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CHAPTER 27: THE PLAGUE SHE UNLEASHED ON HERSELF
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Ysabel looked up when the door to her study flew open. She looked agitated, but Ysabel didn’t believe that was a reason to forget her manners.
“You knock before you come in.” She spread her arms out to indicate the cluster of papers on the desk. “I am busy right now.”
“I have waited long enough, mom. One more second with this on my chest, and I will explode. I swear I can’t take it.”
“Giovanna, I don’t have the time to pay attention to one of your meltdowns. I have a lot of wo
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“No, dad, I didn’t know. She hasn’t said anything.”“I don’t really know what happened. I only know Giovanna went to argue with Kali about something, and they got into a fight. Kali hit her and forbade her from going back to yours.”“Okay, I’ll talk to her. I’ll handle it. I am sorry for the trouble this caused.”“It’s okay. I’ll call you later.”“Good night, dad.”Kali, the subject of their conversation, was in the shower. He had come home to absolute serenity after a tiring day at his work desk. The dining table had been decorated with a new tablecloth and several dishes Kali had prepared. He ate his fill. She had been considerate with the amount of spices she used.In fact, she had joked about it when he complimented her about the food.“Did you notice you are not choking this time?” she teased, using her fork to point at his plate. “I made sure to cook this to serve your weaker constitutions.”“Sorry, I am not used to eating magma for dinner.”As far as evenings went, everything h
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Servants carried fresh baskets of flowers past the servants that were busily decorating the hall and stairs. The house was aflutter with activity preparing for the dinner that was taking place in the next few hours. The floors were shined earlier in the day. Every piece of silverware was polished till they reflected like mirrors.It was as much a dinner as it was a celebration, celebrating the miraculous recovery of their grandfather. Outside the immediate family, some of her cousins, aunts and uncles were invited. A few of them had never met the new daughter-in-law, so they were excited to meet her at the dinner.“Hey, kid.” Vincent snapped his finger at Giovanna, and she came out of her daze. “What’s wrong with you?”She took in his T-shirt, jeans and sports jacket. “You’re leaving?”“No one is being driven today. Your mom gave us permission to leave early.” He touched her arm gently. “What’s going on. You have been broody the past two days.” Vincent looked over his shoulder toward
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Samuel took her hand and helped her down from the car. Most of the house seemed normal, but the garden was beautifully lit, with string lights strewn over the well-trimmed shrubs. Ember and Peter spoke to their father and some other couple while Ysabel was with an older man by the gazebo.Samuel wore a sports jacket, button-up shirt and pants, while she wore a knee-length gown and some flattering jewellery. It was a family dinner; she didn’t see the reason to dress like she was going to a gala. They kept things simple while trying to still appear formal for the event.Together they walked over to the garden and spent a few minutes greeting his family. A few of his aunts and uncles were present, and Kali got reintroduced to them. After some time passed, Samuel took her over to where his grandfather stood.“Good evening.” He greeted. They shook hands before he gently pushed her forward with a hand against her back. “Kali, this is my grandfather, Claudius. Grandfather, this is my wife, Ka
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Kali moved the grain of rice on her plate with the fork she held. At some point during the excitement of conversations and family banter, she felt incredibly lonely. In the past, dinners with the Madden family were usually tense. She had grown used to the attacks from Giovanna and ridicule from Ysabel. It turned out that she fed off those things to keep her strength. This dinner was different. The disdain was still the same, but no one seemed in a hurry to light a fire. Everyone rather decided to relish in old memories and share tales of their different lives. In thirty minutes, Kali learned about Peter's job at the family office, Ember's years in college, Timothy's inspirations for his paintings and Samuel's work in graphic design. Yes. Everyone talked a lot during this dinner. There was laughter, clinking of champagne flutes, and rounds of cheers. The drinks flowed like milk, the food and the joy appeared endless. Kali was certain she would go mad. Sorely, she wished they’d fight.
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"Do you believe her?""No.""Why?""I feel like the apology was more for your father than anyone else in that room." Kali sighed, shuffling to get comfortable as she adjusted her body beneath his jacket. "Giovanna loves and respects him. She probably sees him as an innocent party in the game she is trying to uncover.""I just hope she doesn't get any ideas and tries something else later.""She might. I am willing to bet she will watch me like a hawk from now on. Probably waiting for a slip that proves she was right all along.""Unless my mother says something, she will never find the proof. We didn't sign any contracts she can accidentally stumble upon if she wanted to snoop around.""She wouldn't have to snoop for papers. Your mother has a nasty habit of pulling me aside whenever she wants to discuss our little arrangement. I wouldn't be surprised if Giovanna starts hanging behind doors with her ears pressed to the wood."
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“Come in.” He called out when he heard a knock at the door. His fingers clicked and clacked over the keyboard.Work was going well, and so were things in his life. After months of feeling like he was being tossed about in a storm, Samuel was finding his footing again. It felt good. He had a few jobs and found himself deep in work.“One second, Roy, I am finishing up with this and…”“It’s me, Samuel.”His head snapped up. “Flora?”“You don’t have a secretary still, it seems. I would have tried to make an appointment.” He indicated that she could enter, and she did. “Then again, if I made an appointment, I am sure you would have found ways to cancel.”Samuel couldn’t argue with that. After he found out about her meeting Kali, he was haunted by the need to see her. The excuses were as deep as the oceans. The reason he never allowed himself to do it
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Kali hogged the groceries out of her car and inched up the staircase towards the house. One of the maids came out to help, taking the paper bags and following a bustling Kali into the kitchen. Doing small chores like cooking and going out to buy groceries occupied the times she had little to do in the house or needed something to distract herself. After spending the day job hunting, she decided to stop by the supermarket and buy a few things she was missing from the fridge.It took a while, and she ended up staying longer than planned. So, after helping her get the products to the kitchen and sorting them into their respective areas, the maid said her goodbyes and left for the night.To keep herself entertained, she sat in front of the television while she worked on a few pending projects she had from work. Job hunting wasn't going as well as she wanted, so she let it take a back seat until something concrete came around. It was because she was being picky, looking for
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As Kali sat in the garden the next day, waiting for Ember to get ready, she thought more about her conversation with Samuel. She understood his dilemma but from a different perspective. He was adamant Flora wasn't a vindictive woman, but grief and betrayal brought out the worst in people.If Flora didn't get over her pain and it transformed into disdain, they would be in for more heat. The ticking bombs were lining up, it seemed, waiting for the right day to explode in their faces.The chair by her scraped the stone grounds, drawing her eyes away from the flowers. Ysabel, elegantly dressed, as usual, slid into the seat.
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