Bear | ✔

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"For the fourth time, Leila, I'm asking you: what happened back there?" Samar asked a little bit harshly as the waitress came over and placed a bowl of chicken salad in front of her, then proceeded to serve her parents' plates in place. Samar thanked her cheerfully, then sat back down on the seat across from her, next to her husband.

Leila didn't reply, but instead she picked up her silver fork from on top of the red table cloth and began to chuck chicken breasts into her mouth. She was starving. The continuous meals she had cooked had all gone terrible and they didn't satisfy her at all. She needed to learn how to properly cook one day.

"Leila," Samar insisted in irritation through gritted teeth. Her nose was flaring at Leila's ignorant behavior. She wasn't used to getting the cold shoulder, and receiving that treatment from her own daughter made her more furious. She had to get used to it if they were going to stay together more often, then.

"Fine!" Her mother huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You won't talk. We're just going to sit here and eat, pretending that everything is perfect, and that there is nothing wrong with our lives."

"There is nothing wrong with your life, Mother," Leila retorted as she looked up to stare at her. "So, please mind your own business and leave my business to me."

Her mother gasped inaudibly, her lips parting in the process. "How dare you?" She half-whispered half-yelled at her. Her eyes were blazing fire, but that didn't bother Leila at that moment. All she could feel was anger, agony, hatred and a little regret. She regretted ever agreeing to that stupid contract. They could have been better off living poor, but in peace, with their dignities safe, than being used by arrogant rich men just for something so materialistic and meaningless.

Screw the money. Her father was dying anyway. Just a few more weeks of blissful living wouldn't change that fact. She had played her part in that game, and now she was going to retreat; whether they like it or not.

"Leila," Her father chimed in, and she kind of missed his voice. He moved closer so she could hear his strained voice. "I understand that you're angry, but you can't talk to your mother like that, no matter what the circumstances are. You don't have the right."

"As much as you don't have the right to sell your daughter off to some screwed-up maniac for something as dense and as shallow as money," Leila fired back in response. Her father looked worried as he took in her unorganized reaction.

"What has he done to you?" Samar snapped and her hand crawled to hold her chin firmly. "Tell me, what did he do to turn you against us?"

"He didn't do anything," Leila responded coldly, pulling her head out of her mother's iron grasp. "I just learned to stand up for myself."

She pushed her chair back and it creaked against the floor as she stood up, catching the attention of the surrounding clients, but she didn't care.

"Congratulations, Mother," She spat. "You're going to be a grand-mother," She finished off and started walking away, not bothering to wait and watch their reactions. She stepped out of the fancy restaurant they had occupied and into the cold pavement of California. She wasn't used to going around the city on her own, for she knew nothing about it. It was dark at night and she realized it was very dangerous to wander about alone. Yet, she didn't know where to go. She didn't want to go back there, and the thought of her going back to live with her mother under the same roof was unbearable, especially after everything that had happened. If there was one thing she had learned from that experience, it was not to let anyone violate her own rights. She had a life of her own, a personality and a mind. She wouldn't let anyone control her any longer, no matter what.