Fed up
Fed up
"What are we going to do about Chloe? She is making me seriously worried." Her mother said with a sigh.
"She is a smart girl. I'm sure she understands the gravity of what she is doing now that we halve mentioned it to her." Her father said. He sounded really disappointed.
"But how did she meet a boy like that? I mean.. there are a lot of great guys out there. Even Kevin Hank was a good match for her."
"We should be grateful to him for bringing this to our knowledge. Who would have thought Chloe was beginning to hang out with boys like that? I am so repulsed by the idea and disappointed in her."
Chloe's hands balled beside her. Kelvin. It was him. His stupid jealousy had led him to badmouth Jeremy to her parents. What right did he have?
"We need to settle the present issue first. I already spoke with the Vice chancellor. He assured me that even though Chloe left her test halfway, the lecturer said she did really well. Oh! That girl is going to be the death of me."
Chloe's eyes widened in shock. It wasn't because her mother sounded like she was crying, but because of what she had just heard. She had called the Vice chancellor to talk about her grades? Why? Since when did this start?
"You should fix a meeting with him this coming week. Chloe's exams are coming up. I'm sure this distraction must have gotten in the way of her study. She needs our help the most this period or else, this family is going to be a laughingstock among the extended family. We also need to stop her from going to the mall and seeing that silly boy." Her father spat out.
Chloe had never felt so heartbroken before. She didn't know when tears began to fall from her eyes. She was a smart girl. She was intelligent. She didn't need her parents to do this. Just how long have they been doing this? Was this the first time? Was it the second? Just how long!?
She wasn't angry because she had overheard them talking about stopping her from going to the mall, she hadn't even been this angry when she was told to cut ties with Jeremy.
She stood there, face burning with anger and tears flowing down her eyes while her hands fisted tightly beside ber.
The door was suddenly opened and her mother immediately looked pale when she saw her daughter standing there,
"Chl...oe.. when...? Louis.. when did... you both get here?" Mrs King stammered.
"What... was that about?" Chloe asked very quietly when she recovered from the shock.
Mr King also came out of the room and stood beside his wife.
"When did you two get here?" He asked.
If her father was surprised to see her standing there looking angry with tears all over her face, he didn't show it. He kept a straight face.
"How long have you been doing this?" Chloe asked. She felt a hand on her shoulder and knew it was Louis but she didn't turn to look at him. She had no idea how long he had been standing behind her, but she knew he must have overheard some part of their parents conversation with her.
"Chloe... you should come..."
"HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?" Chloe bellowed angrily at them.
"How long have you been going behind my back to speak with my teachers about my grades? How long have you been doing that?" She asked with more tears flowing down her eyes.
All the taunting remarks from classmates began to echo in her head. There were many times she heard people saying she had good grades because her family was behind it, but she never cared about talks like that because she believed she was smart and deserved the grades so whatever anyone said didn't matter. If her parents were actually speaking with teachers about her grades, she would have been at the top of her class right? But she was still fourth place. Maybe she overheard or misinterpreted? She desperately wanted to believe that.
It was another reason she hadn't really taken it seriously when Jeremy tried to talk her into believing Kelvin's family was involved in his grades. Even though she had the hunch that Kelvin wasn't so smart, she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because just like herself, a lot of people were doubting her. It wasn't a crime being smart, pretty and from a rich family.
So it really wasn't true that her parents have been involved in it right?
"Chloe! Do not yell at your mother." Her father said angrily.
"I AM YELLING AT THE TWO OF YOU RIGHT NOW! HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?"
"Stop it!" Mrs King shouted.
"So what if it's been going on for a while? Isn't it for you? We have done nothing but try to mould you into the perfect daughter that we want but what did you do in return?"
The weight of the truth sank deeply and if not for Louis who held Chloe, she would have fallen to the floor. She stared at them with eyes filled with disbelief.
"To become the black sheep of the family, you need to be ready to lose everything. So ask yourself, is it worth it?" Leo had asked her a few hours ago.
"What about you? Do you regret it?" She had asked him instead of answering his question.
He gave her a smile and relaxed on the couch, "Do I look like I regret it?" He had asked. "I will pick being the black sheep of the family over and over again than allowing the parents push me around."
"I'm sure you'd like to live in your own place, go out to wherever you wish to, do whatever you like, spend your own money as much as you like and hang out with that long haired guy until you get bored and break up with him."
"So dear sister, you need to choose. Your happiness, or your loyalty to your parents who are going to die someday and leave you in this world while you begin to regret why you spent those many years trying to please them instead of doing what actually makes you happy? It's a difficult choice to make, but it's a choice you have to make. Eitherways, you can trust me to support you."
"I... can't do this anymore." Chloe shook her head slowly as she looked at her parents.
"I am fed up. I am fed up. I am fed up!"
"W-hat?" Mrs King asked Chloe before turning to look at her husband. Maybe he understood what their daughter was talking about?
Chloe pushed herself away from Louis' hold and used her hands to clean her face.
"I am done with this family. I feel suffocated here that it makes me want to die. I. Am. Done!"
"Chloe... what are you saying? You are done with what? What do you mean by you feel suffocated here?" Her mother asked frantically as she tried to touch her daughter's hand but Chloe slapped it away, shocking all of them.
"I choose freedom. I am leaving this house."
"Chl—"
"And if any of you think about hurting Jeremy because of me, I will personally spread the word to the press and let then know the kind of people you both really are. I am serious about this." She said in a warning tone that further surprised them.
"Chloe." Louis, Mr King and his wife called her at the same time but she was already heading towards her room.
"Chloe! How can you say that to your family?" Her father asked furiously.
Chloe stopped and turned to look at them, "I'm sure you are going to threaten me with the mall next. You can keep it. It was yours to begin with. You can keep the debit cards. You can keep the cars, you can keep all of it!" She hollered before turning to look at Louis,
"I am choosing this." She said with a sad smile before turning to leave. She was certain he remembered the conversation they both had the other night.
She was going to be the black sheep number two of the King's family even if it meant she was going to lose everything.
She was done!