Joan’s povEverything sucked. I hated everyone. Yes, he was right. What was I thinking? I was a whore who begged for sex, one that wasn’t paid but enjoyed being used, and for all I care, I was done, totally this time.I would tell Mom everything. I would tell her about Fred and me. It might be the last time she wouldn’t trust me, but it was worth it.It was dinner time, and as always, this new fake family was down, all hoping we could pretend and look at each other's faces like nothing happened between us, and I was going to ruin it for everyone, including myself.Walking down the stairs, in a four-chair dining room, mom was sitting close to her newlywed husband, both of them holding hands together and whispering something in each other's ears, while Fred was at the left wind, already chewing the grapes like the pig he was—no single cutesy.I hate him, I hate myself.“Come join us; we have big news we would like to share with the family,” mom said.“This is not a family, and what’s so
Joan’s pov“Pregnant?” “Yes, we are pregnant; we don’t know the gender yet; since it’s not time, your dad and I just found out, and we decided to share it together with both of you,” her smile stoll handing, she was expecting a reaction of some sort.Fred I held my hands underneath the table so I didn't combust, but I pulled out anyway. Damn all of them, damn their stupid news. Mom isn’t supposed to be pregnant for him; it’s off the radar.Nothing was making sense, pregnant? It was too early to be pregnant, and she was pregnant for this man, this pervert."Aren't you happy, my love? You are finally going to have a sibling; it will be the beginning of our new family bond, and maybe we will grow to love each other as you help nurture your sibling.” She stares at him with spotless love in her eyes, and he smiles back at her.Pretense, all pretense—he doesn’t love her.“Is this what you really want, mom, a child?”“Yes,it will seal the family bond for ever,” she smiled at me. I knew what
Joan’s povI left for school early that morning, before Fred couldleave so I don't have to see his face or that of my stepdads; both of them were just pure enigmas to my existence. Throughout the weekends, I barely talked to him, and I locked myself inside all throughout."What is it, Joan? You don’t look so well." Anna asked, and I couldn't tell her what my problem was, knowing I had kept what had just happened between Fred and me a secret. She doesn’t even know that we were stepbrothers."Nothing; I am fine,” I replied, and as we walked down the hall, she wasn’t going to take that as an answer either. She knew when I was lying, but this particular truth can’t be told. Not even to her, we had to uphold this facade of ours till time do us part.“What is it? You didn’t sleep well, and guess what? I have a crush,” she said, bringing out a phone from her pocket. She showed me a guy and their previous text messages. I tried following her up, but I couldn't because my mind was too exposed
Fredricks pov“He’s the new boy,” Mark whispered in my ears. I saw the way she smiled and how this new boy didn't lose the slightest opportunity to touch her; she blushed countless times in my presence. Before, she could perceive me from a mile apart, but now she doesn’t even notice me two chairs away from her.What are they saying that’s so funny? She never had lunch with any guy, not even that nerd from the last time. He wouldn't dare come back to her again after last time, but this guy was new. Maybe I need to teach him a lesson, one he won’t forget."I need to know everything about him; whatever you can find, give it to me,” I said."Well, I know he’s rich, like very rich, but he doesn’t talk to anyone, and from what I heard, he is a transfer student. Some said he stabbed someone in his previous school and was expelled from school since no school would accept him; he was sent here as a last resort.”I gave it another thought: He doesn’t look like he can harm anyone, but he doesn’t
Joan’s povMom asked about everything that happened, if it was odd, but she asked only about Fred’s new bruise. I couldn’t tell her he fought a new kid; I had to play the role of a new stepsister who wouldn’t complicate herself no matter what.“He got into an argument, and you know, guys, they would probably hit each other.” She wanted to ask more questions, but I had more dare situations than answering her questions. Isaac demands I go out with him, but I can’t without permission, so I asked mom, and she agreed, which was nice till I saw him again.“So who is he to you, your new boyfriend?” Fred asked. He was seated on my bed, ice on his cheek and his legs crossed. I hated how he had access to my room, but gone are those days when I had a room all to myself with no sibling driving you to the verge of your sanity."I am talking to you, Joan; tell me, do you even know him?”“It’s none of your business. So get out of my room.” I walked into my closet, dropping my bag. I walked into the
Joan’s pov It was my first date night, and we drove all the way down to the community garden. “I hope you didn’t eat, because I brought a threat along,” he said, opening the door for me and leading me out, bewildered by the view.There was a blanket on the floor, and there was a basket on it. “I know it’s not much, but I just thought it would be better than just a normal dinner where we could sit and watch the sky together.” My heart welled up with so many emotions, and he was so considerate.“I love it!” I exclaimed.He took my hands, and we walked over to the blanket, bread, wine, some fruits, and a lot of chocolate. "I just want to get to know you more. I spent my time looking at you, and I might have made so many assumptions about you that night that are not true. So tell me yours, and I will tell you mine."I gave it some thought. There wasn’t much about me that I could tell everybody, "My dad died in an accident, my mom remarried, and I hate my new family so much.” I expected h
