Paper Rings (English)

Chapter 27

"Pack your bags," his voice rang in every corner of the house. He could feel his vein pulsating, ready to pop out of anger toward what his younger sister said and did to his wife. "You're getting out of my house. Now."

Silence. Not even his sharp darting stare was able to faze Sydney’s unyielding demeanor. Her eyes were flinty and protruding. She was baring her teeth, ready to snap at him any given moment. 

“Sander,” Primrose called his name. Her soft voice brought calmness to his scrunched-up face. Her hand tugged the tip of his shirt, stopping him from going any closer to his blonde sister. “It’s a misunderstanding. You don’t need to send her out. I’m sure she didn’t mean to do that.”

He knew she was trying to be considerate. From her flaring nostrils and tightening visage earlier, Sander could tell that the woman was on the verge of lashing out as well. 

“Misunderstanding or not, I won’t sit by and let her treat you like this.” 

“Ha!” The youngest Mortel clapped her hands in the air, causing them to glance back at her. “I never knew you have a hidden talent for acting, Sander. Acting like a sweet and protective husband? What a well-crafted role to play!” 

He pressed his fingers into his temple, trying to filter the words about to come out from his mouth. However, the more they exchanged gazes, the more he felt strained to the limits. The siblings never fought this intensely since he moved out of their parent’s house. 

“You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”  

“Back at you,” she replied and shifted her gaze to Primrose. “Why don’t you tell your precious wife the reason why you can’t quit the company altogether? I’m sure all this nonsense would stop once you’re done fooling her.” 

“This is going too far. Let’s stop before this situation gets ugly,” Primrose heaved a sigh. “Why don’t you two just return to your rooms, and I’ll cook lunch…..” 

“The situation already got ugly the moment you walked into the picture,” Sydney continued to deploy sarcasm despite the woman’s attempt to lighten the mood. “Well, it’s not your fault that you’re naive and easy to manipulate. But it such a pity, I could tell how deep you’ve fallen for my brother’s trap.” 

Before Sander could mouth anything to stop his younger sister from spitting more bitter words, Primrose took a step forward. She crossed both arms across her chest and painted a hard smile on her face. When she leaned closer, Sydney retreated with a hint of confusion in her eyes. 

“What?”

“Nothing, I’m just trying to figure out something.” She continued staring before shaking her head and pressing her lips into a thin line. “I know you never really liked me even before your brother married me, Sydney. But I can’t figure out why exactly you’re so against this marriage. Do you have anything against me?” 

Although her expression was nothing but calm, Sander could tell the frustration in her voice. He was itching to intervene before the situation got out of control, but there was a lump stuck in his throat. His limbs felt heavy because he knew right then that there was no avoiding this now. 

“Is it because of my reputation? Because you don’t think I deserve Sander? There has to be something that drives you.” 

“No,” Sydney flat-out denied. This time, her expression softened. She looked down her feet and drew a deep breath. “It’s not specifically about you, but it’s something that was brought into the table when you walked in and announced you’re getting married.” 

“Our plan to migrate and his plan to hand down the management of the company to you?” 

“Part of that, yes.” Sydney bestowed her brother a sidelong glance. “However, that’s not all there is to the story. My clever brother and my father have it all mapped out since the day he stopped living under our parent’s wings.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m not sure what are the terms of your deal with my brother, but if you’re planning to go separate ways after marrying and flying out of the country, I assure you that it won’t happen.” She pointed one finger at Sander and almost mouthed a curse. “Because the only way this man could drop away from the family business is producing a male offspring. So unless there’s already a seed in you….” 

“Sydney, that’s enough.” 

“No, that’s not enough!” Sydney screamed angrily and scrawled her fingers through her scalp. Her lower lip was trembling, attempting to repress all the anger inside of her. “Has it ever occurred to you that I don’t want to manage the company as well? How dare you plan this scheme and dump all your responsibilities on me?” 

“You should calm down. Dad can explain this better than I do...” 

“So, it’s true?” 

His attention shifted to Primrose as soon as he heard a hint of disbelief in her voice. When he tilted his head, he saw terror slowly engulfing her once angelic visage. Hurt. Disgust. Anger. He couldn’t point a finger on it, but one thing’s for sure—it was the last sight he wanted to see in her face. 

“Is it true, Sander?” she repeated in a higher tone this time. “Did you agree to marry me because you need someone to carry the last fcking male descendant of your family? Answer me!” 

Those words brought a sour taste to his tongue. He shut his eyelids for a moment, attempting to rack his brain on how he could explain this complicated thing briefly, but nothing in his mind was going his way either. 

