Episode 4

Missy stared at the man sitting across from her, feeling a surge of mixed emotions. Why exactly did she marry this man? Was it love? Was it infatuation? Was it stupidity? Or was she just young and experimenting?

Whatever it was, she felt it was definitely the worst decision she had ever made because she was constantly taunted for it, day and night.

She watched as he wiped the tears from his eyes, his voice low and shaky, as if he was about to break down any moment. “Okay,” Jerry said, nodding his head in resignation. “If you say so.” He added, looking at her with a pitiful expression. He wanted to cry so bad for the betrayal and unjust treatment from the woman he loved. He remembered when they courted. They were the envy of many lovers.

“I wonder what went wrong,” he muttered under his breath, but Missy decided to ignore him. She turned her face away from him, hiding her own pain and confusion. Missy felt terribly shattered. She was trying to be a good daughter to her parents. Her parents had managed to convince her of how much of an embarrassment she was for marrying such a man.

Every passing day, she regretted ever meeting that man, but she acted like she was okay. She pretended that she didn’t care about him anymore, that she had moved on with her life. But deep inside, she still felt a flicker of love for him, a love that she tried to suppress and deny.

“Leave now,” she finally said, in a cold and harsh tone. Jerry looked at her, but he wasn’t shocked or surprised anymore. He was very used to it and often slapped himself hard for simping for her and for keeping the love he had for her even when she treated him badly.

“Thank you,” he said, in a sarcastic and bitter way. He walked away from the room and into the halls. He hung his head over his shoulder as he walked to his room, the very last door in the hall which was the smallest room in the house. Even other maids got to sleep in much bigger rooms than him.

It was the room where he kept all his belongings and slept most night because Missy wouldn’t let him sleep with her at night.

He was very content with the room because if he decided to leave, he had nowhere to live or sleep. His room had a very tiny old cabinet he used to store his clothes. He became excited again and was grateful that they actually invited him to the family meeting. He had to pick out his best outfit so even if they wanted to look down on him, they wouldn’t have anything to say about his outfit.

He was the son of a rich man so he still had some very expensive outfits with him, but only wore them on very rare occasions. He brought out one of those outfits and smiled proudly at it. It was a navy blue suit with a white shirt and a red tie. He had bought it for their wedding anniversary, but they never celebrated it.

“They will appreciate this one at least,” he muttered under his breath, hoping that maybe this time, things would be different.

He put on the suit and looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that he looked handsome and elegant. He combed his hair and adjusted his tie. He took a deep breath and walked out of his room, ready to face the family.

As soon as he entered the grand hall, he felt all eyes on him. He heard whispers and murmurs from the relatives who were sitting on ground tables around the hall. He saw Mr and Mrs Johnson, Missy’s parents, sitting at the head of the hall, looking stern and displeased. He also saw Missy, his wife, sitting next to her parents, looking away from him. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that matched her lipstick and earrings. She looked stunning, but also distant and cold.

He walked to the very end of the hall, where a very short stool was waiting for him. He knew that it was meant to humiliate him.

He sat on the stool, trying to ignore the stares and whispers. Then he looked at Missy, trying to catch her eye, but she avoided his gaze. He sighed and looked down at his hands, feeling humiliated.

The family members sat in a hierarchical order, from the eldest to the youngest. The grand hall was decorated with expensive paintings, chandeliers, and carpets. The air was filled with tension and anticipation.

“Oh. Your pauper is finally here,” Mrs Bridget snorted, breaking the silence. She was Mrs Johnson’s eldest sister, and she had always despised Jerry for his humble background.

“Mother!” Missy shouted in annoyance, hoping that her mother would do or say something to salvage the situation.

“Let us not forget how you once made the mistake of marrying a pauper too, Bridget,” Mrs Johnson said with a wicked smile on her face.

“You do not speak to me in that manner!” Mrs Bridget thundered, her face turning red with anger.

“And you do not speak to my daughter in that manner, especially not in my house,” Mrs Johnson snapped back, her eyes flashing with defiance.

Missy smiled with contentment, glad that her mother stood up for her. Mrs Johnson and her sister had always had a long time beef even before that meeting, so it was no surprise to the family members that nobody had to interject.

