Door mat

Nina stood outside her childhood home and recollected her childhood memories related to this place when her mother was still alive. A shadow of sorrow cast her flawless features. The sun was sitting behind her, and it made her look like an angel. But her eyes are cold and distant. She is not very excited to meet her father's family.

Before she could ring the doorbell, the door opened from inside and her step mother greeted her with a smile.

"Oh Nina, you came just on time. Your father was waiting for you" her stepmother Barbara said with a frown.

Nina didn't say anything. If Barabara saw her bandages which are difficult to miss, she didn't comment and ignored it altogether. Nina was not expecting anything else either.

Nina followed after Barbara who led her to their dining area. She noticed that her father and Silas were already seated in their usual spots. There is also another woman who was sitting beside Silas.

'Must be his new flavour of the month ' Nina thought about the lady. It's not unusual for Silas to change his girlfriends as easily as he changes his clothes. So she is not surprised to see a new woman beside him. But what surprised her is the fact that his girlfriend was present when this was supposed to be a family discussion.

"Nina, what happened to you?" her father asked Nina, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Nina tentatively touched the bandage on her head before replying.

"I had an accident" she replied calmly, not elaborating further. Nina knows that no one would be interested to hear how she got into an accident.

William frowned and nodded.

"Don't be clumsy in the future. Come on, sit down. You are just on time for dinner" William said and pointed to a chair on his left.

He didn't inquired about how she is feeling now or if the extent of her injuries are bad. He just gave her an advice assuming that this accident is her fault.

Nina didn't correct him. Because she knows that it's useless. She sat down in the chair her father pointed at.

"Is she your sister, Silas?" the woman beside her step brother asked in a sweet voice. Nina observed the woman who is bold enough to speak in her father's presence. None of Silas's ex's had this privilege.

'What am I missing here?' Nina mused.

Silas smiled at the woman indulgingly.

"Yes, let me introduce you to her" he said before turning to face Nina. Something closed to lust passed in his gaze before he covered it up. Nina felt dirty just by his gaze.

"Nina, meet my fiancee, Amber Rossi" he introduced proudly.

Nina couldn't hide her surprise.

'When did he meet the Rossi princess? ' she wondered.

The Rossi's are another rich families in Neopolis. They have good connections and move in elite circles. In Neopolis, The Morrison's are the more influential families. After the Morrison's come the Dankworth's , Rossi's, Davis and Vincent's. Chelsea comes from the Dankworth family. Second influential family in Neopolis.

The Rossi's have only one daughter, and that's Amber Rossi. Silas is not a Davis by birth. He is Barbara's son with her first husband.

"Amber, she is my sister, Mrs. Morrison" Silas introduced her. He sounded normal, but Nina saw his mocking gaze on her. It's not a secret that Theo doesn't like Nina at all. He never publically acknowledged her as his wife and she never accompanied him to any events either.

Amber gasped with shock.

"She is Mrs. Morrison? Oh dear, I pity you. I heard that Mr. Morrison doesn't like you at all. He is seeing Chelsea these days. I heard he invested a noticable sum into their company when she requested him. I think that Chelsea is a good match for Mr. Morrison" Amber insulted Nina infront of her father.

Nina already know Theo's intrest in Chelsea. But she still felt an unbearable pain in her heart to hear it from others. Silas snickered from beside Amber.

Nina looked at her father to notice his reaction. He is pretending that he didn't hear anything. Nina snorted sarcastically. She reached her limit with everyone around her. She didn't let her emotions be seen by these people.

"Well, isn't it a good thing then? I am divorcing Theo soon. Your Chelsea can take my sloppy seconds" Nina retorted coldly.

That caught everyone's attention. Her father who didn't defend her when Amber was insulting her looked stunned. Silas and Amber looked shocked and Barbara looked pale.

"What nonsense are you talking, Nina?" William banged his palm on the oak dining table, making the contents on the table rattle.

Amber looked scared while Silas looked uncomfortable. Nina on the other hand slowly stood up to her full height and calmly faced her father.

"I am not taking non sense father. I should have done this much earlier. But nothing is lost now either" she spoke calmly with a coldness which William is not used to from her. She was usually obedient and always listen to everything he says. She was never difficult to control. But her coldness is new to everyone in the family.

"Nina, looks like you are upset with what Amber said just now. She was just teasing you. She is going to be your sister in law soon. Isn't it normal for the family members to tease eachother?" he reasoned with Amber's behaviour and defended her actions to appease Nina.

Nina snorted sarcastically.

"Tease me? You must be dumb to think what she said is harmless. An outsider is mocking your daughter, but you are still defending the outsider than your own daughter" Nina sneered.

William, Barbara, Silas and even Amber were stunned.

Silas told Amber that Nina is a door mat who will be used and discarded by their family members as they please. But the Nina standing infront of them is not a door mat.

William is angry and is itching to punish Nina. But he controlled his anger because he needed her now more than ever. His company cooperated with the Rossi's and they opened a new Perfume company after the Vincent's perfume company started to go down. They wanted to capture the market by cashing in on the Vincent's misfortune. They invested a huge sum of money into the company, but the perfumes they released into the market didn't get the response they were expecting. Instead, the Vincent's released some new Perfume samples two days ago, and those samples were sold like hot cakes. Now, the Davis and the Rossi company needs five million to clear off their bank loans immediately.