The CEO's Heiress

The Aftermath

I slowly turned to face the man I had given my last five years to. He had furry and irritation in his eyes. Madison looked horrified, but that could be because of the looks she was getting from the crowd. I held up my head and lifted a brow as my response. Paul, his brother, looked furious, but not at me. It was no secret he had been courting Madison for a year. Which begged the question why would she go for the VP of sales at Yearling and not the Heir?

"Can we talk about this?" His voice was only whisper, and i thought about that for along time. Then I looked up at my step-sister smiled and looked back at Marcus.

"No, get out of my house." With that I turned again, tossed the bouquett in Madison's direction and headed out the way I had come. Tomas ran after me, helping me collect my dress and run up to my room.

"I am so sorry that happened to you." Tomas helped me out of the dress, I only sniffled, and pulled the necklace he had given me off my neck while I stepped out of the dress. "What do you want me to do with it?"

"Just, put it back in the bag. It's now a memory I don't want to be associated with." I began to undo my hair. Soft, red curls falling down over my shoulders with every bobypin pull. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a black top that had no real signifigance and grabbed the crown my grandmother had given me. "I am gonna, go give this to nana and talk to my dad."

"Are you sure you want to go be among the vultures?" Tomas knew me to well. I only smiled, nodded and walked to the door.

"But if you want to meet me at the car in twenty to go get bad chinese food and watch crappy movies, I wouldn't say no." He smiled at me and followed me out of the door.

"I will tell Austin we will be having a guest." We parted, Tomas headed to where Austin would be with the catering crew, and me to where the crowd would be waiting. I slipped in unnoticed, at first, but it didn't take long for Gwen to find me first. Or for the slap to sting my face. She was upset for all the wrong reasons.

"How dare you humilate my daughter. Your sister!" She snapped, and this time I was ready for the second slap that was coming. She gasped as I grabbed her hand and tossed it away from me.

"Step-sister, and maybe you should teach her how to keep her hands off what's not her's. I don't have time for you Gwen, and put your hands on me again, I will end your precious little life." I didn't pay her much mind as her nostrales flared. I was over the abuse. Neither her nor Madison ever refained from slapping or kicking me. Especially when I was down. Since I was ten, and when my father wasn't around of course, I was treated as just a servant. Sometimes worse if they decided "i needed to be punished" for somthing Madison or Mason had done and blamed me for. I had been all to willing to making them happy to make my dad happy. Well, no more of that. "If you excuse me, I have to go find my grandmother. Go console you b***h of a daughter and get out of my party."

"I am your step-mother and you will show me som..." I cut her off spotting Nana Edgington in the corner. She looked unhappy, and I couldn't tell if that was at me, or the situation.

"Nana?" I managed to get to her, past the somber embraces and sad comments. She looked at me and her eyes brightened.

"Elena bear. I was looking for you. How are you my darling?" She hugged me, and I was relieaved. Had this been my grandfather, well that would have been another story. He had been big on appearances, and making sure I kept the family name out of scandles would have been the best thing to do.

"I will be okay, I am heartbroken and I can't get the last five years back, but I am okay. I just wanted to return this to you." I pulled out the crown and handed it to her. She took it, looked it over, and put it back into my palm.

"I was supposed to give this to my daughter, but I never had one. Then your mother died and I was so scared that if I gave this to you it would be bad luck, but you have proven to me today that it will only bring the truth. So it is yours. May it bring you good luck and love. Real love. I am going to go tell that Gwen where to stick it and you go find your father. He was looking for you." She hugged me again, kissing my cheek and hobbled her way to Gwen who was getting sympathy for the scandel I had just caused.

"Elena!" I gasped, being pulled away from my walk to where dad would be looking for me. It was Marcus, and as I looked at him with disguest, his grip tightened. He held me close and I was between him and a wall at my back. "You can't make me a fool and then disapear. you can't just call off our wedding and think you'll get away with it. I will make you regret...what's this?"

"The necklace you gave me. You did this, Marcus. You made a fool out of me and played me. Well I am done being played by my step-family. If you want Madison, go get her." I shoved him, but he didn't budge and only tightened his grip on my arm until I was whincing.

"She only wanted me because once we were married I would have had acess to all of your money. Now she doesn't want me, and it's all your fault. If you had just played your part, I would have everything." It was all coming clear now, and I felt tears burn again.

"Why are you telling me this?" I sneathed, and the darkness in his eyes wasn't one familier to me.

"Because you're going to marry me, or I am going to kill you." He ran a finger down my face and I flinched. I twisted my arm, clocked him between the legs and ran. He called after me, his threat in the air, but I didn't stop until I saw my father come around a corner in the garden.

"Elena? Oh my god are you okay?" He asked as I looked at the bruise already forming on my arm. I sighed softly and nodded. He looked at the bruise, anger flaring in his eyes. "Who did this?"

"Marcus, but I am okay. Just empty threats. Daddy, I am so sorry. I know what this is going to do, but I don't want you to worry. I am going to make it right, okay? I promise." He was trying to look for more injuries, but I was already stressed out enough without needing my dad to worry about me. I just wanted to go watch my bad movies and eat icecream.

"Make it right? Baby, I don't blame you. What he did was abosuletly not okay. You had every right to be angry at him. To get your revenge." He hugged me and I sighed in relief. "And for him to use Madison like that to."

"Use Madison? Dad..." I pulleda way from him and knitted my brows. "They were in this together. Madison has been trying to get your money, and me out of the way since they came into our life. I told you about the things they did, but you never believed me because of Gwen. Madison and Marcus were plotting to take the company out from under us. Marry the heir and ruin the business from the inside out so the Yearlings looked like saviors in our dimise. So you have to give up the company to Marcus. And meanwhile Madison got to live vicariously through my allowance. She was using him as much as he was using me and her. He just threatened me. Told me that if I didn't marry him he would kill me."

"Elena, not this again. I won't listen to it. Gwen loves you. Marcus is the one who is at fault here. I will make sure he is dealt with." I sighed to myself and whiped tears from my eyes. Again, my father was willing to be blind to my step-mother. He would't risk loosing another wife because of lies, his words countless times. "Let's go..."

"No. I can't go in and face them again. I can't do that right now. I am going to Tomas' for the night. I promise everything will work out. I love you daddy." I kissed his check and walked away before he could stop me. Tomas and Austin were waiting for me at my get away car. I smiled and slid into the backseat with Tomas. Austin drove us to their condo while I laid my head on his shoulder.

"It's okay baby girl. We will find you someone, someone better." Tomas patted me on the arm, hugging me close.

"In the next three weeks?" Both Austin and Tomas laughed, but I didn't join them looking out to the city that was slowly growing darker.

"Three weeks? Baby are you crazy? You need at least a year to plan a wedding." Tomas huffed a laugh and I tried to join in but I was being serious. "Okay, say you're serious. Let's look at eligable bacholors tonight and see if anyone stands out."

"Thank you. God, why couldn't you be straight?" Now we all did laugh, and that felt good. That felt so good and as Austin drove us away from my desaster of a wedding, the further from my mind fled Marcus and Madison.