"Rise and shine, sis!"
A boy suddenly flopped onto Elyza's stomach.
"Gah!" Elyza gasped, her eyes snapping open. "What is wrong with you, Elijah?!"
A boy with raven-black wavy hair and bright emerald eyes grinned mischievously, a finger pressed to his lips.
"Shh! Aunt Vivi's here, don't shout too much," he whispered, trying (and failing) to suppress his laughter while covering Elyza's mouth. "Mmph!"
Elijah Ross Parker, 14 years old. Elyza's younger brother and her complete opposite in both energy and personality.
"It's time, Elyza," came Viviana's calm voice as she sat up, her tone composed and regal even just waking up.
The time was 5:32 a.m.
The day of Elizabeth's grandmother, Viviana and Vincent's mother's, death anniversary.
"Get dressed," Viviana said as she rose gracefully from the bed, her movements still elegant despite the early hour.
Just as she reached for the door, her personal bodyguard opened it for her.
"Madam, Sir Vince and Sir Valentin Carsten will be arriving at exactly 6 a.m."
Viviana glanced at her bodyguard. "As usual?"
The bodyguard nodded silently.
Viviana turned to her grandniece and grandnephew. "Looks like your cousins and the rest of the relatives are coming, you little peasants."
"Vivi! It's time for breakfast!" Vincent called out as he peeked in from beside her bodyguard.
Viviana sighed. "I'm not hungry, Vin. It's way too early in the morning."
"We're going to the cemetery. Did you prepare the flowers?" Vincent asked warmly as he turned to his younger sister.
"I brought thousands, peasant! Stop looking at me like I'm beneath you!" Viviana snapped.
"Dear… Vivi… it's too early in the morning," Lilybeth said softly as she approached, already dressed in black.
Viviana gave her a quick once-over, then scoffed. "Lily, can't you at least make your dress luxurious or perfect? Such flaws… ugh. I don't even know how you were accepted into the Carsten family."
"Enough, Vivi. It's too early for this," Vincent said in a deeper, more commanding tone. Despite his usual dog-like playfulness, he now looked serious.
"Grandpa… Grandma? What are you all doing here at my doorstep?" Elyza raised an eyebrow, clearly bewildered.
Viviana let out a tired sigh.
"We're going to the party with my cousins!" Elijah shouted excitedly.
Elyza smacked him on the back. "Ow! Elyza!" he yelped, turning to her. But Elyza looked furious, a dark aura radiating around her.
"Uh… you know what? Where's Uncle Vincenzo?" Elijah quickly changed the subject.
Vincent perked up. "He's playing basketball with your dad," he replied with a shrug.
The four of them stood outside Elyza's bedroom door. Without another word, Elyza slipped past them through the narrow space.
"I'm playing with them," she muttered as she walked away.
"Wait! Elyza!" Elijah called after her.
"Kids these days, such brats," Viviana muttered.
Vincent frowned. "Hey, they're my grandchildren."
Viviana rolled her eyes and brushed past both Vincent and Lilybeth. Her bodyguard silently followed behind. Lilybeth sighed, watching her with a worried expression.
Meanwhile, Viviana made her way downstairs to the dining room. The servants, along with Elizabeth, her niece and the eldest daughter of Vincent and Lilybeth, were already setting the table.
It was exactly 6:00 a.m., and as if on cue, several cars pulled up in front of Vincent and Lilybeth's house.
"I guess it's those peasants again," Viviana muttered as she was the first to take a seat at the dining table.
"Mom!" Elijah ran down the stairs and hugged Elizabeth tightly.
"Good morning, honey," Elizabeth said with a warm smile as Elijah grinned up at her.
"Such a mama's boy," Viviana muttered under her breath.
Just then, the servants opened the front door to welcome the arriving guests. It was the two additional "peasants" or rather, Viviana's two brothers and their families. Vince Carsten, the second eldest brother, and Valentin Carsten, the youngest.
Vince was the first to enter, dressed sharply in a black suit, his expression as stern as ever.
Vincent greeted him with open arms. "Ah! My little brother Vince! How are you?" he said joyfully, pulling him into a hug, while Lilybeth moved to greet the other guests.
Viviana, meanwhile, continued eating her breakfast, unbothered.
Vince returned the hug with a small smile. "I'm doing fine."
He glanced toward the dining table. "Looks like Viviana's the first to arrive again."
Vincent chuckled. "Yes, she showed up last night. I visited her office, and although she didn't exactly welcome me, I managed to convince her. So, she stayed the night."
Vince nodded thoughtfully. "I see…"
"Wow, I'm back again."
A voice came from behind Vince. A grey-haired woman stepped forward, her dark brown eyes glinting with sarcasm.
"And shocker," she added with a smirk, "it's almost impressive how everything still feels... utterly stagnant."
It was Lillian Carsten, Vince's wife and the mother of three. She was around Viviana's age, and the two were often mistaken for sisters given their similar biting tongues and elegant airs.
She glanced at Lilybeth and scoffed.
"Oh wow, that's..." she looked Lilybeth up and down, pausing, "bold. I mean, I admire the confidence, really."
Then, with a mocking sweetness, she added, "Not everyone's brave enough to completely ignore the concept of age-appropriate fashion."
Viviana smirked in amusement. "I like your tone, girl."
Lillian grinned and replied, "Same here."
Without another word, she made her way to the dining table and sat beside Viviana.
"Gross. To think they serve this kind of stuff here." She waved her hand dismissively. "Servant! I want tea."
She looked directly at Elizabeth, who was clearly not a servant, but who was often treated like one by Viviana and Lillian alike.
Viviana smiled with mock pride. "Don't worry, it's edible," she said sarcastically. "At least."
