Now I let out a cold laugh.
"Benjamin, your family was the one going bankrupt. You begged for this marriage to save your company, and now you look down on me? Biting the hand that feeds you. What an ugly way to behave."
Benjamin's face twisted, ugly and cornered. He glared at me, resentful, but not a single word of protest came out.
Half an hour later, Fern came downstairs dragging a suitcase behind her.
Just then my brother, Lionel, walked in. The moment he saw the suitcase in Fern's hand, his brow furrowed.
"Fern, what are you doing?"
Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she forced out a small smile, the kind that made your chest ache just to look at.
"Lionel, I've imposed on you all these days. Pamela doesn't like me, so I'm going to move out."
His expression darkened. He snatched the suitcase from her hand.
"You're a girl who just turned eighteen, and your family isn't even here. Where would you move to?"
Fern pressed her lips together.
"It's fine. I can stay overnight at one of those twenty-four-hour stores by the road. It'll be okay once I find a job."
His heart clearly broke for her.
"Fern, you'll stay right here. There's no need to move out."
Then Lionel walked over to me, his voice rising in fury.
"Pamela, when did you turn into such a spoiled, willful brat? You know full well Fern has no one to lean on here, and you still force her out, leaving her to wander the streets. How can your heart be so vicious?"
I was shaking all over with anger. No wonder Fern had agreed to leave earlier. She'd been counting on Lionel coming home.
I fixed a cold stare on her.
"Fern was the one who offered to leave. And I pay her five thousand a month. How could she possibly end up on the streets? If it really comes to that, I'll buy her a plane ticket home myself."
Panic flashed plainly across Fern's face. Then, all at once, she dropped to her knees in front of me.
"Pamela, please, I'm begging you, don't force me to go home. Once I go back, my parents will never let me leave again. They'll make me marry some old bachelor so they can get the dowry to buy my brother a bride. My whole life would be ruined."
I hurried back a few steps. I'd barely opened my mouth to speak when Lionel raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
For an instant, my cheek burned, raw and stinging.
He roared at me.
"Pamela, Mom and Dad really did spoil you rotten. That's why you've turned so vicious you'd force someone to their knees. Have you got any conscience left at all?"
I was livid. I shoved him back.
"I never forced Fern to kneel."
A flicker of provocation crossed her eyes as she looked at me.
"Lionel, don't blame Pamela. Any wrong here is all my fault."
He helped her up, his face full of tenderness.
"Fern, you're just too kind. That's why people trample on you."
Then he turned that cold stare back on me.
"Pamela, starting today, you'll spend two weeks up in the attic reflecting on what you've done. Learn to rein in that arrogant, overbearing streak of yours."
I refused to back down and glared at him.
"I did nothing wrong. Why should I be punished?"
He looked at me, cold.
"Pamela, so you really won't see reason."
Then he waved Benjamin forward.
"Lock her in the attic. Let her sit with her mistakes."
I fought them with everything I had, but I couldn't match the strength of two grown men. In the end they dumped me on the attic floor.
Fern stood there holding my laptop, and her voice dripped with smug delight.
"Don't you worry, Pamela. I'll be sure to file your college applications for you, nice and proper. You just stay up here, reflect, and rest your body and soul."
Frantic, I lunged to snatch the laptop back, but Lionel kicked me to the ground. My head cracked against the floor, and everything spun.
