Little Game

Chapter 38

Isabella doesn't enjoy the stories about her grandmother.

Her father's got wonderful stories about  abuela. She's a good mother to Isabella's dad but in terms of asking who's authority everyone should be following? Abuela makes sure that everyone's not out of line. Even if she's too strict about it.

And she is too strict about it.

"Look at your daughter, Dante!" She screeched as she pointed her finger at Isabella. "How could you spoil her like this?"

Dante pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mamá, por favor. No ahora." He said tiredly. "No estoy de humor para discutir."

(Mama, please. Not now.)

(I'm in no mood to argue.)

Bella crossed her arms, glaring at her son before putting that glare on Isabella. The old woman scrunched up her nose in distaste. "All your children's a failure, Dante. I advise you to find someone who could bear your children so that I can find someone useful to inherit the family——"

"Don't." His word was icy and firm, which was more frightening than a loud demand to stop. The way he glared at his mother was anything but warm. It was like fire. Bella had made the fire burn inside her son, had let it without even meaning to do it. "Don't bring this up now."

Isabella, along with her siblings sat in the far corner of the room, silent as the dead. No-one expected the old woman to come. Nobody invited her  because she just brings chaos, but apparently, it doesn't matter because she'll come regardless of whether you want her or not.

Bella bristled. "Don't you talk back to me."

"Then don't talk things like that!"

"It's for your own good!" Bella shouted, her eyes burning with hellfire that nobody has ever seen before. "Don't you see? Our family's going to fall apart! Anthony's too soft for his own good. You've made him soft, Dante! If He's too kind. Do you think that he can always get away with just that? Life's cruel, you should know better than to teach him to be such a softhearted person. Damn it, Lucius is too crude. He doesn't know how to tame himself. And Elois is too young to be considered as your future heir. He also doesn't have the qualification to be a leader. He has no hope in life. He's useless that he might as well be considered trash."

Bella shook her head in disappointment. "And don't get me started with Isabella." She said. "She's not... She's not right, Dante. Your daughter is the result of her evil deed. She intoxicated you and made you fuck he——"

Dante's fist hit the table, loud and deafening that everyone was suddenly startled by it. Silence followed after that. It was so silent that it had hurt—— it felt as if it was almost palpable. It felt like knife cutting through the atmosphere.

Dante's expression was absolutely horrifying. His face was twisted in pure and raw hatred for his own mother. "Get out."

Bella stood her ground. "I'm standing by what I said, son."

Elois had his eyes tearing up, his heart broken—— shattered and left there in the hands of their grandmother. Elois just couldn't think right now. All he could think was feeling like he failed. Like he failed someone. He failed them, his own family. What was he even good at? He was good at being fucking nothing, that's what.

Anthony hated himself for being a disappointment to the family. He was supposed to be his father's heir. But he tried. He tried so hard to be good. He tried his best to be called perfect. He tried, really. Anthony worked and worked and did his absolute best to be good. He followed everything, didn't he? He killed for them and smiled despite the tainted hands that he didn't even want.