BORN LUCKY

CHAPTER 4

Narrator’s POV

As Nora was heading back home in a cab, she looked out the window with a dazed look on her face. Everything felt so unreal. She felt like she was floating, yet falling at the same time. It was not a fun feeling.

A new cover on the jumbo screen caught her attention as she was heading home. It was about another scandal about the son of the president of MK Industries, Jason McKenney. Jason had been caught on tape, naked, and having illicit s****l adventures with a group of underage teenagers. The sight made her cringe. He was disgusting. This would not be the first time that Jason had had such a scandals. Nora had seen him up close before, his presence made her shiver. She was sure she had seen him and his father at her family’s home a few weeks ago. She avoided the visitors like a plague. This was something she had learned to do. She honestly wondered how a man in his late twenties, would act like such a vagabond. It was strange. But, then again, he was a rich white boy. He probably didn’t see anything wrong in what he did, especially since he would get away with it. He always did. He was infamous. Nora had seen Jason on the news a lot of times before but for some reason, she had never seen him being punished. It was easy to figure out when she thought about it. Jason’s father, Dave, was definitely cleaning up after him. Spending money like water. A treatment that on Amber in her family had experienced.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered her sister’s words to her a few days ago. She had never done anything to wrong her sister, and yet, Amber hated her this much. It was scary.

Nora was completely unaware of the truth behind her life and her situation. Who knows if she would ever know. Perhaps she would be dead before she figured it out.

By the time Nora got home, her family was already in the living room, enjoying valuable time together, she just happened to walk in on this. She wasn’t allowed to stay in the living room for long. She could walk through it but she could stay.

Nora walked in and saw her parents. It had been a while since she had seen them. Her mother, Kate Nicks, sat beside Amber. Kate was forty-five years old this year and yet she still looked like she was in her early thirties. She had short brown hair and sharp brown eyes. Nora knew she was not much taller than herself but whenever she saw her mother, she always felt like her mother was a giant, towering over her with so much vigor and momentum. Kate was intimidating but not as much as Nora’s father, Jonathan Nicks. Jonathan was fifty this year and unlike the rest of the family, he looked his age. He had a short, slightly balding, black hair that made Nora really feel his hair. Whenever he looked at her, his cold sharp brown eyes made Nora shiver. He was taller than her but he had a somewhat chubby stature. He made Nora feel malnourished because of his build. He looked well-fed, unlike his daughter. Nora would never voice her thoughts

As soon as Nora walked in, all eyes were on her. She froze. Usually, they would ignore her but for some reason, they gave her attention and this time, for the first time in forever, they were still smiling. Their smiles hadn’t dropped yet. Nora was scared.

“Welcome, Nora.” Kate’s soft voice echoed.

“Yes, Welcome. Come sit with us.” Jonathan said. He had a small smile on his face. He motioned for the space on the voice beside him.

Amber had a blank expression on her face. This was the only thing that felt real to Nora.

Everything else was scaring Nora.

Just a few days ago, after she returned from Avia’s house, she had encountered her parents. And all they did was sneer at her. Amber had properly delivered her failure to them.

But now, she was being welcomed by them.

Nora was numb. She looked behind her, perhaps there was someone else they wanted to talk to and she was in the way. There wasn’t.

‘They are talking…to me?’ Nora wondered. It was very strange. Even more so when they did not complain about her not responding on time. They were patient with her and waited for her to react and slowly headed towards them with small steps. She was honestly scared that the moment she got in front of her father, he would pin her down and hit her. It wouldn’t be the first time. But Nora had hope, maybe, just maybe, they had changed. Maybe something had happened to them while they were working and they suddenly hit a realization that they loved her?

‘Probably not.’ Nora reasoned the moment she sat beside her father. There was a wide gap between them. She did not dare move closer, her father didn’t push for it either.

“Nora, do you know why we have called you here?” Kate asked.

Nora tensed. She wasn’t sure why.

“Uh..no. I’m sorry.” She couldn’t control the apology. Who knows, perhaps they would be angry at her for not knowing. She was just an arm’s distance away from her father. She had to be careful.

“No, it’s fine. It has been a while since we have sat down as a family.” Jonathan said with a light chuckle. Nora could swear that she had seen Amber snort. At least this conversation didn’t seem ridiculous to only her.

“I understand that you are a bit nervous because of your failure in the exams but don’t be sad, okay? We don’t care about something as insignificant as that. You are so smart, it is EXO’s loss. Cheer up.” Kate said softly.

Nora blinked. Then she glanced at Jonathan beside her who was nodding in agreement. Then, she blinked again. She was dazed. These words could not be called some great poetic comforting words that lots of people would use on their family but to Nora in that moment, it was gold. She suddenly felt like crying. She felt touched. It was obvious on her face.

Just a few words and she teared up. Pitiful.

She nodded, happy.

“Good. Now that that’s out of the way. Your father and I have decided that you are old enough now, so it’s time for you to settle down.” Kate smiled brightly as she said this.

Nora was so caught up in her smile that she did not immediately notice what her mother had just said. It was a few beats later that her words seemed to reach Nora. Nora paused.

“Excuse me?” Nora asked, confused.

“It is time for you to settle down. We have picked the best candidate for you so don’t worry. Mom and Dad are always here for you.” Jonathan said. He seemed to take pride in his own words.

At this point, Nora suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

“When you say settle down, do you mean-“ Nora couldn’t say it. She was too scared to.

Kate’s smile only widened. It wasn’t as pleasant to Nora anymore. If anything, it was sickening.

“Yes. Exactly what you think. Marriage.”

Nora felt time stop. Her eyes seemed to be ringing.

“Nora, it is time for you to get married. You should be happy.”