NEW RELEASE.
Side Note: I am now a published author on goodnovel's this is my first book!!!!
CHAPTER 1
Standing in the front of the grand manor looking up from the bottom of the ivory marble steps, staring at the monsters that called themselves my family, she no longer felt pain, no anger, just a calm resigned decision to destroy them all. One after the other. None of these bastards were going scot free.
Wearing my worn out clothes and a duffle bag of my own belongings over her shoulder Alara looked up at the Morrell family, her biological family. “Welcome back Alara, i know these 2 years were hard but we are glad to have you back fully rehabilitated” Mom spoke walking down attempting to hug me, i took a big step back avoiding her touch, making her clutch her chest dramatically. “What the hell Alara, have you still seriously not learnt how to behave after all these months in that rehabilitation centre” Cedric my older brother chimed in looking irritated. she did not answer, there was no point wasting her breath on a dog who only knew how to bark.
“Do you really have nothing to say, is this how you treat your family who took time out of our day to welcome you home” Father spoke with authority looking like he didn’t want to be here. She wasn’t phased by that tone anymore, not after everything. She looked at the big rose bouquet cedric was holding, cedric instinctively pulled it closer as if worried she would snatch it from his grasp “don’t even think about it, this gift is for Diana, her dance recital was today” he spoke with conviction like her simply gazing at the flowers was some sort of threat.
“ I didn't ask…. I am going to my room now, I need rest” Alara spoke calmly, walking past them “Actually since you weren’t around we had to turn your room into a spare storage room for all of Diana’s costumes… the servants will show you where you’ll be sleeping, you understand right?” Mom spoke sweetly, expecting her to give in like she always did.
“Tch.” Alara simply walked inside. The servant led her to the room in the attic a dark space, cramped with no storage, not like she had anything to store, she looked at the maid who refused to meet her cold gaze and nodded at her, the maid took the opportunity to escape the silent and suffocatingly tense atmosphere. Alara sat on the bed. It was firm but compared to the thin bug infested beds in that facility she was locked in, this was a luxury, hearing the car engine start outside she got up and walked to the window and saw her family getting in the expensive luxury car and driving away. It was only then she finally understood they had never truly come out to welcome her home, they just happened to be heading out to Sophia's recital when she bumped into them, their attempted show of civility was nothing more than a means to save their own conscience. It was not surprising, after all they could not even be bothered to send a car to pick her up, she had to walk all the way from the facility, and a good samaritan gave her a ride half way and then she walked the rest of the way. She wasn’t sad. She was done with these people, the only reason she returned to this house was to exact her version of justice.
She takes off her hoodie revealing the curling iron burns all over her body, back in the facility she was tormented by some other patients day in day out, whenever she messed up an order which was almost all the time her punishment was a burn to her skin, she had tried informing the facility’s authorities but they made it clear they did not care, the nature of the facility was corrupt the only people who got protection were the patients who had something to offer the guards and they hated Alara especially because they knew she was rich and thought she was holding out on them so they let it happen, even sometimes created opportunities for it to happen. Even now the skin was tender, looking at the scars in the mirror too long made her feel as though she was experiencing it all over again, her finger grazed over one of the burns she felt a sting of pain and put on the ointment.
This particular burn was given to her about 5 months ago, she had just gotten an order wrong and knowing what was coming she decided to make a run for the phone’s allowing herself fully believe if she could get to the phone, if she could call her family if they could hear the pain in her voice they would come and save her, running through the halls, weak from starvation and stumbling a few times as she made it to the phones she crashed into the wall hard unable to stop on time but she paid no mind to the pain she picked up the phone and dialed as fast as she could her fingers flying over the keypad as she put in her last food money for the month into the phone machine, the phone rang a few times, alara dripping with sweat silently prayed for her mother to pick up the phone, “hello who is this” her mother finally picked up her voice cold, she didn’t recognise the number, how would she, she had never bothered to call in the past, “hello mum, please help me they are going to hurt me please i-” Alara spoke fast, eyes darting around as her voice carried nothing but pure fear and panic. “Wow you are seriously still pulling shit like this, look i don’t have time for your games or your attention seeking this is exactly why i never bothered calling you, you’d just try to manipulate your way out of there, seriously aren’t you ashamed, Diana is out here working hard and making the family proud but you are in there bringing nothing but shame to the family, how did i end up with a daughter like you, if not for the fact your treatment ends in a few months, if it were up to me you would stay there another year, i am busy helping sophia rehearse” with that Mom hung up. In that moment it felt like a bucket of cold water was poured on Alara, her fingers went loose and the phone fell out of her grip and in her mind she heard a thread snap like the sudden realisation that no one was going to rescue her suddenly became clear to her.
