CHAPTER 20 – RICHARD
I stepped out of the car, just the same time Ray turned off the ignition. Smoothing the imaginary crease on my henley with my hands, I stare at the mansion in front of me.
I've been doing a lot of staring and admiration since we drove into Hemington. The pack is beautiful. The houses, the street, everywhere. I couldn't stop staring. And the endless greetings I got from the pack members made me a bit nostalgic. I was forced to recall my days as the Alpha in the other world. When everyone did as I wanted and bowed to every word. I've always missed those days, but I'm missing them more today.
"Let's go in?" Ray asks as he appears by my side.
"Sure." I nod with a forced smile. I'm a tad tense but not 'cause I'm scared. It's just… the feeling of reuniting with my family has me lingering on an edge.
The night is young and promising, but it just might turn gloomy soon. It depends on how the dinner with "my family" goes.
We walk into the mansion, and I slack behind, allowing Ray to take the lead. I don't know my way about the mansion, but Ray does. So…
"Welcome, Master." A servant bowed in front of me. Her head remains lowered, and her submission is giving off an Omega vibe.
"Which way to the dinner table?" Ray asks her, stopping in the middle of the large hallway.
"I'll take you there." She bows again and leads the way.
"I thought you knew your way around here." I ask him, confuse that he has to ask directions from the Omega.
"I do. But there are like a hundred dining areas in this building, and your father doesn't stick to one. How the hell did you forget that too?" He glances at me with furrowed brows.
I clear my throat nervously, avoiding his gaze and refusing to answer his question. We walk through hallways and elevators until we get out of the last elevator and she gestures at a room.
"Here, Master." She bows.
Ray opens the door and I walk in first, stopping abruptly at the faces in front of me. I gulp down my saliva, as my gaze meets with Father's.
A surge of emotions cruises through my veins, threatening to make me break down at the spot. There's not enough preparation for this moment. It still hurts like shit seeing him. I still have the crazy urge to snap his neck.
"Funny you finally decided to grace us with your presence." He says in a rich baritone that echoes in the room. His haughty eyes linger on me a little more before he points them at his food again.
I clench my hands in painful fists, trying fucking hard to control the urge to bash his face in.
"I was beginning to hope he wouldn't show up at all." Another voice says and I'm irritatingly reminded that there are a handful of people in the room.
There are five different dining tables but the longest table has Father and my fucking brothers seated around it.
I check their faces for who just spoke and the smirk on Axel's face tells him off. Stupid punk! In the other world, he was the first son. The chosen one by my father, and I was sure to make his death even more excruciating and slow.
In this world, he's the second son. I'd seen it in the profile. Then there's Aston, Flit, Gunnar, Ryan, Zane, Leo, and Thor. Wait. One guy is missing. I check the table for him. And there he is, with his gaze fixed on his food. Keith.
Funny I hadn't realized his profile wasn't on the files Ray showed me. Why was he omitted from the family files??
In the other world, Keith was the fifth, right after me. In this world, I'm not sure what he is. And why isn't he on the family files but here on the family dining table?
"He's on your seat." Ray whispers into my ear. I take my mind off Keith, as I notice Axel sitting on the chair next to father.
With no second thought, I walk over to him. The punk leans back, awaiting me with that stupid smirk. He still looks like he did in the other world. A fucking third-rated punk!
"Get the fuck up!" I seethe.
"Now why would I do that?" Axel chuckles smugly. "You were late. I sat here first. Suck it the fuck up and go sit next to Keith."
Oh. So Keith is the last son in this world? No wonder he looks a bit…intimidated.
The others snicker at Axel's snide remark, suggesting I go take the last seat at the table. Nice try, jerk!
For a second, I wonder what the other me would have done in this situation. Being the pussy he is, I know he'll quietly go sit there, just to please Father. To please a man who's never gonna be fucking pleased!
I slam my fist on Axel's fingers, and it gives a cracking sound at the hard impact. He shrieks in pain, and the whole room goes oddly quiet.
"What the hell have you done?!!" Father thunders in rage.
"He was in my seat. Did what I had to do." I say through gritted teeth, quivering slightly from the fury twirling inside me.
"What has gotten over you?! How the hell did you become so roguish? And what's with your stupid attire? Where the hell are your suits and tuxedos?!"
"I didn't feel like wearing them. They suffocate me, just like you guys do." I reply, in a low, menacing tone.
"What?!" Father gasps unbelievably. Yeah, I get why he's so shocked. The Richard in this world would never speak to him like this. I hope he gets a cardiac arrest from the shock.
I pull Axel up from the chair and toss him away, taking my position.
Father is staring daggers at me but I don't even spare him a glance. I just grab a fork and dig into the pasta in front of me.
"Why the hell did you come if you'll just act like a lunatic and ruin our dinner?!" He quizzes furiously. The fact that I'm sitting so close to him makes me feel every bit of his hot breath.
"Because it's been a while and I was curious." I reply, sticking a forkful of pasta into my mouth. I was curious to know if you really still hated me as much as you did in the other world.