Chapter 3 Mocking her stepmother

"WHERE did she go?" Chrismith asked his friends as he looked around. He just returned to the stage, he suddenly left earlier because his mother was calling.

"She already left, Bro." Larry answered.

Chris felt disappointment. He did not have a chance to at least approach the woman. Although he could not see her face clearly, he knew she was sad and he wanted to comfort her more.

"That song you sang, looks like she liked it." Larry said with a wink at his friend who seemed to be spellbound, as well, by their certain regular costumer. Among them, he was the one who always dares to approach and talk to the lady. He asks her what song she wants them to sing.

Chrismith tapped Larry's shoulder in response. He signaled to start playing the next one he was going to sing. He did not stay for long, though, because he suddenly loses his appetite to perform.

Don Alfonso was surprised to see his youngest daughter in the kitchen with her work attire. It has been a long time since he last saw her eat breakfast. "Are you going to work already?"

Nica just nodded in response. She hastily turned away her face from him as he stared into her eyes. She wants to maintain showing them a poker face.

"Perhaps she wanted to make up for messing around, so she thought of waking up early." Margarita's sarcastic comment to Nica while preparing food for her own child.

Don Alfonso just sighed at Margarita's imputation. Nica just sniggered and resumed eating. She is already accustomed to her contempt for her ability.

"Stop wasting your time, my daughter had fix the fiasco you made." Margarita continued to vaunt.

"Mom." Janice warned her mother, she just entered the kitchen and she heard her.

"I'm just stating the truth. You will be meeting Chris today, right? All you have to do is to accept his proposal. I and your father are not against it, you know. Apart from giving you a good life, it will also help the company to grow." Margaret bragged.

Nica smirked while looking at her stepmother. Back then, she could make her cry and hurt. Who would have thought that a bitch in the eyes of all had experienced the cruelty of her stepmother in the past? Even her father looks at her like everybody else does. She would be backfired every time she would tell her father what happened.

She only learned to fight when she found out that she had a large share in the company. She used it so that her stepmother could no longer hurt her. She does not care if she has a horn in the sight of her father and even if only his wife and her daughter are loved here. Though her half-sister was kind and was always telling her mother to stop doing cruel things to her, she still holds a grudge against her. She thinks her ‘kindness’ is just fake. She could not even tell their father the truth, nor did she defend her from her mother.

That day when Janice did not defend her from their father was still fresh in Nica's memory.

"YOU can ask Janice, she witnessed your wife hurting me." Nica Joy complained to her father -

eight yers ago.

"Tell him!" She dictated Janice, but the latter's mouth remained unopened.

"Stop it, Nica!" Her father's voice echoed in the four corners of her room which startled her. "Enough making up a story to discredit your second mother to me. Accept them into this household if you don't want me to get mad at you!"

Nica's heart nearly got crushed that day. At an early age, she learned to keep resentment towards her father to herself. She also distanced herself from her half-sister. Whenever her father is not in the country, she would always hang out just to not be in the same roof with her stepmother. She considered saving her allowance back then to have expenses when she went out. She has many friends, but none can be considered real and trustworthy in her dark world.

Her resentment towards her father has increased since her mother died. He never see anything right in what she is doing in life because he believes in the slanderous accusations of his second wife.

"ARE you okay?" Alfonso tried to grab the attention of his gazing-at-nowhere daughter. Her

fork was just playing with the ham on the plate. He wanted to speak more when he noticed the sadness in her eyes when she glanced at him.

"I'm done!" Nica stand up quickly and walk away from her father. She just raised an eyebrow at Janice when she greeted her. But before she could pass her by, she uttered sharp words.

"Just be a good girl, Kitten. Do what your mother says like always."

"Don't you insult my daughter!" Margaret angrily warned Nica after she called her child a kitten again.

"Doesn't it suit her?" Nica laughed and continue with what she wanted to say even though Alfonso rebuked her. "What did you say before?"

"Nica, please…" Janice wanted to stop her half-sister from making another issue.