“Now that you are both done bantering words, can we move to the subject of the day?” Mr Bridgerton spoke up as the eldest son of the family and the husband to Mrs Bridget. He was a stern and serious man, who cared a lot about the family’s reputation and wealth.

“Yes, father. I will read the account statements, including the credits and debits that have occurred in the past one year and compare them with the statement of the previous years,” Jordan, son of Mrs Bridget spoke up. He worked as an accountant for the family business. He took out his glasses from his glass casing and held up a couple of documents close to his face and started reading them out loud.

The rest of the family listened attentively as Jordan read out the numbers and figures. They gasped and murmured as they heard how much money the family had lost in the past year.

“So the question is now what has been happening to all our funds?” Mr Bridgerton said after his son was done reading the statement. The entire hall burst into a loud murmur.

Missy looked at her father, who held his head down in shame.

“Mother, say something,” Missy whispered to her mother, but she shot her a very stern glare that hinted at Missy to shut up.

“I understand your concerns,” Mr Johnson started speaking, and that was the first word he had spoken all day. Even his wife was surprised because he had refused to speak to her. He looked nervous and guilty as he faced his relatives.

“But as I have already told you all, all that money will be paid back,” he said with finality in his tone, trying to sound confident and calm. But his voice betrayed his fear and guilt. Murmurs filled the entire hall again, as the relatives expressed their disbelief and outrage.

“But the business crashed because of the large amounts of money you have been pulling out. And you did all that without even informing anyone, not even Jordan, our account manager,” Steve said from the other side of the room where he was seated with his wife. He was Mr Johnson’s cousin.

“I do not need permission to take anything from that business as it is by right, my own business passed down to me by my father while Bridgerton was out catching feelings instead of catching flights,” Mr Johnson said in annoyance, glaring at his eldest brother.

“I beg your pardon! Father decided to choose you because you are the most gullible one!” Mr Bridgerton retorted, his face turning red with anger.

“Do you really believe that? Or you just want to believe it so bad to cheer yourself up for being a sore loser?” Mr Johnson said and Missy giggled lightly, amused at the fact that her father had a very sharp mouth and made witty comments.

“I will not take any more insults from you. We have decided what to do with you!” Mr Bridgerton thundered and Missy’s heart skipped two beats, remembering what her cousins had told her earlier.

“Father do you think it?…” Jordan made to speak to his father but he wasn’t having it.

“I do not think anything. As the eldest son of this family, I make the final decisions. You are going to jail for grand theft,” Mr Bridgerton said with finality in his tone and Mrs Johnson gasped.

The hall was once again filled with murmurs but even louder this time. Someone raised her hand up, indicating to speak.

“May I speak?” Lilian asked and she was given the permission.

“I’m Lilian as some of you already know. The youngest daughter to my father, Jones Johnson,” she introduced herself and some people in the room glanced at themselves as though they had no idea who she was.

“Oh you must be the adopted one!” Someone yelled and she bowed her head in embarrassment but quickly started speaking.

“Yes but I am also a lawyer. The best in the state and permit me to say, in the country,” she said proudly, lifting her chin up.

“And I think it is fair to say that the judgement you passed on Mr Johnson is rather too quick and rash and didn’t go through careful consideration,” she said and Missy looked at her with a grateful expression.

She was glad that someone was willing to defend her father, even if she was an adopted cousin whom she barely knew.

“Are you questioning me, young woman? You are not even part of the family,” Mr Bridgerton asked in annoyance, looking down at Lilian with contempt. He did not care that she was a lawyer or a daughter of his brother. He only saw her as an adopted outsider who had no right to interfere in the family matters.

“I believe that since we are all part of the family business, we should all vote for what happens to the sole heir of the business, is it not?” Lilian said calmly, not intimidated by his tone. She knew that she had a valid point, and that some of the relatives agreed with her. Murmurs filled the room again, as some of them nodded and whispered in approval.

“Alright. We shall vote then. All in favor of locking this man up, please raise your hands,” Mr Bridgerton said, hoping that he would get the majority of the votes. He watched as Jordan counted the hands of those who raised them. He saw that his wife, his son, and some of his loyal cousins and nephews were among them.