever and anything she thought would make her mother proud of her.
Finally her wishes came through, her mother had finally agreed to let her be a part of her family. Overjoyed and ecstatic, she changed her name in a heartbeat and was prepared to join the family. Her dearest grandfather tried to warm her but she wouldn't hear of it, she had a fall out with him and in a fit of anger ran away to become a part of the Andres family like her mother had offered.
She got her first heartbreak when the love, warm welcome and shower of affection she expected wasn't what she got. From the moment she arrived at the Andres house, her eyes were open to the horrible life that awaited her. She should have refused then but she consoled herself that as times passed her mother and this new family would grow to love her... How naive she was.
Her twenty fingers would not be enough to count the amount of sacrifices she had made for the Andres family this past three years, all in the name that they could make her mother look at her in a new light but none of it worked.
Now after slaving away for the family for three year, they wanted her to... to what? Agree to marrying off to atone for their debts?
"Sister don't be like this father had always been good to you, if you don't agree to this marriage, his legs would be broken and his company would be snatched away. Do you want the family to become wretched?" 22 year old Roxanne join her grandmother in chiding Gisele.
Her words brought her no guilt neither did she feel ashamed for saying what she just said. She more than anyone should be aware of how Gisele days had been in the family. Gisele had abandoned her debut into the entertainment industry just so she could work as an assistant to Roxanne who had also just debuted at that time. She did all the work but Roxanne took all the benefits and glory yet never for once did Gisele complain or refute.
What about the good for nothing father who was said to have taken good care of her? He was the biggest scoundrel of all. How many times had she been asked to go pick his drunk ass from the gambling clubs and how many times have he used her as a gambling dice, still he would remind her everytime that she was never part of his family. Now here he was asking her to stake her head for him and his family?. What a joke!
Gisele snorted "Isn't the marriage proposal originally for you? Why can't you accept it and save the family from going bankrupt?"
It's the Andres family greatest mistake to have ever appointed Raoul as the President to Emerald corporations. Ever since he became president of the family's business, the company had been declining on a daily basis. Not only did he make bad business choices but he was a gambling addict, and a terrible one at that, so all the company's funds were spent on his gambling habit.
Now he had done the worst. He borrowed an enormous sum of money to invest in the business but at the end, the money went down the drain of the gambling house. Now the people he burrowed the money from had given him an option, it was either he paid them back the money in full or he would have to give away His company or...his daughter.
Though the company was already going bankrupt, Raoul was reluctant to give it away like that and there was no way he could get the sum of money he had burrowed, so he could only turn to the family for help. When Roxanne heard this, she threw a tantrum saying she would rather die than be given off as a collateral.
Now the shameless family had turn to Gisele to accept the offer on their behalf.
"What nonsense!" Matriarch shouted "how can you suggest that Roxanne accept the offer?! Roxanne is a famous actress while you are just a leach leaching off our family. You're the one who should compensate us for how long we have taken care of you!". The old woman didn't see anything wrong with what she said, her face showed no guilt.
She said Gisele had been leaching off the family whereas it's the family that has been leaching off Gisele. When the 17 years old Gisele had come to the family for the first time, she had gleefully announced to her mother that she had been accepted to act in a teen romance historical drama but in the end, Grandmother Andre ordered Gisele to withdraw from the production and give the opportunity to Roxanne. It was through that film that Roxanne had gotten the popularity that she had.
Gisele ignored the Old woman, she turned to look at her mother who was seated beside Raoul. She was holding into his hands so affectionately while her eyes glared daggers at Gisele. Her heart broke.
If only she had ever been that gentle to her...
"You will agree to this marriage and that is final!" Suzy ordered sternly.
Gisele didn't know how to feel after hearing this.
Was this woman even her mother?