Chapter 58
Asher’s POV
“Hello, Mr. Sterling you have a guest on her way to your office, tried to stop her but…” I was holding the telephone to my ear, and when I looked up,
saw Janine at the entrance.
Isighed. “Don’t worry, Stacy. The erratic quest barging through protocols is my baby sister, Janine,” I said it out loud so she could hear
She was furing when she marched in, noiselessly pulled out a chair, and sat on it.
“Oh, my God! Mr. Sterling. I’m so sorry”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Stacy. You were doing your job. Thank you very much,” I said, ending the call
“Jay, what’s the problem?” Tasked.
She was visibly fuming. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her mouth was set in a pout. She didn’t respond.
I sighed. Of course, that was how it always was with her. She always needed to be petted and liked attention. I got to my feet, went to her, crouched low in front of her, and smoothed her hair away from her face. “What is it, baby sister Who hurt you? if it’s a guy, I’m going to break his head open…”
“If I see Marcus, I swear I’m going to kill him and feed his carcass to vultures!” she swore.
Ichuckled. “Well, that makes two of us. You’re going to let me kill him first because I’ve earned that right to. First of all, I’ve been unfortunate to spend the longest time with him, and I have a longer score to settle with him. So, what did he do to you?” Lasked.
“I called him to inform him I was back in town like you said I should, and he called Mom and Dad the next moment. I had clearly warned him not to
That was typical Marcus. He was always the pleaser. He never got tired of seeking validation from everyone around him. “You know you had to tell them at some point, they were going to find out…”
She groaned and reclined on her chair. “Yes, of course, I know, but I wasn’t ready yet. Ineeded time. I was barely settled in my new apartment. I was just…” She exhaled.
I took her hand in mine.” understand, Jay” My parents were a handful to deal with. Her being out of town for a long time didn’t make it easier. “What did they say?”
“Dad’s secretary sent me a text that I had a dinner appointment with him and Mom by Friday this week, 8 p.m. prompt,” she dryly chuckled. “You’d think Mom would text me to tell me she wants to meet up with me as soon as possible, you know? Show more excitement that I’m back. We haven’t seen each other for years, not one call from her…
Isighed as I sat up on the desk. “We are a dysfunctional family, aren’t we?”
She smiled sadly.
“Hey, cheer up. I think it would go great…..”
She shook her head. “You don’t mean that.”
Inodded. “I do. Well, considering how my conversations with them usually go, I don’t think it can get any worse than
“How has it been for you since left?”
I exhaled. I had a lot to say, but I wasn’t ready to dive into it yet. This wasn’t about me. It was about my sister, and I didn’t need her to veer off–topic.
“What are you scared of, Janine?” I asked,
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Chapter 58
She gave me a look, telling me she noticed that I had expertly dodged her question. She tucked her hair behind her ear and dider‘ answer imm sat there patiently, giving her time to collect her thoughts.
“Dad is going to wear his look of disapproval on his face with no remorse whatsoever, Mom is going to sit there docile as ever, barely contributing a word, She’s going to act like she’s in a hostage situation, and Dad is threatening her with something, and she can’t open up about it.”
I smiled despite the mood. That truly summed up my parents. That was who they were.
“And then Dad is going to yap about what a terrible choice made by going out of the country and doing things that didn’t matter…”
“But they wore things that made you happy, weren’t they?” I asked, “I don’t know if I have ever told you before, Janine, but I’m so proud of you. You’re the bravest amongst us. You broke free, carved your path, and went into the world to do what you wanted. You tried out different things art, music, fashion, acting, modeling. You became a brand–all of that on your own.”
Her lips slowly curled into a smile as tears welled up in her eyes.
“You sought different ways to express yourself, all healthy ways, if I may add. Me, not so much,” added
She chuckled.
“All of this, you did on your own without the help of Father, or Mother, or the family name. You worked hard to get all those degrees. You poured yourself into your work. You were the only one of us who was able to look Father in the eye and tell him to go fuck himself with all of his dreams he projected on
you…
She burst into a short laugh.
“I and Marcus weren’t so brave, not like you were, at least. Marcus is a fine young man, an excellent businessman, and yet he’s still hiding in the shadows of Father and constantly seeking his validation because that is where Father told him he belonged, that is the path Father laid out for him…“I paused, and then there was you. “Sterling heiress, you had a spot in Father’s business, evidence to show he was a modern man, giving all his children equal rights, and then you said, fuck it, left the country, and went on to do your thing.”
“And what about you?” she asked. “What path did you follow?”
I gave her a long look. “Being the second son, I didn’t really have a role to play…
Thesitated for a moment I was never one to open up about my feelings. I hated it.
I think she saw the hesitation in my eyes because she took my hand in hers. “Don’t hold back, Ash, please”
My jaw hardened. “Marcus was perfect, there was no need for me…
She tugged at my hand. “Don’t say that
..hels
I smiled sadly. “But it is true. There was never really anything for me to do, no clear path like Marcus had. Everyone’s attention was on him. He was… the perfect child. I had to do something to get even the tiniest crumb of attention. And so, I had to be the complete opposite of Marcus. I couldn’t be better than him, so there had to be another way…”
She rubbed soothing circles onto the back of my hand
“And so I spiraled out of control I’m still desperate for Father’s approval, and so I took up Sterling Winery…I trailed of “Not you, not you, my baby sister. You did pretty good, and so you’re going to go to that boring dinner meeting, and you’re not going to let whatever they say to you get to you! because it doesn’t matter.” I cupped her cheeks. “You’re a bright star, Janine”
Chapter 59
