Family and foes

Gina stood before her father as she looked at him with disbelief. Many thoughts whirled in her head and she wondered if she heard him wrongly, but then, she knew what she heard. She drew in deep breath in a bid to control the rage building up inside of her.

“I won't be a part of any arranged marriage plans or whatsoever. I am a human with full rights and I have the rights to freedom of choice.” Gina stated calmly.

Her father, Mr Anthony Thompson sighed heavily. “Don't be selfish, Gina. Stop thinking about yourself alone. Think about our family too. You have to do this to save our family business.” Anthony said with his features tightened in a frown.

Gina was pained. Hearing those words come from her father pierced her heart. She had always been a filial daughter, strictly adhering to the family rules and doing whatever was asked of her. It only took just one refusal, and she was being termed selfish. 

It was no news that the Thompson enterprise had been suffering great setbacks for some time now and was at the edge of going bankrupt. If nothing was done to revive the situation, then the family company would fold. But, was sacrificing her happiness also a part of her filial duty as a daughter of the family? She wondered. 

“What about Nina?” Gina blurted out. “She's still very much single. It would even be better if she gets married before me as the older daughter.” Gina proposed, she studied her father's face keenly. 

Anthony sat impassively on the cushioned chair in the living room, with a blank expression on his face. Gina could not tell what he was thinking nor did she get a response from him but she knew he heard her. 

“Come on, Gina. Your sister just got engaged.” Her step-mother, Nicole, chirped in with a sweet voice, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Gina heard the hidden mockery in her voice, she knew her step-mother like the palm of her hands.

Gina's heart sank. Nina would be getting married to someone she loved and is engaged to, while she would be married off to a man she had never met before. 

Her heart ached for herself. How much did her family hate her? It was enough that she was treated differently as the illegitimate daughter of the family. Now, they were getting rid of her in exchange for a business deal. She felt pathetic for herself. 

Her eyes flashed with pain as they swept across the faces in the living room, the faces who were supposed to protect and cherish her. These same faces that caused her pain and frustration daily, with Mia being an exception. 

Mia is the youngest daughter of the Thompsons and the only one that treated Gina as family. Mia, as the youngest, could do nothing about Gina's situation even though she very much wanted to stand up for her half-sister. 

Gina fixed her gaze on Nina and Nicole, observing the faces of the two women she had become indifferent to for she had grown accustomed to their tricks and maltreatment towards her. 

She noticed an almost invisible smile playing at the corner of Nina's lip. She clearly enjoyed the show. This was what it was to them. 

Getting rid of her was a pleasant show to the people who were supposed to be family. Weren't we supposed to be family? The question Gina never had an answer to, popped up on her mind again. 

Her eyes settled on Mia, who looked like she would cry at any moment. Gina knew that Mia was already feeling sorry for her. 

“I won't do it!” Gina said firmly. She drew the line this time. She was set on not giving them the satisfaction of their word winning against hers every single time.

“Think about it carefully, Gina.” Anthony sighed deeply. He was becoming unsettled at Gina's unwillingness to budge. He had carefully thought about the whole thing.

Nina would never agree to an arranged marriage of any sort even if it was to save a life. Trying to convince her was a total waste of precious time and effort. Mia was still a minor and it would be out of bounds to make such a request from her. Gina was much easier to convince, a little pressure here and there and she would give in. He had it all planned out, he had thought. But, here he was, trying to make Gina see reasons she obviously didn't want to see. 

“I will not do it!” She yelled. “I have plans and dreams of my own. I have feelings too and I have a man. If Nina is allowed to marry her choice man, then I should be allowed to marry a man of my own choice too!” Gina blurted out these words in so much anger that it frightened everyone in the room. 

“Gina dear, you should calm down. Show some respect when addressing your father.” Nicole said in a fake sweet tone, an attempt to hide her shock. She worried that this wasn't going to end in the way it usually did. 

It worried Nicole greatly that Gina was putting up a fight this time. Seeing her reject her father's orders for the first time made her uncomfortable. To Nicole, Gina was everyone’s puppet, she did whatever was asked of her. So it shocked her to see Gina yell at someone let alone her father. 

Gina’s eyes gleamed with hatred as she glared at the one woman who had never treated her well all these years suddenly acting all nice and sweet. Bile rose in her throat and she felt sick by merely looking at Nicole's pretentious face. 

“What man are you talking about?” It was Nina who spoke this time. 

“Do you really not recognize this ring?” Nina chuckled as she raised her left hand mid-air exposing the engagement ring Ethan had given to her. 

Gina's eyes widened in alarm, retracting back with hurt as she recognized the diamond studded ring. It belonged to Ethan’s mother. Ethan had been Gina's boyfriend from college. He had told her many times that the ring was his mother’s gift to him, to be worn by anyone he would get married to. 

Gina bit her lower lip as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. She was deeply hurt. How did the ring get to Nina’s hands? This was supposed to be her engagement ring. Maybe Nina stole the ring, Gina made an excuse for Ethan. 

Just at the time, a knock sounded on the door and Ethan walked in.