“Oh?” Zachariah answered, generally surprised. “She isn’t sunburned on her face.”
I looked at him, begging with my eyes to drop it. I didn’t want to explain why I had on a jacket, least of all here in front of his parents.
“She tends to forget that sitting only in partial shade still gets her sunburned,” father was quick to reply.
“Hmm,” Zachariah said, still not believing my father. “Is that true, Avidya?”
Why was I trying to hide what my father was capable of? I wasn’t sure why, as he didn’t deserve it.
He glanced at me across the table, watching as I ducked my head. I hated to lie, but yet I still mumbled out a ‘yes’, knowing that I would get worse punishment at home if I said anything different.
“I have some wonderful sunburn cream upstairs, if the burn hurts,” Julia smoke up.
I glanced up at her, freezing for a moment before nodding my head. My heart sank at her look. She knew. Knew that I was hiding more than just a sunburn. I could feel Zachariah's eyes burn into me.
After that, my parents attempted to keep talk to safe topics. Although, that didn’t do well as we began to eat. A maid set the food on the table – seasoned chicken, peas, and mash potatoes. There was more than enough food here to feed a feast of people.
As I took the first few bites, I couldn’t help but want the recipe. It was divine with a mixture of seasons that made it just perfect.
“Wonderful food,” father said between bites. “Maybe you can give my wife the recipe.”
“Maybe one day,” Julia responded politely.
“That would be a ‘no’ put nicely,” Carlos said. “It’s a family recipe, and that is where it will stay.”
“It’s only a recipe,” father muttered.
“We have given you more than enoughthingsthrough the years,” Carlos said, setting down his fork next to the plate.
“He’s sorry for asking,” I spoke up quickly, surprising myself. As I met Zachariah’s look from across the table, I couldn’t help but speak up more. “He’s not used to being told no.”
“No, he certainly isn’t,” Carlos replied towards me. “Never has been. Even when he tried to worm his way into my business.”
“I’m a man of God,” father spoke up, like it explained everything. “You need to be put on the right path.”
“And you don’t?” I spoke up, turning my attention towards him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zachariah sit up straighter, watching and listening intently. Hadn’t I told my mouth to behave?
“Of course not. I know my path, unlike some people,” father said, glaring at me as he moved his hands under the table. “I am not a sinner.”
“So you didn’t steal me when I was younger, right?” I asked, not able to contain my thoughts as they flowed from my mouth.
“That is not your concern, least of here,” father replied, his voice turning deadly cold.
“But it is my concern, don’t you see that?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “I mean, if I am to marry a man you set me up with, I have the right to know who my real parents are.”
“I have given you a house to live in,” father spoke just as he laid his hand over my bruised arm and applying just enough pressure to make me grimace in pain.
“Actually, I gave you that house,” Carlos spoke up, his voice demanding everyone’s attention. “I can certainly take it away just as fast. Now, everyone here knows that Avidya is not yours.”
“Take your hand off her,” Zachariah said as my father squeezed just a bit tighter at the head of the household’s words. “Now.”
“I believe we are finished here. Come, Avidya,” father spoke, pulling me to my feet.
Within seconds, a gun was cocked and pointed at my father from across the room while my mom gasped, shocked.
Everyone froze. My heart began to beat fast with each passing second as fear took over.
