Regina rushed over to her husband's side, tears falling from her eyes while holding her bruised wrist as evidence of Amelia's hostility.
"Oh honey, Amelia has gone insane. First, she attacks Grandma almost giving her a heart attack. Then when I tried to scold her, she attacked me. Take a look at what she did to my hands."
Regina displayed her bleeding wrist with different nail cut marks for her husband to see. Sadly, instead of getting comforted by her husband, she was pushed aside as if she meant nothing.
"Greg!" Regina's teary pupils dilated as she watched her husband march over to his daughter.
"Amy, who did this to you?" Greg approached his daughter his narrowed eyes, inflamed at the mark on her fair skin. He tried to touch her face but Amelia pushed his hands off.
"Don't pretend like you care, Dad," Amelia said in a deadpan tone, tears gathering in her eyes at her father's gentle touch.
"Amy..." Senator Gregory felt broken by his daughter's rejection.
"Amy..." Judith came forward, pulling her niece into her arms.
Amelia felt all the strong walls she had built around her fragile heart crumble at the warmth of her dearest aunty touch. Her body started to tremble as the horror and pain she had gone through poured afresh into her heart.
"Let it out, my dear. Aunt Judith is here for you." Judith whispered into her niece's ear as she stroked her hair lovingly.
Stacy also came up to her bestie and hugged her from behind while Amelia cried like a baby in their arms.
Feeling enraged and thinking his wife was responsible for hitting his daughter, the senator turned on Regina in one swift move.
Before Regina could predict what her husband was about to do, his wide palm came down on her right cheek like a force of nature.
Smack!
The echo of the slap resounded in the large room, forcing everyone excluding Amelia to raise their head.
"Ahh..." Pearl's widened eyes bulged out as her hands involuntarily flew to cover her open mouth.
A thin smile played at the corner of Judith's lips, while Stacy chuckled inwardly.
Horrified by the unexpected turn of events, Regina felt as though her neck had twisted out of position as her head snapped sideways. She raised her hand to her stinging cheek as hot tears fell from her eyes.
"You slapped me!" Regina cried, out in a distressing tone, her evil heart, shattering.
"How dare you?" Senator Gregory growled, forcing his wife to cower in his presence.
"Mom..." Gwen rushed over to her mother's side, masking the rage in her heart by crying alongside her mother.
"Greg, that was unnecessary." Matt rushed to his sister-in-law's side, clenching his jaws and hiding the monstrous rage looming in his heart as Regina fell on her knees trembling and weeping.
"Big brother, that wasn't nice." Desmond frowned, torn between the two crying women. On one side, he still loved his niece even though he was eager to get rich at any cost. But on the other side, he cared about his sister-in-law seeing how she had been so generous to him ever since she became a member of the family.
Senator Gregory was still fuming, his hands clenched as she scowled at his crying wife. "The next time you lay your filthy hands on my daughter, I will do much worse things to you." He spat out, his booming voice laced with anger and bitterness.
"But I didn't do anything." Regina cried bitterly still holding her burning cheek.
"I was the one who slapped that spoiled brat." Nana Shawls finally found her voice after drinking her fill of water and clearing her throat. "Are you going to slap me too?" She forced herself up.
"Mother, how could you?" Senator Greg turned her angry gaze to his mother only to be greeted by a slap from her.
Amelia pulled away from her aunty, as the echo of the slap reverberated in her ear.
"That is for hitting your wife in my presence all because of that spoiled brat." The old woman wagged her forefinger at her first son's face.
"Mother." The crease on Desmond's head deepened.
"Shut up, Desmond." Nana Shawls rebuked him. "Your elder brother may be a grown man with his own family. He may be a state congressman with a lot of people bowing to his feet. He may be a rich and powerful leader. But he is still my boy and he will learn to respect me."
"Mother..." Senator Gregory clenched his fist, anger surging through his veins.
"I'm not done talking." The old woman shook with rage, coughing again.
