I tapped my foot on the rug nervously, trying my best not to bite at my finger. I hated coming over to my parent's home. It always felt like I was summoned into some elaborate trap.
Since moving out a few months ago, I'd been trying to avoid this huge, high-ceiling mansion they owned.
Now, I was getting a call from Venita's assistant--yes, my stepmother has her assistant, and no, I had no idea why. Her only job seemed to be spending Dad's money and hopping from one charity gala to another. Then again, I suppose that kind of lifestyle does take some planning.
I shook the thoughts from my head and focused on why I was here in the first place. Venita's assistant had told me that she and Dad would like me to drop by, as though I'd ever say no.
They made it sound polite and casual, but I knew better. It was usually never a good sign when they wanted to see me. There was always some hidden agenda, and now I couldn't even tell what they wanted to see me for.
Part of me still felt terrible, you know? I should love returning to the house I grew up in, even if half the memories felt like they belonged to someone else. I could remember once, Dad told me the chandelier in the foyer was shipped straight from Italy, just for Venita. The old one was beautiful--simple but elegant. This one was grand, intimidating even, with crystals so heavy they could probably knock a person out cold if they ever fell.
The home I had grown up in felt like something straight out of a magazine instead of a real home.
"Oh, June darling. You're here!" Venita's voice rang out, dragging me out of my thoughts as she walked down the gorgeous spiral staircase, her kitten heels making sounds on the marble tile. "And you look like you've gained a bit of weight."
I smiled stiffly as I kissed both her cheeks. "So happy to see you too, Ven."
She chuckled as she sank into a chair. "When are you going to start calling me mom?"
Never.
I tried not to roll my eyes as I looked back at the staircase. "Where's dad?"
Venita's smile widened as she leaned a little closer, her perfectly manicured hand waving off the question with a flippant air. "Oh, he'll be out here in a second. You know, men, you have to give them some time to function after they've been doing all the work," she said as she winked at me.
Why the fuck was she telling me about this?
Sure, Dad and Venita's very active sex life was one of the many reasons why I'd decided to move out. And now, it seemed even more active than ever with me gone.
Venita had no boundaries when dishing out too much information, and I could never quite get used to it. Did she have to make everything sound like it belonged in one of those romance novels she probably hid in her nightstand?
I could feel my cheeks heat up, but Venita didn't notice. I thought of Dad, somewhere upstairs in his robe, probably doing god knows what. The idea that he was getting more action than me was... unsettling, to say the least.
It was more annoying because I thought getting my apartment would mean having multiple men over and even having a roster. But I'd never even kissed this year, and that made me feel like a shrivelled-up virgin.
It wasn't like I was entirely clueless about sex--I mean, I knew the basic concept. I knew it was supposed to be thrilling or romantic or some sort of life-affirming experience.
But for me? I hadn't exactly gotten around to finding out. My experience in that department was embarrassingly theoretical and not for lack of trying. It was just that every time I'd gotten close to taking that next step with someone, I'd freeze.
It had been a problem, or maybe it was just the fact that I was too in my head about it, and I'd never fully taken the leap to lose my virginity.
At twenty-five, it was almost embarrassing telling anyone I was a virgin. Everyone I knew had lost their virginity at eighteen, and here I was, seven years later, and it was still intact.
Venita's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"June, honey," she laughed, taking in my deer-in-headlights expression, "you look like you've never heard a little bedroom talk before."
I forced a laugh. "Just... wasn't expecting it from you, that's all."
"You know I love jokes like this."
My cheeks were hurting from plastering on a fake smile. "I know."
Suddenly, dad started walking down the stairs, saving me any further embarrassment. I didn't think I would have survived it if Venita began to give me the nitty gritty of their sex life.
"June. Honey!" Dad said as pulled me into a bear hug.
I chuckled into his robe, and when I remembered what he'd just been doing upstairs, I pulled away awkwardly.
"You look amazing," I said, taking him in.
He'd been dyeing his hair more often now, so there were no longer strands of grey hair amidst the black ones on his head. I had no idea why he was so hell-bent on looking young. I guess that was something Venita and he had in common. They were always going for Botox appointments together and what not.