She picked up the tray of food and walked back to her abusers, “took you long enough piggy how about you get on the floor and crawl around for u-” before she could finish that sentence Alara griped the steel tray and slammed her in the face sending her dropping to the ground, Alara laughs a bit pushing her own hair back, Alara drags her bully back, kneeling over her, pinning her to the ground a smile plastered across her face alara punched her face over and over again till her knuckles were bloody and the bully went unresponsive. Alara got up still chuckling she turned to the others, “you saw nothing” Alara stumbles out her laugh echoing the halls as she returned to her own cell, from then on she became untouchable even by the guards, any guard who got on her bad side vanished losing their jobs, suddenly she was running the prison, but she was never fully herself she laughed at pain and cruelty alike and her eyes remained cold, soulless and dead, earning her the name of ‘the Joker’.
CHAPTER 2
Unsure how much time had passed as she awkwardly laid in bed staring at the ceiling, a maid came to call her down for dinner, “ma’am your family has invited you down for dinner” the maid spoke seemingly eager to leave, Alara’s eyes move to look at who is speaking, her gaze made the maid jump and feel discomfort all at once. Alara returns her gaze back to the ceiling "I'll be down in a moment”, the maid hurried out. Alara sat up, putting on her black long-sleeved turtle neck fitted sweater dress, she walked down the magnificent steps the sound of laughter fills the home, she appears at the doorway of the dining table, FAther is bragging about the company’s achievements and mum is egging him on, diana is pouting clinging to cedric who is also speaking animatedly they look like a happy perfect family, it doesn’t sadden her, it sickens her.
They finally notice her presence and the laughter dies instantly, the atmosphere shifts to one of heavy awkwardness. Alara takes her seat, the servants serve her a plate in front of her, her seat is placed in front of Diana, a blonde haired gorgeous girl with a face that had appeared in many magazines thanks to fathers money and connections. There was an empty seat beside Alara; she paid no mind to it. “Sister i am so glad you returned, i would have been there to welcome you but i was performing for a charity event” Diana chirped flashing a smug expression, Alara did not respond “Alara your sister is talking to you can you atleast show some manners and respond” Father spoke putting his cup down firmly, “you see this is why i voted we leave her in that facility not even a day here and she is already ruining the peace” Cedric spoke sipping his drink, Alara continued to chew her food not paying them any mind her unbothered state only seemed to annoy them further, giving Diana the perfect opportunity to twists things “please don’t be upset with her, I am sure sister is still upset with me afterall its because i told mum she cut my hair that she was sent to that facility in the first place”, her words sounded somewhat sincere but her eyes gleamed with satisfaction for a split second, the expressions of everyone on the table turned darker she continued and her eyes welled up with unshed tears “so please lets just be hap-” Alara who had never stopped eating, coughed into a napkin interrupting Diana’s dialogue, “how did you expect me respond, No questions were asked” Alara spoke picking at her food with slight disinterest, her word enraged everyone on the table but they could not argue with her logic, “ALARA!! Is this your new way of bullying our sister!!” edric roared “adopted sister” alara corrected, drinking her wine. The table went quiet too long and diana started sniffling, But before anyone else could speak further a tall silver haired man walked in, upon his appearance the atmosphere in the room turned strange in a manner hard to explain, Zane Albright a ceo and man from new money, the first of his generation to take his already successful family company mainstream. And Alara’s ex-boyfriend. For the first time that night, Alara’s eyes actually widened; she hadn’t expected this shameless snake would actually show his face before her again.