Nica imitated her stepmother's soft voice talking to Janice, eight years ago. "Good girl, Baby! Be kind to her, but don't side with her in front of your father."

"You're still the same as when you're a youngster. You're still immature and someone who loves to make up a story!" Margaret blushed with anger and was insulted when her stepdaughter laughed.

"Nica Joy!" Alfonso had raised his voice to stop her daughter already from mocking his wife.

Nica ignored her father, she was more inclined to picking on her stepmother. "By the way, the man you dream of being your son-in-law seems more suited to me."

"You wouldn't like snatching him away from my daughter!" Margaret yelled at Nica.

"Yes, 'cause I would love to." Nica laughed out loud at the evidence of her stepmother's irritation, her face. "You look terrible!"

Margaret violently exhaled the air that clogged her chest and she threw a glare at Nica. "You really did inherit your mother's roguery! You both have the tendency to snatch something that's not supposed to be yours in the first place."

"Margaret, enough." He now rebuked his wife when he saw the madness in his youngest daughter's eyes.

Nica was furious when her stepmother insulted her deceased mother. But she tried to calm herself down so as not to become a criminal in front of his father.

"And what do you think of yourself?" She asked the stepmother sarcastically.

"Nica, I'm begging you to please stop!" Janice said, but her sister just glared at her.

"If my Mommy and I are stealers, you and your bitch, on the other hand, are outsiders and yet, thick-faced!" Nica shouted back at Margaret.

"Nica Joy!" Alfonso faced Nica.

"Don't you dare, Dad," she preceded her father before he was able to land a palm of his on her smooth face. Her voice trembled with anger. "I hate you!"

Alfonso rubbed his own chest when it suddenly tightened due to mixed emotions.

"Dad, calm down!" Janice quickly support her father, she was very worried. Her half-sister just turned around and left them.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I know this is my fault. If only I did not fight back the arrogance of your daughter," she anxiously held her husband's arm.

"I'm okay." Alfonso raised one hand and slowly sat down on the chair. It was for the first time that he saw such anger on his daughter's face and she was even able to turn her back on him even though she saw his chest tightened.

Nica drove her car quickly. She laughed hoarsely when she realized she is not shedding tears. She felt proud because it seemed like there is no tears left in her eyes. If anyone else sees her now, they would think that she had lost her mind.

"HI!" Janice shyly greeted Chrismith, she is a couple of minutes late.

"Have a seat," Chris pulled a chair for the young lady. "Don't worry, you just come on time."

"Thank you! I'm really sorry, I had to calm Dad down before I leave."

"Why?" He asked her with concern. He knew Janice's father because he was a friend of his dad.

"His blood pressure almost went up due to being angry with my sister." She replied to him with sadness.

Chrismith just listened silently to Janice's outburst of resentment for her sister. Every time they talk, she inevitably opens up a topic about

her sister. He believed that the woman was careless and heartless. Janice and he are good friends and he admits that he admires her skill and talent. He was even more impressed with her when she showed off her own hand-made dress designs.

"Did you know why she rejected your Daddy?"

Chris shook his head in response to Janice's question.

"It was because of her grudge against me, she thought you were my boyfriend." Janice's cheeks slightly blush because of the wrong idea of her sister. But she secretly prays for it to become true.

"Childish." He chuckled, referring to the sister of Janice.

"It was also because of you that she had a fight with Daddy a while ago."

Chrismith raised his two eyebrows because of the discovery. He was suddenly curious why he was often the source of their family's quarrel. But he senses something different as time went on so he immediately diverted the conversation.

"Sorry for that. By the way, I saw the designs you made. Impressive and I decided not to revoke your company's first proposal."

Though disappointed at the sudden change of topic, Janice was happy. She was unable to refrain herself from hugging him, instead of accepting his outstretched palm in front of her for a handshake.

Chrismith just smiled and hug her back.

Nica smirked when she saw the sweetness of the two from the outside. She looked intently at the face of the man with her sister. She finds him more handsome in personal than in a picture