"Mum, please calm down. Shouting is not good for your health." Matt pleaded.
"No, I will not remain calm. Greg and his daughter have pushed me to my limits. This family has been doing fine until she showed up."
"Really!" Amelia felt as though someone had thrust a dagger into her heart. "So I am the problem in this home."
A wicked grin slowly formed on Regina's face as she remained on the floor while watching the exchange between mother, son and granddaughter.
"No, darling..." Senator Gregory pleaded to his daughter while frowning at his mother. "Mom, stop saying mean words to my daughter."
"What mean words, huh? She goes missing for the last two weeks and comes in only to ferment trouble and you want me to applaud her? Be a man Greg and tell her that she is wrong?" Old Nana Shawls yelled at her first son. "And point of correction she's not the only daughter you have. There are two of them and Gwen has been the one sacrificing for that ungrateful brat."
"Sacrifice!" Amelia laughed bitterly. "As if taking my place on my wedding day is not bad enough, she goes around sleeping with Jerry and you call that sacrifice?"
"It was a mistake." Gwen stood up, sniffling dejectedly.
"A mistake! Don't make me laugh." Amelia exploded, her voice laced with venom.
"You don't have to answer that ungrateful child, Gwen." Old Nana Shawls, blinded by her rage finally took Gwen's side. "Let her tell us where she has been for the past two weeks."
"What difference would it make?" Amelia fearlessly challenged her grandmother, throwing all her years of morals and etiquette out the window.
"Will it change the fact that you all betrayed me by conducting a sham marriage in my absence?" Amelia turned her angry tears-filled gaze to her father. "Will it change the fact that you allowed Gwen to defy mom's memory by letting her wear mom's wedding gown?"
"Amy please..." Senator Greg lowered his head, his guilt pricking his heart than ever before.
"Will you change the fact that you lied to all our family friends and business associates that Gwen was me? How could you Dad? I trusted you."
"Don't blame your father, young woman." Regina finally stood up taking advantage of her husband's weakness to show her prowess. "If you hadn't run away with another man on the eve before your wedding, your father wouldn't have been made to take the ultimate decision. He did you a favour and you should be thanking him, instead of showing this level of ingratitude."
"Is that the lies you fed your husband? That my niece eloped with another man?" Judith came forward unable to stand Regina's manipulation anymore.
"Why are you answering for her, Mrs Suzy homemaker? Can't she speak for herself?" Regina's contemptuous tone made Judith clench her fist.
"I still do not understand what Greg sees in such a vile and despicable gold digger like y..."
"Enough!" Old Nana Shawls shouted again. But this time, she was able to control the pitch of her voice. "I will not have you two turn this peace-loving home into a place for a verbal brawl. And as for you Amelia, can't you see the confusion you are causing in this family? If you have any sense of dignity left in you, do the right thing by confessing your crime."
Amelia scoffed. "My crime. Well Grandma since it's obvious you have already made up your mind about me, then I owe no one any explanation. I have already done this family a huge favor by pretending to the whole world that I married a jerk. And to show you all that I bear no grudges against my sweet loving stepsister, she can have the rest of that loser. But this time, it must be done the proper way."
"What are you trying to say, Amelia?" Gwen asked, pretending to be confused even though she knew what Amelia was trying to say.
"I'm sure you're not that dumb, Gwen." Amelia hissed, turning her back on everyone.
"Where do you think you're going and how dare you walk out on me?" Nana barked.
"To my room, Nana," Amelia said without looking back. "I'm going to my room to get my stuff."
"Amelia please don't leave." Gwen ran up to her blocking her path. "Please forgive me. I am very sorry." She said touching Amelia on the arm.
Just then, Jerry, accompanied by his parents was ushered into the tense living room, forcing everyone's eye in his direction.
But at the same time, a loud crashing sound reverberated in the room as everyone's horrific eyes shifted back to the two sisters.