Chapter 30: I’ll Bear the Full Responsibility of My Choice
All this time, Lariette’s eagerness to receive her parents’ and siblings’ love made her foolishly endure the length of their mistreatments. No matter what, she thought she just had to do better.
Lariette often begged Chairman Delaney not to scold her family whenever her grandfather found out anything regarding the maltreatment. She convinced him that her parents and brothers only needed more time to get to know her.
Throughout the decade, Lariette’s patience gradually ran thin yet, she still desperately grasped the last semblance of hope. The last traces of it vanished after what happened two weeks ago.
Now, for the first time ever, Lariette herself stepped forward to recount the unfairness—the last straw—she had to endure under her family’s pressure.
"Mom kept insisting I have to get married before Phanie’s wedding. When I said I wouldn’t ever marry a cheater like Damien, she claimed I could find another man as long as I’ll be married."
Lariette’s voice, despite sounding calm, hid treacherous waters of disappointment underneath.
Chairman Delaney, Brian and Ruediger quietly listened to her, their countenances became darker with the following time.
"Mom and Phanie... Their reason is ridiculous. They’re afraid I’ll snatch Matthias away from Phanie. Dad and Eric aren’t better. Only Dec and Ray seem to acknowledge how absurd their demand is."
Even though Lariette mostly ignored Declan and Rafael’s texts and calls, she knew they didn’t share the same view as the rest of their family. Both of them kept telling her not to listen to their mother and Stephanie’s pleadings.
Lariette took a pause, trying to stabilize the raging emotions within her. She also saw guilt and disappointment flickered in her grandfather’s eyes.
"Still... this is too impulsive, Lari," Chairman Delaney muttered after a period of silence, finding it hard to come to terms with Lariette’s story, "This is your future. If only you came to me before you took this option, I’d surely handle your parents."