Joan’s pov Fear engulfed my senses as he walked into the room and locked the door behind him. “How lucky are you? Does your mom know you have three men in your pants?” he asked, closing the space between us.“Does she know how much of a slut you are?" He leaned close to kiss me, and I pushed him immediately. "I am not a slut.”"Yes, you are," he said, climbing on the bed. With my hands above my head, he kissed me, then down my neck. I tried to cry, but I couldn’t hold it, my body overwhelmed with so much disgust as he touched the mess.“Get out.” I pushed him away, but he didn't go, so I bit his ear immediately. He let me. “Feisty right, oh, you will pay dearly for it,” he said with a smile on his face. He walked out on me. What is he going to do this time?What’s going to happen to Mom? Once again, the night was long. I had no idea what he would do to mom, but he sounds really certain he was going to hurt her. What have I gotten myself into?I barely had sleep at night; everything p
Joan’s povMom was lying in the pool of her own vomit; nothing seemed to be making sense anymore. I rushed her, carrying her, but she passed out, and her vomit had a stain of blood in it."Mom, wake up.” I tapped her hurriedly in hopes that it was all some sort of game that was beginning to seem too real, but she didn't wake; she was out cold, her body stiff and heavy, and her complexion pale and lifeless.Talking on my phone I called 911, and an hour later they carried her to the hospital. What happened to her? Did she take something? What if it was Jones who had a hand in whatever happened to her? I wouldn’t forgive him if anything were to happen to my mom. What if he wasn’t the one responsible?Mom was never suicidal; oh, what am I thinking? She’s pregnant; is she worried about it? Does she want a divorce? Did she somehow find out what was going on and decide to hurt herself?The doctor came out, and I ran towards him, unabashed by my appearance. I reached out for his coat.“What i
In a penthouse far from the world's trouble, Joan and Fred had just gotten the best news yet: she was pregnant with their second child after their first child, Janet.Their happiness was boundless; it was a miracle yet again. Fred held onto Joan’s waist, swimming her in the living room as they danced to the song made by the trees that surrounded them, while Janet clung to their feet, dancing around with them.It’s been three years since they had problems that were out of the ordinary—three years of utter bliss and love at their peak. And there were no enemies at their doorstep; they were so far from world trouble that they had forgotten what it felt like to be hated.After the gunshot at Joan’s wedding, Sophia shot herself and died at the reception. The wedding made news about how the billionaire's daughter shot her ex-boyfriend on his wedding day.Everyone criticised them for making her lose her own life; they trolled her for being his stepsister until they found out what really warr
Joan’s POV“You can take a look now,” the makeup artist said, turning the drafting chair so I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was left speechless, and she placed the veil on my head, making my heart jitter.It looked so beautiful. I looked this beautiful, and it was a surprise to me at my wedding that I wouldn’t see my reflection till the final touch, just staring at the final touch.“Do you like it?” She said, patting my cheek with a makeup brush.“It’s perfect"“Well, I hope the groom is more shocked than you because you look stunned," she said, and with a fine touch, she kissed my forehead.It was my wedding day, and I had been up since 5 a.m., but it was worth it; the look was perfect.Few hours from now, Fred and I would be arriving in the church to exchange our vows before the reception, and even after so much planning, I still felt a knot in my belly, my heart pounding and my hands itching to be held by him.I imagined what he would look like and what his reaction woul
TWO YEARS LATERJoan’s POVThe weather seemed so cold today. I stretched my hands to feel his body, but it's nowhere to be found—not even close enough after rolling to the edge of the bed.“Baby,” I whispered, yet nothing at all"Babe, where are you?"Yet it was all so quiet. I waited a little; maybe he went to the bathroom. Looking at the side of the bed, it’s just 6 a.m. in the morning, so he either went for a run or would be back soon, so I waited, but it clocked nine and I was still on the bed.It’s a Saturday, and not just like every Saturday, it’s my birthday. I had expected him to wake me up with kisses and maybe good morning sex, but no, he chose to go out instead. I felt so disappointed in him.Picking up my phone I called him, but his phone was ringing, and he wasn’t answering. Fred was a sucker for his smartphone; he only slept two inches away from it every night, so I could swear that he saw my calls and heard all my endless voice messages, and he chose to ignore them.It
