Only Human: Before and After

Chapter 149: Jason Hendrix

Change of POV

Dinner was as revolting as I knew it was going to be. The food was of the highest quality, and the presentation would put five-star restaurants to shame, but it wasn't the meal I found fault with. It was my family. They kept up the act for most of the dinner, I'd give them that. My father would ask what business ventures I had recently been working on. My mother asked how Mary was doing. Even my sister tried to start a conversation concerning Princess Katherine and some of her businesses I either invested in or advertised. Mathew was not at the table. I was rather thankful that he wasn't present, as he was the hardest for me to tolerate, but it begged the question of where he was. If this was the family dinner my parents were trying to sell, then he should be here.

"Will Mathew be joining us later?" I finally asked as the second course was being served.

"No. He had work this evening." My father said with no further explanation.

"Work? What does the heir to the Belgrave name have to work for?" I asked taking a bite of food. I knew it was a dig. I knew it would piss off my parents, and sure enough I saw that familiar scowl drape over my father's face. His dark eyes showing true emotion.

"He wouldn't have to, if someone had done his duty for the family." He growled.

My mother forced a laugh before I could respond. "But that's in the past. Now you are home, and I'm sure we can put our differences behind us." She said.

I lowered my fork and placed my hands in my lap. "I'm sorry, Mother. But this is not my home. Not anymore. I am honored to be invited into the Belgrave Manor, but my estate is Wisteria is my true place of residence." I corrected.

Now my mother's face fell back to her usual snide look of displeasure. "Is that really any way to speak to your mother? Talking back and playing with semantics. Home is where your family is, and like it or not you are a Belgrave." She spat.

I narrowed my eyes. "I stopped being a Belgrave the moment you disowned me. If this is some ploy to try to lay claim to my fortune, then you may as well save your breath. It isn't very fitting for nobles such as yourself to act as desperate beggars at my feet." I said with an amused smile.

Agatha stood causing the dishes to clink and splatter some food in the process. "Beggars?! We have never begged for anything! This is exactly why I tried to convince mother and father to not have another child! You have been nothing but a waste of space since you first took air, and now you insult us in our own home!" She screeched.

"Agatha, calm yourself." My father said sternly. My sister quickly shut her trap and glared at me as she sat back down. My father's eyes then whipped in my direction. "You speak with such conviction for a disobedient boy who stole from his family to earn his fortune."

I felt my fangs threatening to extend and my body grow tense. "I didn't steal anything. I only took what was mine."

He smiled. "Really? And whose money bought what was 'yours?' Whose name and connections did you use to seek help from the royal family like the true beggar here? You think that you are deserving of praise?" He said.

I clenched my fists. "If you had just listened, instead of pushing me into that shady group of clowns, I wouldn't have had to resort to begging. To running away. The moment I strayed from your perfectly constructed plan you sought to disown me. I was nothing but a tool to you."

"Of course you were. We are all tools for the betterment of the family. If we all play our parts, then we survive." My mother started standing and gesturing to the great portrait showcased in the dining room. It showed the portrait of my great grandfather and his wife and two children staring ominously over us. "We are only as strong as our weakest member, and so when one strays or abandons their duties, they must be cut out before the family is brought to ruin." Her blue eyes leveled with mine and were as cold as I remember. "You blame us for disowning you, but you left us no other choice, Jason. You were the weak link."