“Rosey.” 

He tried to reach for her arm, but she immediately shoved him away. The next thing he felt was her palm dashing to his cheek. The next second after that, she was marching away toward the bedroom. His feet were about to follow her when Sydney grabbed him by the arm. 

“We’re not done talking yet,” the younger Mortel firmly said. 

He slightly pushed her hand away, but Primrose already had the bedroom door shut before he could take another step. 

“I don’t want to deal with you right now, Sydney.” For the first time out of all the chaos today, Messi Sander Mortel’s voice went up. His eyes were filled with rage he just couldn’t contain anymore. “Get out of my sight while I still have an ounce of patience towards you.” 

“Oh, so you’re angry at me now?” she scoffed in disbelief. “I’m not the one who tricked that woman. You and Dad did! Did you, for one second, think if I want to take sole responsibility for our family business?” 

“I already carried it for years, for heaven's sake! While you did whatever you wanted! Isn’t that enough?” 

His entire body was tensing. And while he clearly didn’t want to deal with this all at once, the look in Sydney’s eyes tells him that she won’t stop aggravating her until he faces her head-on. He ran a hand to his forehead and bit his lower lip to ease the tension inside him. 

“You know, sometimes I wish that you and I switched places. Even just for one day.” 

His sudden statement made her sister’s brow furrow. “What the hell are you talking about?” 

“You’re always on about why I’m trying to distance myself from you and our family, but do you really not know why?” 

“Of course I know why. You’re still not over that I ratted you out about your fake marriage with Cecilia.” 

“No,” he denied almost immediately. “That may be true for Mama and Margot, but not to you.” 

“Liar,” she scowled at him and balled both fists. Tears were falling like raindrops from her eyes to her cheeks. The fierce and determined mask Sydney was wearing earlier finally fell off in a snap. “Ever since that happened, you never treated me the same!”

“I envy your freedom, Sydney. I really do.” Sander tried not to let her tears affect him, but it was evident with his softened visage that he was cracking down. “Have you ever wondered how burdened I felt since we were kids when I was told right off the bat that my existence is the lifeline of that damned family? You always say I’m lucky because I had all their attention, but the reality is it's the very thing that’s killing me.” 

The tightness in his chest and the pain in his jaw were like wildfires spreading to stop him physically. The blonde lady in front of him was still in tears and couldn’t respond to him, so he decided to continue. 

“When I succumbed to drinking because of that, Dad and I made that deal. He understands me because he went through it, but he had to appease Margot.” He held his hand up in front of him and slowly dug his fingers into his palm. “I was able to live my life looking forward to the day of being freed from the chains of our family. It was my last resort to life. Now, did I think of how you might feel when I agreed? No. I’m sorry, but I had to live.” 

“Sander.” This time, her voice was gentler and calmer. She was trying to mouth words, but they failed to come out of her throat. 

“But that doesn’t give you the right to hurt her,” he continued as the expression on his face turned grim. His eyes shifted to the door where Primrose was. “Tyler, drive Sydney back to my parent’s house and have the helpers pack her bags.” 

Like a magic spell cast, the man emerged from the front door and stride to where they were both standing. When he heard his footsteps approaching, he finally turned his back on Sydney and walked in the direction of the master’s bedroom. 

“You didn’t mean to do this, did you?” Her words made him halt once again. “Because she’s a good person, and it’ll be so despicable of you if you did deceive her.” 

Instead of glancing back at her, he stood still. When their footsteps reached the front porch, he drew a deep sigh. He walked again in silence and knocked on the door once. A minute or two had passed, but no motion nor sound was heard inside. Amid his second attempt, it clicked open. 

In walks was Primrose, dragging her rolling suitcase. She was looking at the floor as she walked past him. Although she didn’t gaze his way, her bloodshot puffy eyes were enough for Sander to assume that she cried. 

“Are you coming back?” 

She stopped. Her shoulders hunched as if trying hard to repress emotions. For a moment, he wished she’d just face him and slap him in the face again, but she didn’t. 

He was helplessly fighting against the urge to pull her close, hug her, and beg for her to hear his explanation. However, deep inside, he knew that doing that could worsen the situation. 

“I don’t know either,” she replied in a wavering voice.  

“I’m sorry. I know you’re feeling conflicted, but I can explain everything if you let me.” 

“I have no energy to hear any of that crap right now,” Primrose straightened her back in an attempt to regain her normal composure. “I got to go.” 

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to hear me out.” 

No response, just one barely-repressed sob. After that, he watched as the red-haired woman walked out of the house. He remained standing on the same spot. Not once since he moved here has the man felt so alone.