To Remain On Top

"If praying can save us from this crisis and chaos, Lonarde. I would have done it every single time of my life!" My mother yelled. Since last month, right after the news of my father facing a criminal charges boomed in every single news. Emillia Arganza completely ditch speaking in low tone when she's having a conversation with Lonarde. This family's day starts with Mommy shouting at Daddy and ends up with Daddy drinking himself to sleep, so far from the perfect family that we used to be. Quietly, not wanting to add up another noise. I closed the door and sulk on my bed like any other day. I stared blankly at my window pane for a couple of minutes until my phone starts making its monster noises. At first. I tried to ignore it thinking that it'll end soon but the notification sounds of my social media account never stops bugging me. I had to check it. I needed to even if I was really trying to avoid ** and twitter for days. I just wanna take a break from all the exaggerated made-up stories and memes that people around are talking about and hooking up in my family. I even avoid my bestfriends. It's a sure thing. They don't want to be friends with me anymore. Who the hell wants to be friend with someone who is poor and daughter of a f*****g corrupt criminal? No one. Not even I, myself. #CAMontreal #ArgusTheGorgeousBeast Those topics are currently placed as number one and two in twitter trending topic. To my curiousity. I find myself clicking it and already engross with reading different tweets about the Montreal family and it's only son. A secret son, I must say. It's known to everyone that Gaisano Montreal and his wife didn't had the chance for a child because Aurice Montreal is barren. Does that mean this Clyde Argus is an illegitimate son? A child out of wedlock? I shook my head and shrugs my shoulder. Come on, Poppy. You have your fair share of personal and family problems. Stop thinking about someone else's. With that. I drop my phone on my night-stand and make sure to disconnect it from our wifi so it'll remain silent and peaceful. It's almost lunch time when I decided to go downstair for food. To my surprise it's my fourteen years old sister working in our kitchen for food that welcomed my eyes. I run to her as fast as I can and turn off the stop. "Heather Amanda Lee Arganza what do you think you're doing? You might burn the house down!" I said in panic while trying to look around and search for our chefs or even house helper. Amanda stared at me boredly for quite sometime before she opened the stove and starts frying her bacon again. "It's just the four of us now in this big house." My sister paused and look at me again. "It wouldn't be that long. I think we're gonna move in a smaller place." I gasp out of shock while she calmly flip her bacon and eggs. Smaller place? Smaller? How small could that smaller be when this house is already the smallest compared to my friends, Solace and Zoe. While fanning myself with my hand. I sat down on the stool and called for my personal maid yet I hear nothing but defeaning silence and that f*****g flipping sound. "Ophelia!" Amanda rolled her eyes and stride to our long dining table with the plate of her own food. "They already left. We can't afford to pay for their service anymore." Amanda take a bite of her bacon. My sister smiled. "Welcome to our new normal." I refuse to accept that keeping the house, our room and making our own food is gonna be my normal. I don't even know how to boil a cup water all by myself. How am I supposed to do the other things all by myself then? "Dad!" I roared his name on his office. While I'm almost dying because of what Amanda said. My Dad is enjoying a bottle of expensive scotch. "Darling?" "Are you trying to make me kill myself? I can no longer do shopping spree and I have a damn limited allowance now this? No house helpers or even chefs?" Lonarde massaged the side of his head. I did the same thing. "Poppy please. I had enough of your mother's complain. I don't need another mouth---" "Wait. You can't go there." It's my Mommy trying to block men in uniform from getting near my Dad. All that I can do is step back and watch all the things happened. They happened fast. One moment I was talking---complaining to my Dad the next seconds he's getting arrested by the authority for his criminal charges. "Mommy? What are we going to do now?" Amanda is crying. Even her, who remain the calmest when this crisis in our family started is already in her panic state. While, I seem to can't feel or even think of anything. Mommy hugged as both. "I don't have an idea either." That night. I wanted to make sure that Mommy is fine so I check her on their room only to see her splurging on a bottle of brandy. Wasted and crying. I took the liquors from her hand and tuck her in bed. "Do you know why I marry your Father? It's because he's rich. Marrying a rich man will automatically make you rich and you'll be in the softness of comfort forever. If only I knew this will happen after 21 years. I would never even think of dating him." Mommy chuckled bitterly and fall asleep. A bitter feeling started to grow in my chest. History repeat itself hmm? The same thing happened to Mommy before when she's at my age. Her family is close to bankruptcy when he meet Daddy whose smitten to her and though she didn't love him dearly. She married him. She did that to save herself from sinking. So she'll remain on top of the high society.