Daughter-in-law Strikes Harder

“Mother!” Something has totally gone wrong. Dalton has probably lost it. Do you not think he really has? What is going on? Is this really normal?” Ellen almost asked a thousand questions, as she paced restlessly around the reachable corners in her mother’s room.

She totally knew that she was done for by behaving rashly before her brother, and needed someone to transfer the aggression and blame to. If only she could bring Aria out of her room now, and burn her own hand too, the same way she had lured her to burn hers.

“You might end up being thrown out of this house and return back to that condo of yours, that must have housed more than enough pests by now if you are not careful! How can you not control your tongue, you stupid girl!” Her mother cut her off in composure, while trying so hard not to burst out in anger like her real self.

Hailey was sitting right in the room too with them on the chair, and giving her a bad impression about their family wasn’t going to be hers to do. Regardless of whoever it was, they could never be given the opportunity to see the cracking weakness and any messed up state of the entire family. The Millers could never be compared to any other, therefore perfection to sight was a must.

“He would not hear me say that. If not, that scary son of yours might end up killing me. Regardless, mother. Dalton was never the one to act or ever react, whenever we did whatever we liked with that bitch. He never even cared one bit. So why is he now acting in this manner?!” Ellen stated with intense frustration, as she scattered her pink hair that was neatly packed into a matching million dollar scarf initially.

She had always acted however she liked in Hailey’s presence, so there was no need to hide the fact that she was a chatterbox

Eleanor, who watched the scarf drop to the sofa chair, almost freaked out when she saw the new and weirdly bright colour of her daughter’s hair. She decided to ignore the talk about her hair at that moment, as they had unfinished discussions about every single thing possible.

“Learn to control your anger, Ellen. Can you not just be like Eva for once? Or even Emma?! Must you match up with your brother’s anger, when you know he would just trample on you?!” Her mother chided with a frown, as she found her way around the nearest chair and took a seat.

Getting angry and too worked up was something she should be avoiding as she got older, but her life and health had become a mess, ever since Aria became a thorn in everyone’s neck.

“Do you see how sensitive he becomes whenever you mention that witch’s name? Do you mother? There is certainly more to that,” Ellen pointed again to Hailey’s heart prickling pain, whose butt continually shifted side to side.

She was not comfortable with her friend, talking about Dalton having a thing for his wife. It could never be possible.

“Can you just shut up Ellen and use your brains instead of your mouth? You just had to put yourself in your brother’s blacklist in one dinner, by ranting like a dummy just because I passed to you a hint. Getting angry would do nothing!”

“We got the anger from you, mother. From you! Dalton could have been an entirely sweet person like daddy, but he just had to be so empathetic like you. Thank goodness, I got daddy’s bubbly nature, else my personality would have been a mess!” Ellen eyed with powerful words that seemed to have hit her mother on the wrong side of understanding. Ellen realized once again that she had messed up.

“Get out of my room, Ellen. Be gone from my sight! I just want to see Hailey around me, and no one else!” She uttered angrily, and stood up from where she was sitting. Her daughter had decided to state the evident and annoying truth.

Ellen totally knew that her mother wasn’t joking, as she became quiet and turned to look at Hailey, who gave her an affirmative look that all would be fine.

She felt so dejected as she turned and made her way out of her mother’s room, knowing fully well that everyone seemed to have forsaken her in less than an hour. Going to see Eva for placation was not even an option. Her sister was too cold. They were all a mess.

“Mother. I am sure you know that Ellen does not mean everything she is saying. She just speaks out of the box sometimes, but she does truly care for you,” Hailey said so warmly, as she stood up to help the aged woman lie on her bed gently.

Beside the bed were different kinds of expensive skin soothing oil that were arranged in front of the dresser, as her hand grabbed the one she had seen Mrs. Miller used it before.

Her left hand opened the lid to the glass bottle and poured the content into her right palm, and immediately began to rub them gently against Mrs. Miller’s foot.

Eleanor’s cheeks, which were both stuffed up in anger by her rude daughter, began to stretch gradually into a warm smile and good relaxation.

There was no way she wasn’t getting rid of Aria for good this time around, for Hailey who had everything she could ever wish for in a son’s wife to take over. She was going to resort to whatever means.

Hailey was never the type to do lowly jobs that were meant for maids just anyhow, but she had to get what she wanted at all cost by being so sweet. Getting everyone in the family to like her so deeply, would start from the matriarch of the family itself.

