Regina rushed over to her husband's side, tears falling from her eyes while holding her bruised wrist as evidence of Alia's hostility.
"Oh honey, Alia has gone insane. First, she attacks Grandma almost giving her a heart attack. Then when I tried to scold her, she attacked . Take a look at what she did to my hands."
Regina displayed her bleeding wrist with different nail cut marks for her husband to see. Sadly, instead of getting comforted by her husband, she was pushed aside as if she ant nothing.
"Greg!" Regina's teary pupils dilated as she watched her husband march over to his daughter.
"Amy, who did this to you?" Greg approached his daughter his narrowed eyes, inflad at the mark on her fair skin. He tried to touch her face but Alia pushed his hands off.
"Don't pretend like you care, Dad," Alia said in a deadpan tone, tears gathering in her eyes at her father's gentle touch.
"Amy..." Senator Gregory felt broken by his daughter's rejection.
"Amy..." Judith ca forward, pulling her niece into her arms.
Alia felt all the strong walls she had built around her fragile heart crumble at the warmth of her dearest aunty touch. Her body started to tremble as the horror and pain she had gone through poured afresh into her heart.
"Let it out, my dear. Aunt Judith is here for you." Judith whispered into her niece's ear as she stroked her hair lovingly.
Stacy also ca up to her bestie and hugged her from behind while Alia cried like a baby in their arms.
Feeling enraged and thinking his wife was responsible for hitting his daughter, the senator turned on Regina in one swift move.
Before Regina could predict what her husband was about to do, his wide palm ca down on her right cheek like a force of nature.
Smack!
The echo of the slap resounded in the large room, forcing everyone excluding Alia to raise their head.
"Ahh..." Pearl's widened eyes bulged out as her hands involuntarily flew to cover her open mouth.
A thin smile played at the corner of Judith's lips, while Stacy chuckled inwardly.
Horrified by the unexpected turn of events, Regina felt as though her neck had twisted out of position as her head snapped sideways. She raised her hand to her stinging cheek as hot tears fell from her eyes.
"You slapped !" Regina cried, out in a distressing tone, her evil heart, shattering.
"How dare you?" Senator Gregory growled, forcing his wife to cower in his presence.
"Mom..." Gwen rushed over to her mother's side, masking the rage in her heart by crying alongside her mother.
"Greg, that was unnecessary." Matt rushed to his sister-in-law's side, clenching his jaws and hiding the monstrous rage looming in his heart as Regina fell on her knees trembling and weeping.
"Big brother, that wasn't nice." Desmond frowned, torn between the two crying won. On one side, he still loved his niece even though he was eager to get rich at any cost. But on the other side, he cared about his sister-in-law seeing how she had been so generous to him ever since she beca a mber of the family.
Senator Gregory was still fuming, his hands clenched as she scowled at his crying wife. "The next ti you lay your filthy hands on my daughter, I will do much worse things to you." He spat out, his booming voice laced with anger and bitterness.
"But I didn't do anything." Regina cried bitterly still holding her burning cheek.
"I was the one who slapped that spoiled brat." Nana Shawls finally found her voice after drinking her fill of water and clearing her throat. "Are you going to slap too?" She forced herself up.
"Mother, how could you?" Senator Greg turned her angry gaze to his mother only to be greeted by a slap from her.
Alia pulled away from her aunty, as the echo of the slap reverberated in her ear.
"That is for hitting your wife in my presence all because of that spoiled brat." The old woman wagged her forefinger at her first son's face.
"Mother." The crease on Desmond's head deepened.
"Shut up, Desmond." Nana Shawls rebuked him. "Your elder brother may be a grown man with his own family. He may be a state congressman with a lot of people bowing to his feet. He may be a rich and powerful leader. But he is still my boy and he will learn to respect ."
"Mother..." Senator Gregory clenched his fist, anger surging through his veins.
"I'm not done talking." The old woman shook with rage, coughing again.
"Mum, please calm down. Shouting is not good for your health." Matt pleaded.
"No, I will not remain calm. Greg and his daughter have pushed to my limits. This family has been doing fine until she showed up."
"Really!" Alia felt as though soone had thrust a dagger into her heart. "So I am the problem in this ho."
A wicked grin slowly ford on Regina's face as she remained on the floor while watching the exchange between mother, son and granddaughter.
"No, darling..." Senator Gregory pleaded to his daughter while frowning at his mother. "Mom, stop saying an words to my daughter."
"What an words, huh? She goes missing for the last two weeks and cos in only to fernt trouble and you want to applaud her? Be a man Greg and tell her that she is wrong?" Old Nana Shawls yelled at her first son. "And point of correction she's not the only daughter you have. There are two of them and Gwen has been the one sacrificing for that ungrateful brat."
"Sacrifice!" Alia laughed bitterly. "As if taking my place on my wedding day is not bad enough, she goes around sleeping with Jerry and you call that sacrifice?"
"It was a mistake." Gwen stood up, sniffling dejectedly.
"A mistake! Don't make laugh." Alia exploded, her voice laced with venom.
"You don't have to answer that ungrateful child, Gwen." Old Nana Shawls, blinded by her rage finally took Gwen's side. "Let her tell us where she has been for the past two weeks."
"What difference would it make?" Alia fearlessly challenged her grandmother, throwing all her years of morals and etiquette out the window.
"Will it change the fact that you all betrayed by conducting a sham marriage in my absence?" Alia turned her angry tears-filled gaze to her father. "Will it change the fact that you allowed Gwen to defy mom's mory by letting her wear mom's wedding gown?"
"Amy please..." Senator Greg lowered his head, his guilt pricking his heart than ever before.
"Will you change the fact that you lied to all our family friends and business associates that Gwen was ? How could you Dad? I trusted you."
"Don't bla your father, young woman." Regina finally stood up taking advantage of her husband's weakness to show her prowess. "If you hadn't run away with another man on the eve before your wedding, your father wouldn't have been made to take the ultimate decision. He did you a favour and you should be thanking him, instead of showing this level of ingratitude."
"Is that the lies you fed your husband? That my niece eloped with another man?" Judith ca forward unable to stand Regina's manipulation anymore.
"Why are you answering for her, Mrs Suzy homaker? Can't she speak for herself?" Regina's contemptuous tone made Judith clench her fist.
"I still do not understand what Greg sees in such a vile and despicable gold digger like y..."
"Enough!" Old Nana Shawls shouted again. But this ti, she was able to control the pitch of her voice. "I will not have you two turn this peace-loving ho into a place for a verbal brawl. And as for you Alia, can't you see the confusion you are causing in this family? If you have any sense of dignity left in you, do the right thing by confessing your cri."
Alia scoffed. "My cri. Well Grandma since it's obvious you have already made up your mind about , then I owe no one any explanation. I have already done this family a huge favor by pretending to the whole world that I married a jerk. And to show you all that I bear no grudges against my sweet loving stepsister, she can have the rest of that loser. But this ti, it must be done the proper way."
"What are you trying to say, Alia?" Gwen asked, pretending to be confused even though she knew what Alia was trying to say.
"I'm sure you're not that dumb, Gwen." Alia hissed, turning her back on everyone.
"Where do you think you're going and how dare you walk out on ?" Nana barked.
"To my room, Nana," Alia said without looking back. "I'm going to my room to get my stuff."
"Alia please don't leave." Gwen ran up to her blocking her path. "Please forgive . I am very sorry." She said touching Alia on the arm.
Just then, Jerry, accompanied by his parents was ushered into the tense living room, forcing everyone's eye in his direction.
But at the sa ti, a loud crashing sound reverberated in the room as everyone's horrific eyes shifted back to the two sisters.
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