"You look like you gained a couple of pounds," Dad remarked as he settled beside Venita.
"Yeah, I told her that," she chimed in.
Well, fuck my life. I'd barely been here ten minutes, and I was already reminded why I left in the first place.
"I've been eating late recently," I said.
"You're lucky you have an amazing figure, and you're kind of petite, so it's not really noticeable."
I sighed. "Thanks, I guess."
This was just another evening at the Rice home.
"You can't let yourself go. You know you're still unmarried," Ven started. "As you can see, I've always kept myself fit for your father."
For the millionth time, I tried not to roll my eyes.
Despite my thriving career in engineering, working and managing one of dad's numerous firms, it still felt like nothing I did was enough for them. I'd broken my back ever since I was young to gain their approval in every single way I could, but nothing ever met up to the standards they'd set for me, no matter how hard I tried.
I'd graduated as the best student in my university, left high school with a lot of awards in curricular and extracurricular activities, made a name for myself in the engineering sphere, and still nothing.
No round of applause or a pat on the back.
Only complaints. Every single time. And it was getting exhausting.
"So why did you invite me over?"
Dad frowned, feigning anger. "Do we have to give you a reason for inviting you over?"
Yes.
"We just missed you and wanted to see you," Ven added.
Lies.
I chuckled dryly. "But really, why did you invite me?"
Ven laughed in that fake way she always did, which infuriated me, her eyes sparkling with a strange gleam. "Well, your father and I wanted to talk to you about an... exciting new development." She stretched out each word like this was some special gift, a prize she'd picked out just for me.
I looked from her to dad, scared of what they might say next. "Okay?" I urged them on.
"And we think you'll really like it," dad added.
They gave me that look that I hated with everything in me. I'd been seeing it since I was twelve, the same look that meant, "Here's what we're doing, June." Not a question, never an option.
Always an instruction that was laced up and tied together as if it was something I should be grateful for. It was that look she and dad always had whenever they were ready to dictate every big decision in my life.
Schools, summer programs, what I wore to family events--everything was managed, neatly scripted, with little room for my own voice.
My throat tightened, and my chest felt heavy as Ven began to speak.
"June, darling." I hated it when she called me that. "Your father and I made arrangements for you to marry a Viscount. A very wealthy one from a small town in Europe. Don't worry. I made sure that he wasn't bad-looking because I figured you might be picky given the fact that you've never introduced us to anyone you're seeing. But yes, a marriage. Isn't that wonderful news?"
I could barely register half of what she was saying because my mind was frozen. I was unable to comprehend what exactly she was talking about. Made arrangements? To marry? A Viscount?
They spoke like it was a business deal, and they were securing a nice property or signing me up for another one of those stupid etiquette classes they'd sent me to as a teenager.
This was my life. Marriage and love were the two things I thought I had control over, but apparently, that was not the case at all. They'd taken over the one thing I wanted to decide for myself.
How could they?
"You... you what?" I managed to say when I finally found my voice. I could feel my hands digging into the couch, my pulse racing. "Both of you can't do that. This is my real life. It's not some school I'm going for the summer or competitive dance. This is my real life!"
Dad sighed like I was being unreasonable. "June, we've given you so much freedom. Letting you live on your own was a huge concession. Think about the family. This would be a great merger; we could finally break into and stay relevant in the European market."
I scoffed. Of course, this was all about business to them, nothing more.
"Freedom? I'm twenty-five, and I'm allowed to live on my own." My voice came out in a whisper, half in disbelief and half in rage. I'd never let myself get truly angry with them before, not out loud, at least.
I was always the obedient daughter, the one who nodded along, who kept her own needs tucked away neatly to please them. But now, something inside me snapped.
I couldn't live my life like this any longer with them controlling everything.
"Jana, darling--" Ven started, but I cut her short.
"No! No, I'm not doing it!" I yelled, getting to my feet.
They were sitting too quietly on the couch, taking in all my outbursts without saying a word. It all felt like a trap.
I narrowed my eyes at them. "What are you not saying?"
"The marriage is already signed and sealed. You can't back out even if you want to."
I swallowed, unable to argue anymore. I sank down on the couch dejectedly, knowing they'd won again.
