Chapter 4

• Bella 's POV
• I'm speechless now, not like I would be this afraid of her but the fact that I just bump into her, all I was saying, I didn't know she was here. The surprise is enough to make me ignited with shock. Her motion is still and the aura surrounding her deadly.
• Then this sort of confidence I haven't felt for once in my whole life comes over me. Thanks to the moon goddess. I have what I need most at the most critical point in my life.
• I imitate her folding of hands. With a sinister smile, I repeat exactly what I told her daughter. "You have no power over me and you're not family! That's what I said."
• "What!" Her voice rises so high in pitch that dad would hear wherever he is in the pack house. I know her hidden intention, that's what she wants. In the next second, dad rushes into the staircase room, the little room that houses the stairs and takes us up.
• "What's that darling?" He asks her, running his gaze between Layla and me. She starts pretending to get angry, sparking dad's anger.
• "Wouldn't any of you speak up!" He barks.
• I shake prior to his heavy tone and fierce aura but Layla speaks up before me. She raises her hand in such a way to gain the attraction of my father, my heart begins to beat heavily. I'm quite sure that now she has decided to speak, she would be telling all kinds of lies against me to make my father hate me.
• "Dad," she utters. I close my eyes for a few seconds, tightening my lips and gnashing my teeth in anger and disgust. She is making it grow jealous, her manner of addressing dad makes it seem like the Alpha is her real dad while I'm the adopted one, dad sees her this way, he shows more preference for her than for me. I wouldn't blame him, he is walking under the influence of his wife. If my mom was still here, all these wouldn't have been experienced.
• "She said that you are foolish to bring in my mom and accept you to create a family with her children, she wonders if you will ever get the sense to bear your own child and stop seeing another man's children as your children!"
• As she says this, my jaw drops and my lips parts so wide, my eyes are at the verge of dropping out of their sockets. This lie is far more than what I thought. I look at my dad's face and I can tell he is on dead-shock, anger fumes inside him, the kind of anger which burns, his eyes have changed to a radiant yellow, for a moment I fear he is going to shift and tear me apart but would he have the mind to do this?
• I leave a smirk on my lips. "If you choose to believe her….."
• "Will you shut up!"
• I shriek in horror as he roars. Before I blink my eyes, he is already on me then like a rarest miracle which it is, I hear, "Dad stop!" I opened my eyes which I had closed expecting my death to see Barlas.
• My eyes can't believe it. "You came!" The only thing I could utter was him being more muscular than dad, then with youthful energy grabs dad to himself. max, the second queen of the house comes up in defense of me. She has been the only person I would sometimes see as cordial, a bit good with me just that sometimes she is unnecessarily temperamental, then she would afterwards come buying me snacks, gifts and saying she is sorry. I would have no choice but to accept them and next time try to stay off her way as she is no good to have close with when she is angry. Perhaps, it's not her fault, she might be doing this out of depression, personal problems or some general minor mental health issues. This might be her problem, I just don't want to go deep into that.
• "How dare you listen to what a messy girl like this would say, is she your daughter? If Bella reported what she did to her, would you listen to her, would you react the same way?"
• The fear I had in me evolves into a deep, abiding anger and hate. I think I've begun to hate my dad, before I hated Daine and her children. I stare sternly at dad, who is still being held by Barlas.
• "Dad, how awful of you to take the words of Layla , I never said all she is saying, how would I call you foolish. To be honest, I said I don't see them as a family because of the way they treat me. You haven't been at home all the time and you don't know the oppression I go through from their hands except in Max's case." I have to single her out because she is one person who wouldn't join her family to make me go through hell, just as she is trying to prevent him from hitting me now.
• Hot tears form in my eyes, I try my best to wipe them off with my handkerchief without it messing with my makeup. I didn't even expect that this was going to happen on the day that was supposed to be my happiest day, the day I'm going to meet with my dream guy. I just wish I would be able to get over this mood before arriving at Guam.
• "You have really disappointed me and I don't see you as my dad again!"
• "Wait!" Dad pleads but I continue on my way as I walk off through the door, and to the living room from where I enter my car parked outside at the garage and zoom.