Fredericks POV“Never!”Dad turned immediately, shooting the first person who was unfortunate enough to be at the mercy of the pistol.George….“No!"Rushing towards him, I yanked the gun from his hands and pointed it at him.“Frederick, don’t shoot him; he can’t run anywhere now." George, who had just been shot in the arm, said he was bleeding on the floor and had now been carried away by the paramedics.Then I stared back at this embarrassment of a father. He held a smug look on his face as she stared deadpan at me.“You don’t have what it takes to pull the trigger; you think having balls like a man makes you any stronger; no, it doesn't; do your worst; you are just like me anyway.""Never; I am nothing like you; I never will be." I yelled, forbidding whatever he said. I had fought too much to remove that thought from my mind. I didn’t waste money on so much therapy just so he could look me in the eye and call me a replica.I was nothing like my father—nothing at all.“Fight it all
Fredericks POVAnother round of sex, a little kiss on the chin, some I love you and love you too, and she was good to go. I had just dropped Joan off at her school when I was driving back home.It’s been tough. So tough, but with all that had happened, at least I came out strong. The money from the inheritance was big enough to get me a house on the other side of the city, and I am currently building a car repair store. I had this undyinfnpassing for carsIt has always been my dream to own something like this, and somehow the universe came up to me at my lowest, gave me a fortune, and set me on the right path, which I took with the help of mom and Joan. I couldn’t be any happier, and even if I could, I knew it wouldn’t be different from this feeling I had inside.The feeling of utter bliss and no confusion, the calmness needed to pursue a dream I always wanted, the family support, and everyone else needed to get the perfect kickstart.And with time, I have come to understand that fami
Joan’s POVAfter mom's surgery, we were to go home and probably come to pay her regular visit, but that wasn’t the only good thing that had happened.Fred and I left the hospital and went back home, just to hear West crying. It was concerning, given the fact that Lisa should be consoling him, but he was banging on the door and crying bitterly when Fred and I pulled up at the house.“Hey baby, I am coming,” I said, rising towards the door and hitting on it so Lisa would open the door. I hoped she didn’t vent her anger on the little child who did absolutely nothing to cause her this much misery, but it seemed she wasn’t going to open the door, so Fred called her, endlessly hoping she would open the door but still doing the same thing.“Did she lock us out for good? You gave her the house, didn’t you?”“Yes, but is it not too quick to throw us out? I mean, I have things in there too." We started off by calling her name and banging on it even more. But it's still the same thing.“Move asi
Joan’s POVThe headaches, the gut feeling that made me want to sleep for a whole three days, and this crippling depression that I felt at the corner of my eyes made me feel like throwing up, but I didn’t drink beer; there was no throwing up here.I was just made to suffer the hangover coupled with this level of sadness that came over me the moment I opened my eyes. It's already morning, like most of the morning we had in this house. I wasn’t prepared to stand; I just wanted to survive the day while doing absolutely nothing.But it was mom's surgery; she needed me there. At least I can’t stay here or let Fred go all alone; it’s suicide, but seeing his face would be the end of me. I don’t want to know if he woke up well this morning or barely slept last night. I didn’t want to have the slightest affect shown towards me by him.I just wanted him out.But then again.Hospital..Mom…So I stood from my bed, then sluggishly carried my body to the bathroom. I was wrecked of sweat and liquor,
Joan’s POV“What?”“Yes, so just so you know, before you start blaming me for everything that has happened, I saw your message in the damn hospital. Get your head straight for once in your life, would you?"“Is mom okay? Where is she? What happened to my mother?" I yelled, pulling his collar. If anything were to happen to mom, I wouldn’t survive past today, and I made him know that with the way I reacted.“She’s fine, just a little seizure, and the surgery commences tomorrow, so we have to be there tomorrow unfailingly in the morning, and here you are, blaming me for taking time to see our mother; you are just, ahh, what will I do with you?”“Don’t talk to me like that; how would I have known?" I whined, feeling the pain of guilt down my chest; the liquor I had taken quenched, and my little uproar of courage died. I found myself wanting to cry again, but my eyes were tired, and if they had a mind of their own, I bet they would purge out of the socket. I had cried way too much today, b
Joan’s POVInside mom's room was the same as Jones's too, which this couple had defied; the broken vase was no longer there, so either Fred or his mother had cleared it because I wouldn’t, and not just that, I hope she hasn’t dented my mother's property because she was looking for something to steal; I won’t be quiet if that was what she was looking for.I would expose her to the world, and she would be dragged into it for the rest of her life. They could torment me all they wanted, but never my mother; she was too good to be despised continuously.Eagerly ruffling through everywhere till I finally saw a key similar to what she had explained, relief flushed over me.“Finally!”The tag and the address were just tagged at the side, and from the looks of it, wherever this warehouse was, it would take me an hour to get there, but since it was the only way I could find happiness on a day like this,.Why not?Shoving it in my pocket, I walked out of the room. I made my way out of the room j