When Inez didn't reply at once, Maria frowned and pressed on. "Did you not hear what I said, Inez?"
Trying to chew the toast as fast as she could, Inez replied, "I did."
"Then why are you not replying?" Maria questioned as she buttered up a toast and handed it to her husband like a good wife and mate.
"I don't think that it is necessary, Mom. I am way past the age where I need my mommy to make the decisions for me," Inez remarked flippantly.
She had nothing against her mother. The woman made a mistake by falling in love with a man who swept her off her feet and then left her alone to fend for herself and their child.
It was only understandable that Maria hated Inez's father for leaving her.
While she wanted a home and a family, Jared wanted to explore more of the sea and the ocean. At least that was what Maria told her.
'He wanted freedom and I needed a home,' she had told six-year-old Inez when she asked where her father was for the first time.
Thus, Inez didn't blame her mother for moving on with a man who gave her what she wanted. A family, the protection of a pack and a mate.
A warm home.
One who made her feel like a woman who was loved but Inez had enough.
She had done enough to keep the peace in the family.
And she couldn't do it anymore.
While Maria was happy living in the small bubble she so adored, Inez was the one who was paying the cost for her peace.
Inez had held on till now because she knew that Maria had somewhere suffered because of her existence. She had been humiliated for trusting someone who did not belong to the pack, not to mention bullying. But her mother had never abandoned her.
True, she had often said that she never wanted to have her—but then her mother had hugged her and apologised to her as well.
Because of this, Inez had gritted her teeth and suffered all kinds of torment. She believed that she owed it to her mother and the sufferings that she had gone through.
Her love for her mother had stopped her from leaving the pack other than her fear. But more than her mother, Inez cared for her wolf.
Nia wanted to get out of this pack, so that was what Inez was going to do.
Maybe it was the little friction and tangles of the mate bond that made Nia so fond of Dominic and she had often stopped Inez from leaving the pack. Now that the two of them were of one mind, Inez didn't want to listen to anyone and change her mind.
"Inez Sinclair!" Maria placed the bowl of butter on the table heavily and snapped. Her voice crackled like a whip over the dining table. "I am your mother and I have the right to know what's going on with you."
When she saw that Inez was not saying anything, Maria's brows furrowed even more and she stated in frustration, "Everything is going fine, so I do not understand your hesitation —"
"Going fine for who?You? Or him?" Inez questioned with an innocent expression as she raised her head and looked at her mother. "I know that you like to pretend that things are fine but come on, there is a limit to how much you can turn a blind eye to."
She whipped the sunglasses off her eyes and showed the swollen black and blue eye to her mother and questioned, "You think this is fine? If so, I have more. You can count them one by one and then look at me in the eye and say that it is fucking fine!"
Maria turned her head away and shuddered when she saw the serious injuries on Inez's face.
She pursed her lips tightly and didn't say anything.
Not a word of concern.
Not that Inez had expected it. She sighed and put her sunglasses back; getting to her feet, she commented, "By turning your gaze away, you cannot fool yourself into believing that it's not happening."
She walked past the dining table without glancing at Henry, her stepfather, and Ricky.
"Where are you going?" Ricky stayed quiet for half a minute before turning to look at Inez.
Hearing his question, Inez paused in her actions of draping her jacket over her shoulders and raising her head, "To the meeting."
She then opened the door and left the house without giving Ricky the time to question her anymore.
Inside the house, Ricky heaved a sigh of relief.
Noticing his actions, Scarlet snorted in her coffee mug as she set it down.
"What the fuck was that?" Ricky's gaze moved to his sister and he demanded, "You think this is funny?"
"Oh yeah. It is funny," Scarlet said very seriously. She popped bubble gum in her mouth and commented, "You act all big, mighty, and brutish. Who could even tell that you are using your sister as a punching bag for all the glory that you enjoy?"
"I am fucking not—"
"Then you wouldn't be clamouring in front of Inez like a baby," sneered Scarlet as she picked up her bag. "Even asking your mommy to back you up."
"Scarlet!"
Henry looked at his daughter and shook his head.
Seeing this, she scoffed and walked out of the house without looking back. There was a time when she revered her father, thinking that he was a hero but now that she had grown up, Scarlet knew that her father was no hero. He was a selfish man who pretended to be the head of the house and enjoyed the reverence and love of his mate, who was simply blind to his flaws.
Though he let Inez live under his roof, he never accepted her. She was an outsider through and through.
So, what if the outsider was beaten or, worse, killed for the prosperity of their family?