“I forbid you ever going back to that woman!”
Cheryl stood by the bed beside Ebeneezer who looked just as angry and sick as a seventy five year old bed ridden man could be. She had her hands planted on wither side of her waist, legs spread slightly apart as both she and her father in law kept their eyes on Jeremy who stood at the foot of the bed, frustration evident in his eyes.
“I got married to Cheryl as per your wishes!” Jeremy yelled back. “Look! She is right there beside you, I have done my part, done as you have asked, and now I want to do what I want to do!”
“You are my son!” Ebeneezer fisted his palm and punched the bed with it as he spoke, his voice boomed across the room. “And you will do as you are being told!”
“This ends here and now! This… power you think you have over me, it’s over!” Jeremy yelled back. “I only got married to Cheryl because of your threats to Donna’s life!”
“And if given the opportunity I would do exactly what I had done!” You cannot and will not get together with someone who is not like us!”
“Not like us?!” this frustrated Jeremy. “And what is so wrong about her being different?! Cheryl is just like us but of what importance has she been to us? To you?!”
“Cheryl is a Declan-”
“Of what value is a Declan compared to a Xiu?” he yelled pointing his hands towards Cheryl who had been wise to remain quiet all through the father and son banter, even though many of the things Jeremy said were targeted at her and hurtful. “And I honestly don’t know why you are defending Cheryl, when she is the reason you cannot stand up from that bed on your own! She is the reason you do not have a wife anymore and the reason I don’t have a mother!”
As he spoke he felt the pain pricking into his heart, causing the tears to sting in his eyes as he remembered his mother, she was the only one in this family had actually truly look out for him. He fixed his eyes on Cheryl as they burned with the rawest of anger, his chest heaved up and down and he felt the instant need to just rush over to where she stood and rip her to shreds.
Ever since she entered his life nothing had gone right, he had lost two women he loved dearly, he had lost his humanity and his sanity, his peace, everything he had lost, ever since she stepped into their lives. He brought his attention back to his father who still maintained the frown on his face.
“She represents everything that has gone wrong in this family but yet you defend her so passionately, and with everything! She cannot give you the heir you so desperately wish for, you know this well, you know this!”
Ebenezer lowered his gaze and looked away from his son. He knew that everything he said was true, Cheryl was to blame for his current condition and for him being a widower, but…
But what? Why was he still defending her? Because she was a vampire that’s why, and the other woman Jeremy wanted to bring was just a human. A mere human who could not add status to the family.
“Cheryl is the wife for you.” he said, his voice relatively calm.
“What is wrong with you?!” Jeremy asked his father feeling extremely frustrated. “Are you under a spell? Donna is the woman I want-”
“If you chose to be stubborn and go ahead to have anything to do with that woman, then you can kiss your current position as CEO of The Aviary goodbye!” Ebeneezer yelled out to his son, the veins in his head popped out as he began to cough and wheeze.
Cheryl moved instantly to pass him the napkins and the glass of water which rested on the bedside table behind her.
“Is that supposed to be a threat?” Jeremy asked, the frown on his face fading into a smile. He had his right hand planted on his waist as he watched his father like he had just said a dry joke.
“Don’t think I won’t do it.”
Jeremy scoffed and chuckled. “There are limits to things you can and cannot do now dad, and what you just said it one of the things you absolutely cannot do.”
“Jeremy-”
“You no longer hold any rights to The Aviary.”
“What do you mean by that?!” Ebeneezer demanded and tried to lean forward but the pain that shot into hos back forced him to lean back against the pillow that was helping him sit up. “I am the chairman of The Aviary!”
“Were.” Jeremy corrected his father, lifting a finger in the air as he paced the foot of the bed. “You once were the chairman of The Aviary but not anymore.”
Ebeneezer chuckled. “And what kind of a sick joke is that?”
“You may not remember signing it to me but every member of the board is aware of the change of ownership.”
The smile on Ebeneezer’s face quickly faded and a frown formed on his eyebrows. “That is not possible, my lawyer would have informed me.”
“Yes, he would have but try to guess why he didn’t.” Jeremy said with a sinister smile which he knew his father would understand. “Everything I do, I learnt from you dad, you shouldn’t be all that surprised really. After all you raised me.”
Ebeneezer watched his son with his eyes wide, in shock and unbelief, but he had every reason not to doubt Jeremy, he knew his son was capable but he had never thought he would be cheated out of his own company.
“You can come to the company to find out things by your self… oh right, you can’t.” Jeremy stepped closer to the bed and placed both hands on the wooden frame that lined the foot of the bed, fixing his eyes on his father’s. “You can’t even get up, and you know why?” his eyes moved from his father to Cheryl who frowned at him and stepped away from the bed, feeling awkward as Jeremy made her look bad in front of Ebeneezer.