Lillian let out a smug chuckle.
Just then, a man in his early thirties entered the room. He wore glasses and the same formal black suit as his father. A woman walked beside him, elegant and poised.
"Mother, don't you think you're being too much?" he asked, striding confidently toward Lillian.
It was Giovanni Carsten, Vince and Lillian's eldest child, who had spoken. With his sleek glasses, tailored black suit, and a calm yet assertive demeanor, he carried himself like a true heir. Beside him stood his graceful wife, Dhavni, her elegant dress matching his poise. Trailing behind them were their two young children: Raphael and Marina, both wide-eyed and innocent, still untouched by the biting sarcasm and elitism of their family's inner circle.
Raphael, who look like his father, with thick black glassses but with a cute hairstyle, clutched a book in one hand while Marina held onto Dhavni's fingers, her soft curls bouncing as she walked. They looked around curiously, oblivious to the tension simmering in the room.
Suddenly, the door swung open again as another group of people arrived.
"Viviana! How are you?" came a cheerful voice.
An old man in his mid 50s rushed forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Viviana's neck from behind.
"Get your hands off me!" Viviana shrieked, trying to pry him off.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" The man backed off with a sheepish smile.
It was Valentin Carsten, the youngest of the main four Carsten siblings. He beamed as if nothing had happened.
"I just missed you so much, Viviana!" he said cheerfully, his eyes sparkling with genuine affection.
Viviana shot him a look of pure disgust.
"Miss me? Please. Spare me your sentimental theatrics."
But Valentin only laughed, unfazed. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"
Viviana crossed her arms. "And you're still as annoying as ever."
"We meet twice a year, idiot, every time for Mom and Dad's death anniversaries," Viviana scoffed coldly.
Valentin, unfazed, plopped down into the seat on her other side. "An untamed puppy, huh?" Lillian smirked, sipping her tea with an air of superiority.
Meanwhile, Vincent and Vince were deep in conversation in the living room. Their laughter was muffled by the soft clinks of porcelain as Elizabeth quietly served the tea Lillian had arrogantly ordered, treating her like a servant, as usual.
Then, the front door creaked open again.
Three people entered, sweaty and slightly breathless. It was Elizabeth's husband, Derick Parker, their daughter Elyza, and her younger brother Vincenzo. The latter was holding a basketball and gripping Elyza's arm, still catching his breath. His hair was tied up messily, sweat trailing down his temple.
As soon as Vincenzo saw the gathering of guests, his eyes widened. Without saying a word, he darted toward the stairs. "I'm going to change!" he called, disappearing from view.
"Derick, Elyza, go wash up," Elizabeth said firmly, eyeing the sweat stains. "Our relatives are already here."
The three of them had just come from their private basketball court out back, clearly unaware that the rest of the Carsten clan had begun to arrive.
"Ugh... stink," Viviana muttered under her breath, wrinkling her nose in disdain.
Meanwhile, two more guests arrived, just a little late.
It was Vince's remaining children.
Camilla Carsten, now Camilla Anderson, entered first, holding the hands of her four-year-old triplets. Her husband, Alessandro, walked beside her, carrying their only daughter. Camilla sighed, adjusting her grip on one of the boys. "I almost forgot today was Grandmother's death anniversary."
Trailing just behind her was the youngest of the Carsten siblings. A woman with round glasses, honey-brown hair, and observant dark brown eyes gave her sister a look.
"Didn't I remind you yesterday?" she asked, raising a brow.
"You did," Camilla muttered, "but raising triplets while juggling therapy sessions isn't exactly a walk in the park, Cressida."
Cressida Carsten, the youngest child of Vince and Lillian, simply nodded. She was known as the smartest of the three, taking after their father in both intellect and stoicism. Though she currently worked as a game designer, the Carsten family had bigger plans for her. Talks were already circulating about grooming her as Viviana's successor, the future Chairwoman of Carsten Electronics.
"Hey, Auntie, should we go clubbing like last time?" Dhavni, Giovanni's wife, grinned at Viviana as she took a seat beside Lillian. "It's my treat this time, double Vs in VIP."
A sharp silence followed as Viviana's expression twisted in disgust.
"Hey! Do you think this is the time to talk about clubbing?!" she snapped. "It's my mother's death anniversary, you f*ing idiot!"
The room fell completely still. Conversations died, forks were set down, and everyone looked toward Viviana, startled, awkward, and tense.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. Valentin instinctively reached out to take her hand for comfort, but hesitated midway, pulling back. It wasn't the right time, not with that glare still on her face.
Vincent stepped away from the living room and approached the dining table, his tone curious but calm. "What's going on here?"
"She disrespected Mother's death anniversary," Viviana said coldly, clenching her fists.
Vincent's expression shifted, his usual warmth replaced by a grim seriousness.
"She said she wants to go clubbing, on this day," Viviana continued, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "She's never known her place since marrying into the Carsten family."
Everyone in the house fell utterly silent.
The atmosphere shifted, sharp, cold, and suffocating. All eyes turned toward Dhavni as the four main Carsten siblings, Vincent, Vince, Viviana, and Valentin, stared at her with heavy, oppressive silence. Vince, her father-in-law, didn't say a word, but the piercing glare in his eyes felt like an arrow aimed straight into hers.
No one dared speak. Not the children, who shrank in their seats, nor the servants and cooks, who stood frozen in place. The tension was too thick to cut.
Dhavni trembled under the weight of their gazes. She slowly turned to her husband, Giovanni Carsten, her eyes pleading for support. But Giovanni looked away, his silence louder than words.
Her throat tightened. She swallowed hard. The aura from the Carsten siblings was like a wall pressing down on her, unrelenting, merciless, and deliberate.
To be continued...