Chapter 33 Consoling Nia
AUTHOR’S POV
“I can’t believe she has such a huge amount of money to her name!” Caleb gasped when his mother and sister narrated their visit to Nia.
Stephanie slurped on the juice she was drinking. “You need to have seen her face. Now that I think of it, I should have made her send all the money. She is still as dumb as she was before. I am thankful that none of my children is as pathetic as her.”
“We got her good.” Mindy cackled.
Kingston walked down the stairs with furrowed brows. He had no intention to listen in on their conversation, but they were a bit loud. Kingston heard them mention Nia and some money collection. That had gotten him curious, and he thought to check.
“what’s going on?”
“Oh, Mum and Mindy got eight thousand bucks from Nia,” Caleb yelled, not taking note of the signal his mother was sending to him to keep quiet. “That girl is nothing short of a money-making machine. At this rate, our family will lack nothing.”
His lashes fluttered as he looked around the room. Kingston cleared his throat, walking towards his mother. “What’s Caleb talking about mum? Why are you taking money from Nia? Does she owe you?”
Stephanie snapped, “Of course, she has lived over a decade under my roof. I deserve a cut of her monthly dues for the rest of her life. That doesn’t even count for all your father, and I had to go through looking after her.”
Kingston hissed loudly, his eyes darting around the room in frustration. “How can you boldly admit to such nonsense?”
“Cut the crap, Kingston! You won’t talk to our mother like that.” Caleb warned.
“You will keep that trash of a mouth shut and maintain your distance.” His brother retorted. “You are all so shameless, and I feel disappointed that I am from this family. For someone that you denied, sold, and assaulted emotionally and physically. How dare you lay claim to her hard work? Do you not have any conscience? Where is the humane side of you?”
“Luckily, we are werewolves.” Mindy snort.
Kingston cut her a stern glare that made her keep quiet.
“Enough!” Stephanie bellowed. “You are still very much under my roof, young man. Don’t you raise your voice at me! And there will be no conflict in this house, especially not because of something as worthless as Nia.”
He was sniffing with disappointment written all over his face. Kingston hummed in response. “It’s a waste of time making you see reason. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He said, making his way out of the house.
“Kingston!” His mother yelled after him. But he didn’t respond.
Wiping the lone tear that rolled down his face, Kingston broke into a run. When it felt like his chest would burst open and pour out his intestines, he flagged down a taxi to take him to the packhouse.
Nia was still curled up on the floor when he arrived at the house.
“Hey.” He muttered in a whisper, taking her into his arms. Guilt tore at his every vein. He would never understand his family for possessing evil thoughts like that. Many times, Kingston hopes his parents will become reasonable and act right towards Nia or anyone below them at that. But rather than get better, their actions seem to be more heartbreaking.
“I’m so sorry, Nia.” He whispered in her ear. “You never should have allowed them in. You can’t keep letting this happen.”
Nia hiccuped, releasing herself from his grip. “It’s fine. There is no need to cry over spilled milk now. Did you come all the way here because of that?”
“Of course, I had to come. My family was gloating about stealing from you, and I just knew you wouldn’t be yourself. Have you been crying?”
She shrugged, “I did it first, but the tears dried up quickly. My wolf wasn’t having it. Well, crying makes me appear very pathetic.”
“You are not pathetic, Nia. It’s sad to say this, but my family are the pathetic ones for preying on you. I promise to get your money back.”
“Please, Kingston. There is no need for you to do that. I don’t have any use for the money right now.”
“But you worked for it.”
“It’s still fine. I can always earn it back.”
“You know they will come again.”
At the reminder of her woes not ending soon, Nia inhaled sharply, feeling the air burn her throat. She knows nothing will prepare her for their next visit. Staring down at her fingers, she bites down on her lips. “I don’t know what to do, Kingston. I am so scared of them that I lose my voice in their midst. I can’t tell how long this would continue. It frustrates me.”
Taking her hand in his, Kingston caressed her jaw with his thumb. “Listen, pumpkin. You don’t owe them anything. You can’t keep letting them get at you every time. People love to mess with individuals who can’t stand their ground when cheated. They took you in, yes. But that doesn’t give them any right to treat you this way. Don’t forget they sold you out. I am so livid right now, and I am using part of the proceeds from the money they got; I feel guilty. I don’t deserve to be in your presence either. Forgive our rudeness, please.”
A weak smile spread on her lips, “please don’t beat yourself up. You can’t keep blaming yourself for something ordained by fate. If they hadn’t sold me to the Alpha, they definitely would have done something worse, and I probably wouldn’t be here living freely now. I feel like I owe them, so it’s okay that they took the money. Their shove did me a good thing. So it’s all good.”
He chuckled lightly, “How are you always so positive in the worst situations?”
“It’s the right way to live, isn’t it?” She grinned.
He ruffled her hair, helping her into the couch. She winced in pain. “How long have you been sitting on the ground?”
Nia shrugged, “can’t say, maybe close to two hours.”
“You are unbelievable.”This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
“I just couldn’t move even if I wanted to. So I had to let my body be.”
“Alright, would you like some ice cream?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“An hour away won’t hurt. Let’s go get this negative mood off.” He winked.
“Let me get changed then,” Nia replied, limping towards her room.
Kingston stared lovingly at her receding. He hopes that, for the goddess’s sake, his family won’t ruin his future chances with Nia. He might never be able to forgive them.