"Silence... Who told you that?!" A young handsome man in his late 20's came down from the stairs, his nose bearing some resemblance to little Coram's.
This man was Coram's Father, Rogers Sherman.
"Was it your mother?!"
"Dear, don't mind the boy, he doesn't know what he's saying"
Little Charles knew that with this, he isn't allowed to say any more.
"Dear son" Rogers started, he bent down to match the eye level of little Coram.
"I know all this is happening all of a sudden but I want you to know that you will always be the firstborn child of the Shermans."
weWhen Rogers made this statement he looked at Sheril, she quickly placed her head down to hide the malicious and ugly look she had on now. She knew that Rogers was saying that for her to hear, for her not to have any other thoughts, that his son gets it all.
'But it's something that is already set in stone since the moment I entered this house, it's mine for the taking. Soon, I will have Rogers wrapped around my fingers'
"Dad, what of mom?"Little Coram asked his Father
"Son, she's left on her, so let's not think of her ok?"
"But I miss her, and who are they?" Coram pointed to Sheril and her son.
"They will be staying with us now, that's your stepmother and your stepbrother, they'll treat you well don't worry and didn't you always tell me that you wanted a younger brother. Why haven't you showed them to their rooms yet?"
The first sentence was to Little Coram and the other was to the Butler.
Sheril was feeling quite good about herself. At the end of it all wasn't she allowed in, now all that she must do now is to slowly build her stand in this family. She took a hold of her son and started following the leading of the butler but then she heard a very disturbing question from Little Coram's mouth.
"Was it my mom that gave birth to him?"
This made Sheril stop in her tracks, Rogers was about to answer Coram but someone had already beat him to it.
"No, she's not my mom. This is my mom." Little Charles said, as he hugged Sheril. Rogers looked at Charles, then at Sheril, then at Coram and said,
"He's right, They'll be family from now on, so make sure you treat them well." Rogers said, as he rubbed the top of Coram's head.
"They'll never be my family!" Coram proclaimed, he flung his Father's hand and ran to his room.
"Don't mind him, he's still sad over his mom. He'll come around soon enough" Rogers addressed Sheril and Charles.
"I understand, don't worry I won't hold it against him, and I'll do my very best to care for him."
"Thank you" Gullible Charles was won over by Sheril's kind facade.
"And you must be Charles, my son" Rogers bent down to the met the eye of Charles.
"The resemblance is really uncanny... haha"
"Yes dear" Sheril said with a big smile on her face.
"You" Rogers pointed to a maid who ran out immediately.
"Tell the butler not to bother to cook dinner. We'll be eating out today to celebrate the expansion of our family... haha"
The cook who had already prepared a feast looked at the food and inwardly cried, 'What a waste of my precious'
The butler patted his back sympathetically.
"Alright then, we go freshen up" Sheril said.
"Ok... you go tell your first young Master to prepare himself that we are eating out"
Rogers said to a maid while he went up the stairs.
When Sheril heard the way Rogers addressed Coram, she bowed her head to hide the anger in her eyes. She comforted herself that it was that way because she just got here,
'Soon enough I'll have Rogers eating from the palm of my hands'
Another thought came to her mind after this,
'Why should that boy go with is to celebrate? Sooner or later he's not going to be a part of the family anymore. What can I do?' Then an idea came to Sheril's mind.
Sheril waited till Rogers was out of sight before she stopped the maid that was about to go to Coram's room.
"Wait, I think it will be better if I go instead and persuade him, so we can get along better"
Since Sheril put it like this, the maid had no other choice but to stop, if not she might be accused of not wanting Sheril to get along with the young Master.
When Sheril saw that the maid listened to her, she smiled, this feeling of being in power and in charge, I love it. She could still remember when Rogers fired her just to prove to his wife that there's nothing going on between them, because she was pregnant then... Back then she felt humiliated, so when she found out that she was pregnant after leaving the city, she decided to keep and raise the child, that all in good time she would come back to this city and win all that she had lost.
Wasn't that woman fearless then, but now she was the one who left... haha.
Sheril then said to the maid again, "Take your Young Master to his room" Then she walked in the direction that Coram ran to.
**********
"Alright, Iet's go" Rogers came down the stairs and he saw his beautiful new wife, she was really a feast for the eye, his ex-wife pales in comparison to her, and his second son.
Sheril had go to touch up her make up, she needed to look beautiful inorder for her not to be cast away like his first wife.
"Dear, you look beautiful."
"Thank you love"
He looked around a bit before he asked,
"Where's Coram?"
Sheril's expression changed when Rogers brought Coram's name up.
"Dear... I..."
"What is it?" Rogers was starting to get worried.
"What can I do? I think Coram is still mad at me." Sheril said pitifully.
"What happened?" Rogers asked.
"Coram said that he doesn't want to go with us. Do you think that he hates us?" Sheril said, a few pearl shaped tear ran down her cheeks.
Seeing this Rogers felt the urge to pet her, so he hugged her and slowly rubbed her back.
"Dear, there's no need to be too hard on yourself. It's normal, it's just the first day. Give him some time, alright?"
Sheril nodded.
"Now, go and redo your makeover, it's all ruined because of you" Rogers said.
"Ok, dear"
"We'll be waiting for you in the car." Rogers took Charles by the hand and walked out. He paused halfway and looked back at Coram's door. He thought for a moment and finally decided not to go disturb him, so he digest all that happened today, so he continued walking. Sheril who was hiding behind the pillar, inorder to see what Rogers will do was overjoyed. Though she went to Rogers room the other time but not to invite him out but rather it was to agitate him, to tell him that his Father was taking them out and he was to stay in his room and not come out.
She happily hopped away, few minutes later she went out to join "her" family and the car left the compound.
Coram at this moment was crying pitifully into his pillow...
"Mom... Dad..."
**End of the Flashback in a Flashback**
Coram looked at the deceitful woman and scoffed,
'If not for the butler who came in at that time his brain might have turned mush by now, because he was running high fever that night and his Old man didn't come back that night, instead they slept over at an hotel.
When his Old man came back the next morning and found out about his fever, Sheril talked him into believing that it was the butler that was at fault. That was how the butler was replaced and the present butler was brought in by Sheril. She slows removed everyone that served him and his mother and replaced them.
His mother's pictures that could be found all around the house before was now replaced with hers.
To him, she was truly the reincarnation of Lucifer.'
"Why did you call me back here, Old man?" Coram was tired at looking at all their faces.
"Why don't you join us for a meal first? It's been a long time since I last saw you." Rogers said, his sentences were slow and weak not like how he was previously. For just a minute he heart softened towards his Father, afterall they were blood. But when he thought about all that has happened and all that his Father did to him, he hardened his heart again.
"Eat with you? I don't dare... you'll never know when one will eat poison in his own house" Coram said, looking at Sheril throughout.
Sheril clenched her fists behind her back.
"What are you talking about?! Mom will never poison you"
"Really? I dare not give her the benefit of doubt" Coram smiled.
"That's enough. Sit down, I want to talk with you"
"Oh, so you're finally ready to go straight to the point, I thought we were going to be acting all polite forever."