Before she was admitted to the facility, she was never treated well in this house, and Diana had an intense obsession with taking whatever alara owned like she needed to prove she could have it all, it didn’t matter if it was clothes,money, gifts opportunities, and mum and dad indulged her always telling alara to be more understanding, more considering, more caring and it always ended the same alara owned nothing and Diana got her way. Always. Then Zane came along joining their social events, he chased Alara for months wearing down her walls till against her better judgement she opened her mind to dating and love and finally decided to give him a chance, and everything was perfect at first, no matter how bad things were at home, spending time with Zane always seemed to wash away all that pain, he loved her tenderly and took good care of her, but as the saying goes the higher you climb the harder you fall. All it took was a handful of times meeting Diana and his attitude towards Alara completely changed, he favoured Diana just like her family did, She had tried to fix things with him but no avail it was like he was a completely different person, but she still clinged to him, holding unto whatever was left of the fantasy she once had with him, then it happened, he finally gave her an undeniable reason to end things. It was the summer and she had shown up unexpectedly at his luxury apartment as she walked into the living room announcing herself, she watched Diana and Zane jump apart as though theft were thrown to the two opposite ends of the couch, but that wasn’t enough to erase the crime, Diana’s lipstick stained his lips and collar and Diana sat there breathless flashing a smug expression, Alara had cried and asked why several times the word ‘why’ the only thing she could muster, in a fit of rage she slapped Diana who fell down dramatically, Zane rushed to lift her up standing in front of her protectively as she ran out of the apartment , “nothing happened why do you always have to make things dirty, we were just hanging out, why can’t you be more like your sister” he had said with rage like he had any right to be angry, those words were words she had heard her whole life, she should have been used to it but hearing it from him, a man that had promised to cherish her it hurt more than she could put into words “we are done” were the only words she could muster up “oh please get over yourself, do you really think anyone could love you like i did, look i will give you time to calm down and when you are over it we can pretend you did not just say something as stupid as that” Zane spoke with a hint of pride like he fully believed she would never ever leave him, in the end all she could do was walk away and make it back home. As soon as she entered the house she was berated with yelling, the family gathered around Diana, “how could you hit your sister, and over a man? Are you really so shameless! If they want to be together why are you getting in the way” mum had said that after slapping her in the face, “Exactly, can’t you be the bigger person as the older sister and just step aside this once, must you be difficult” Cedric chimed in looking equally as angry as the others, while father just looked at alara with a look of disappointment and disgust. At that time it seemed like the usual favouritism but knowing what she knows now she understands it not like they were morally blind and didn’t realise what diana had done was wrong it was that Diana wanted something and they believed she should have it, they had known Diana was seeing Zane behind Alara’s back and they had encouraged it, and it was not out of guilt they hid it from Alara but because they didn’t feel like going through the trouble of dealing with their “troublesome daughter”.After that things got worse and worse Diana’s demands kept rising and so did the consequences until she ended up in that facility. And no she had not seen Zane after that incident not until this very moment. And she could not believe this snake was shameless enough to show his face again.
He walked around the table, offering everyone warm smiles that the family returned with enthusiasm. He found an empty seat beside Alara who never spared him a glance, eating her food slowly. “Wow Alara you look… different, it’s been a while” he spoke, she did not answer, he placed a hand on her fork stopping her from eating “i said…. It's been a whil-” “excuse me why are you speaking to me” Alara’s voice is cold and quiet.
Zane looked taken aback, looking around the table for some sort of support, “Oh sis, don’t be like that, actually did you know that while you were away me and zane actually tried dating but it didn’t work out so i urged him to get back with you since you guys are such a good fit” Diana spoke in a sweet tone but she wasn’t being sweet, she was bragging that she had stolen my boyfriend and given me back the left overs, she wanted a reaction, for Alara to look like a villain again, but that wasn’t going to happen, through her connections in the facility Alara had already uncovered that Diana and Zane dated briefly but could not make it work because Zane was addicted to the thrill of cheating and that simply wasn’t enough to sustain the relationship, which quickly got boring , so in other words the break up was not up to Diana. Alara raised her head properly looking around, and sitting before her were two comical clowns that she could easily deal with but she had bigger things to deal with. “Father i want to work at the company” Alara ignoring her sister and ex-boyfriend’s display looking directly at her father. The whole table went deathly silent.
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