A Debt of Vows

chapter 4: Family reunion

Mabel's POV

My eyes traced the direction of the voice to the door, and there stood three more people: two older people, a man, and a woman. Standing in front of them was a man who looked around my age. From the way his nose fled and his jaw clenched, I knew it was he who owned the voice.

Things seemed to have gotten more interesting. With my gaze still lingering on them, my fingers grabbed another glass of water and brought it to my lips.

The old man froze in his tracks, a surprised look plastered on his face.

A loud bang caused me to jolt up and spill water on myself, “s**t” I cursed as the cold liquid trickled down my body.

Landon stood abruptly, his fists trembling with restrained fury. His jaws tightened in anger, eyes growing darker than usual, yet, he didn't say a word. He looked conflicted, and that got me amused.

As the trio walked toward us like some kind of heroes here to say the day, Olivia's smirk didn't go unnoticed by me.

“What nonsense is this?” The old man questioned. But his tone held amusement rather than rage.

“I told you, I didn’t come to cause trouble, I came because I deserve to be here. Because we deserve to be here.” Olivia chipped in, her voice slightly mocking.

My eyes followed their every move, not wanting to miss a scene of this epic show.

The youngest among the trio walked to the table and grabbed a glass, poured himself a drink, and made a sarcastic toast

“To family; where love is optional, but drama is guaranteed.” He mocked, emptying the cup on the table while locking his gaze with Landon's.

Emily gasped, quickly rising to her feet as the drink slithered to her. “Aaron! Have you lost your mind?” She exclaimed. “Do you have to show yourself everywhere you go?”

“Oops,” His smirk said the direct opposite of his words.“I think I forgot my manners on the plane.”

He knew what he was doing. He was openly being a brat to Emily and that's something I wasn't comfortable seeing, but I couldn't interfere. I had no idea how deep their family feud ran or how long it had been on. I won't get tangled in between. I won't be caught up in something I don't know anything about.

His eyes flickered to me, but they moved past almost immediately as if I was of no significance to him.

“Hello, grandfather; care to explain why we shouldn't be here?” His head tilted, his tone calm yet demanding.

“What is this madness?” The old man growled, his patience diminishing by the second.

Aaron let out a laugh, but it was empty. Humourless.

“Madness? This is not madness, only a tip” He shrugged nonchalantly. He's a psychopath. He has to be.

AJ rushed in, his eyes scanning the area for potential threats. Moving near Landon, he asked in a calm but urgent tone, “President Ferguson, is everything alright?”

Landon didn't reply but you could tell he was boiling in anger. One could literally breathe in the fumes of his anger from miles away.

“Should I get the car ready?” AJ asked again as though trying to prevent a disaster from happening, his face wrinkled with worry.

“You have a right to nothing, least of all a seat at my table. If you had any dignity left, you’d walk out before I make you.” Landon’s voice dropped dangerously low, his eyes turning red. With the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest, I knew he was close to losing his s**t.

Aaron’s mocking laughter echoed through the hall, making Landon even more infuriated. “You’ve taken everything from us! The company, the money, the respect! And now you won’t even let us sit at the damn table?” He spat venomously.

Swirling around, he asked the man behind him. “Dad, did you see that?” A sad smile formed on his lips, veins popping out of his head.

He didn't wait for a response and turned to the old man, his smile vanishing at once, “You created all this mess! My parents are constantly disrespected because of how partial you are. I, despite being legitimate, your blood, yet you handed everything to this..”

“Aaron!” Old Mr Ferguson thundered, his grip on his walking stick tightening alongside his voice. I didn't need a prophet to tell me, Aaron had crossed a line he shouldn't have. He had said more than he should, and he knew the gravity of what he had done, yet there was not the slightest trace of remorse on his face.

Somehow I wanted to hear the full gist. I wanted him to complete his sentence. I wanted to know what he meant by that.

“He's not worth your time, do not bicker with him.” AJ tried to reason with Landon, sensing that things were not going to end well if he stayed even a little longer. If it continued at this rate, even the old man wouldn't be able to keep them from each other's throats for too long.

“This is why you were not invited, I knew fully well that you wouldn't miss any opportunity to embarrass me! Looking for faults where there is none!” The old man held his head in frustration, his voice a glint of regret.

“Do you hate to hear the truth that much? That no matter how hard we try we will always be second place in this family?” Aaron's father interceded; his tone was steady yet accusing.

It looked like this family had much bigger problems than I had anticipated.

“I have stayed silent for years. I have accepted every disrespect, every exclusion, for the sake of peace. But not tonight. We are Fergusons just as much as he is.” He pointed accusingly at Landon who shot him a deadly glare.

The old man's gaze dropped, softening just a bit, “That is not in question. But this dinner was not the time, Noah.” His voice was softer now.

Olivia stepped forward, folding her arms over her chest with a defiant scoff.

“Then when? When will we ever be included? You say you don’t hate us, yet we are never acknowledged.”

Sensing that the situation was getting out of control, AJ spoke again “President Ferguson…”

“Get up, we are leaving.” Landon cut him. Impatience and anger lurking in his voice.

At first, I didn't realize he was talking to me, and when I did, I mouthed an “Oh”

I sighed, coming to terms with the fact that I was getting uprooted from all this drama, just when things were starting to get more interesting. I wanted to object but I knew better than to add to the anger of an already provoked person.

Bending slightly, I tried to fix my shoe that I had removed earlier due to boredom. Only for me to raise my head and Landon had already stormed off!

My eyes met AJ’s, and he gave me a look that said, “Don't try anything funny.” I rolled my eyes, stood from my seat, and horridly followed suit. Their eyes lingered on us until we were out of sight.

Nora rushed to me, her voice laced with genuine concern. “Are you alright, my lady?”

Me? It's not like I was the one fighting, I was simply the audience, making the best out of my supposed wedding night.

“Why wouldn't I be?” I asked back. She was caught off guard by my question as she stared at me speechlessly for a moment.

“I mean, the… well, everything that has happened tonight.” She spoke again in an attempt to evoke some kind of emotion in me. But that's not me.

“It doesn't concern me.” I clarified, brushing past her, I could feel her surprised gaze piercing through the fabric of my dress.

In the garage, I tried to open the back passenger seat but the door wouldn't budge. I pulled harder with all my might.

“What do you think you're doing?” Landon's irritated voice thundered, making me flinch.

Only then did I realize I was trying to open the wrong car. A strong wave of embarrassment washed over me, my cheeks turning red instantly. But I quickly masked it, depriving him of the satisfaction of putting me in my place.

Did he have to make it a quarrel? Why was he transferring his aggression to me?

“Who even wants to ride with you?!” I spat, returning the energy.