~•`•~ ~•`•~

“Do not overreact by calling a doctor,” Aria said to Dalton immediately after opening her eyes, suddenly after a few minutes of slipping into unconsciousness, only to find herself already on the bed and covered in a warm cloth. Her eyes could not have missed the look Dalton had on his face, which switched instantly the moment he saw her eyes part open.

“I have called him, and he should be here in less than ten minutes. You have no right to object!” his voice came out so coldly to her, but she could definitely still sense some concern in the tone of his speaking, if she was not mistaken in any way.

She didn’t even care if he showed the utmost care to her from now till forever. The fact that he was Dalton Miller would never change.

“That was not necessary. This happened due to hunger that has combined with some petty drinking and stress. It is nothing,” she muttered, and turned her face to the other side of the bed. The fact that he was seeing her in her vulnerable state, was the only thing she really hated at that particular moment.

“And who gave you the permission to…..”

“Mr. Miller. The doctor has arrived,” Alex announced so loudly like he was screaming, so that Dalton would hear from the distance he presumed him to be in.

‘It was definitely the main room.’

The doctor who had just given Aria a shot according to the symptoms she told him, stared at the doctor’s bald head all through as he injected her arm. She wanted to laugh so badly to ease the tension in the room, but just decided to divert her attention to looking at the needles entering her body.

Dalton, who really hated having a needle close to anywhere in his body, had expected her to twitch in pain, but was surprisingly amused to watch her facial expression unchanged. She just acted unperturbed as two needles came in and out of her body.

“You should refrain from drinking too much whiskey and eat more often, ma’am. In extreme cases of starvation, stomach ulcer might be the end result,” the doctor who seemed to be in his fifties from a glance, faced Aria and told her in the most polite way he could.

If possible, he would not want to hear Dalton say any word till he would leave the room. He had never left unscolded in the past.

“Are you sure there is no need to thoroughly examine her?” Dalton’s voice asked the doctor grumpily, who was pulling out the stethoscope that he used to check Aria from his ears. He did not want to rely on Aria’s words alone that she was already getting better. The state of her about minutes ago, terrified him if he would not lie at all.

“I am fine. Dalton. I just need to rest and not see any ugly faces around me, or having anyone scream out my name so loud,” she replied to him firmly.

Dr. Fernandez, who was beginning to sense some kind of inciting trouble, packed his suitcase hurriedly, as he bowed and got ready to leave the room in an instant. He probably thought that he had finally lost his mind, on whom he was seeing on the bed that Dalton seemed to be worried about.

He had treated her a few times in the past whenever she was too sick, and he knew how much no one liked to even associate themselves with her. No one even came to check on her or watch her, no matter how terrible her sickness was.

He had even diagnosed her with severe depression about two years ago, and she begged him not to disclose that fact to the family. They would just mock her and taunt her more, by saying hurtful words that would ruin her mental health.

Seeing her again and surprisingly the boss of the house with her, really put him off balance of what was really going on with everyone in the mansion. He had sworn ultimate secrecy to the family, that no matter whatever happened he could never speak it to any other soul. Yet, he could not really figure them out, even after working with their family for so long.

‘Was he mistaken those times? Because now, he even heard the lady of the house call Dalton by name.’

“Are you not grateful that you have this kind of face staying around you while you recover. And you say the word ugly?” Dalton stated unbelievably as he raised a sneer brow at Aria, who was ready to even defy everything including his great looks. That, he was never going to allow.

“So good for you to have other women swoon for your looks, but too bad that I do not seem to be either wavered by your looks or lousy touch. Don’t you think you need to put in extra effort if you want to please me?” Aria sassed derisively at him, without caring if she had that much strength to taut him with her words.

Dalton could not believe that the lady who was almost dead about an hour ago without words to say, now had the strength and will to talk back at him even if she was not yet strong. And she even had the guts to talk about his effective functionality as a man.

‘She must really be crazy. He had made a mistake by not telling the doctor to check her mental state of health too.’

As Aria turned to enter under her covers and sleep peacefully, Dalton suddenly grabbed her by the wrist to prevent her from turning.

He moved so compulsively close to her in a split second, that there was barely any space between them. Her eyes looked up to meet his face almost immediately in shock, and he did the unthinkable by grazing his lips across hers.

‘He was going to watch her lie and deny that she did not feel anything.’