Boardroom and bedroom

Family Outrage

Over the following days, the monstrous chasm between Jack and I only regarded to widen further. He remained entrenched in his single-minded focused on business, leaving before dawn and returning late past midnight most times nights.

Meanwhile, I drifted listlessly about the huge Westbrook estate,a stranger amid the cold opulence surrounding me. No matter how I attempted integrating myself, nothing about this place felt remotely like home.

Worse, a continual, nagging loneliness took root. Beyond Jack's constant absence and disinterest, I found myself totally lonely without companionship or welcome of any type. The handful of body of workers bustling about were polite however kept impersonal distances, truely deferring to Jack's authority and lead.

It did not take much time before meeting other members of the infamous Westbrook family - who made their disdain for my "unworthy" presence abundantly clear.

One crisp morning, I entered the palatial eating room to discover a wizened, hawk-eyed woman glaring poisonously at me over her morning tea setting. Beside her sat a stern-faced, slender lady around my age dripping in jewels and chilly judgment.

Before I could so much as open my mouth in greeting, the elderly woman issued a derisive sniff.

"I must say, your audacity to join us in the family wing is rather brazen," she stated in a voice as skinny and reedy as her frail body.

I stopped brief, utterly bewildered by her hostile reception "I...I'm sorry, I didn't realize this place was restricted. I'll just-"

"Judith, please," the younger woman cut me off with a curt wave of her hand. "Let's no longer insult ourselves with the aid of pretending this...Creature...Has a rightful place at our table "

My face burned at her humiliating dismissal as "creature," like I was some lowly insect they wished to shoo away.

"Of course, you are right, Sienna," the older lady agreed with a disdainful look in my direction. "How could I expect her to understand our family 's boundaries and propriety? Marrying into our esteemed bloodline was a mistake Jack will sooner or later recognise for himself."

The sheer venom and entitlement radiating from the two ladies made my head spin. I stood dumbstruck, having walked into a lion's den and now being wholly torn apart as the offending piece of prey.

"H-How can you both be so merciless and unwelcoming?" I finally managed in a wavering voice. "I'm Jack's wife now,a part of this family whether you approve or not-"

"You?" The Sienna female issued a grating chortle, cuting me off. "You're nothing more than a temporarily distasteful blight upon the Westbrook legacy. An absolute embarrassment that will not be tolerated for long, do you understand?"

Tears of indignant rage and harm pricked my eyes as this stranger leveled such hatred and disrespect in my face. Though I had overheard Jack's grandmother make similarly scathing remarks, that paled in contrast to being openly verbally assaulted in this manner by his different vicious loved ones.

"How dare you speak to me this way!" I cried out, clenching my fists at my sides. All attempt at decorum have been shattered as the hurt and injustice boiled over. "I might not have been born into wealth and status like all of you however that offers you no right to degrade me as subhuman filth-"

"You do not raise your voice or unforgivable insolence to a Westbrook!" the Judith lady shrieked, slamming a bony hand down on the table in rage. "Especially not under the roof our family s ancestors constructed from nothing! You should be on your knees thanking my grandson for bestowing a modicum of repute to a filthy pauper such as you!"

"That is quite enough,both of you."

The stern, authoritative voice sliced thru the atmosphere like a blade, cuting off the tirade of hatred. We all whirled around to see Jack status ramrod directly in the entranceway, his expression thunderous.

For the first time, I noticed the barest flickers of true emotion mar his face - but it was as faraway from warmth and adoration as can be. His granite jaw become clenched, eyes glittering with barely-restricted fury towards his own kin.

"Jackie, we were simply-" his grandmother began in a saccharine tone, but he cut her off with a stern look.

"I will manage my very own household and marital affairs without any further interference, am I understood?" His sharp rebuke left no room for argument.

Still, Judith opened her withered mouth to protest further before Sienna spoke up in a placating murmur.

"Of course Jack. We only want what's best for our own family's well-being and legacy..."

She let the words hang with a meaningful look between us, not-so-subtly implying that I became a stain on their precious legacy. My palms clenched into fists yet again on the backhanded insult.

For a long moment, Jack virtually stared at the 2 women through narrowed eyes before giving a terse nod.

"See that disruptions like this do not occur again," he said flat before pivoting on his heel and exiting the room, not even spearing me a glance.

As his footsteps faded down the hallway, a tense silence hung over us all. My cheeks still burned with shame and humiliation from their scathing assaults. But even worse was the overpowering feeling of desolation wrapping round me.

If Jack's family so openly disparaged me like a worthless piece of dirt, with barely any defense or concerns from my supposed husband...How could i ever hope to find acceptance much less basic human decency, in this marriage and family?

Choking back the urge to burst into tears, I turned and fled blindly from the room, their scornful glares searing into my back each step of the way.

Back within the confines of the cavernous bed room chambers, I finally released the floodgates as racking sobs escaped me. Hot, sour tears coursed down my cheeks, mourning the unraveling of all hope and goals I'd desperately clung to about building any form of significant bond or love with my husband.

How could things progress that way when even his own flesh-and-blood dealt with me as subhuman garbage, bereft of any primary recognize or dignity? When Jack himself made no attempt to defend me as his lawfully wedded wife, allowing their verbal assaults to endlessly batter me down?

Amidst my broken sobs, I found out things were only bound to get exponentially worse with every passing day, not better. The Westbrooks' disgust and cruelty knew no bounds, and my husband was as emotionally detached and indifferent to my suffering as ever.

My wails rose, echoing off the ornate walls and cathedral ceilings - crying for the lack of all of the warmth, love and kindness I'd dreamed a marriage should bring. Wailing for the cold unwelcoming jail this had become instead with out a rescue or comfort in sight.

As the misery crashed over me in waves, washing away my tattered hopes and dignity, one desolate fact became crushingly clear...

If this loveless, miserable existence persisted , it wouldn't be long before the cruel Westbrook world totally destroyed what little remained of my heartbroken spirit.