The Grand Mistress

"If you care about my health then you should have taken good care of Han\'s Scintillait!" Don Benedicto directed his anger to his son who immediately jerked back, surprised by the former\'s anger. "So incompetent!"

Before his head would explode of anger, the old man decided to leave the ground and head to the office. It was not wise to handle things in clear view of all their servants and associates so he decided to continue this conversation in their family office. The rest of the Han\'s followed him, as well as Simione who was forcefully dragged by her abductors.

Soon, the Han\'s were in a closed room, sitting around a big wooden table where they could clearly see each other face to face. Of course, all eyes of disgust and hate were on Simione.

"Grandfather, I implore you to punish Simione for this. If not for her, Hawk and I would have no problems at all," Feather started trying to convince her grandfather to blame everything on her hated cousin.

"No problems? Hahah…once a cheater will always be a cheater," Simione mocked her. "By the way, Feather, years ago before I left, it was the Tang boy that you are so obsessed about. What happened to both of you then? How was it that you ended up with Hawk Monsanto when you had desperately chased Tang\'s young master?"

Feather\'s face immediately was filled with panic. "Lyndon and I had a good break up. He say he wanted to quit ballet and return home,"

"Funny because Lyndon\'s version of things are so different from yours. You called up on him one night and asked him to go to where you are. Before he arrived, he had an accident and a few months later, you suddenly got engaged to Hawk Monsanto. Isn\'t that quite a story? What a coincidence…"

"Are you suggesting Feather had something to do with Lyndon Tang\'s accident?" Madam Fara surely addressed the fact right away. "Besides, how could you just blabber nonsensical things like Lyndon having his own version of everything? That boy was still in a coma. He couldn\'t lift and eyelid, more so his mouth,"

"Lyndon had woken up already," Simione revealed. "He narrated to me clearly how he ended up having an accident. To be honest what happened to him reminds me of what happened in Mara Ballet Company years ago, an accident happened and I lost my ballet career. This time, it was Lyndon who had an accident and worst comes to worst he could have died,"

"Enough!" Madam Fara eyes glared at Simione, almost ready to choke her. "Feather had nothing to do with everything you are accusing her of. You have no evidence either—"

"Lyndon told me it was Feather who caused the accident in Mara Ballet Company fifteen years ago," Simione cut her off by Lyndon\'s confession that immediately shoved some terrible expression on the mother and daughter duo who was present then.

"Ingrata! How could you make up lies now!" Madam Fara cussed, so angry at Simione.

"You should be thankful I only took his fiancee and not her strong feet!" Simione snapped her hands on the table intensifying the argument.

"Silence!" Don Benedicto screamed at their faces and they all shut up. Simione sat back on her chair while Madam Fara reclined her back to the wooden frame, heart beating wild and nervous.

"What are these schemes and petty quarrels?" Don Benedicto was greatly disappointed on how this turned out. He had been gone for a long time; he did not even know most of the things Madam Fara and Simione were talking about.

Truth was when he came home, he had been so shocked by the news that came out. About Hawk cheating on her granddaughter when and how Feather fell on her concierto. Then the fact that it was Simione, his runaway rebel granddaughter was the source of all the chaos. The Don couldn\'t just ignore it, he had to make something to put things back in place specially with all that he had learned recently.

"Grandfather, Simione has to go," Feather was begging him. "She had always been like this. She\'s picking on me all the time and has been accusing me of too many things I didn\'t do. She\'s ruining my life,"

"Is it true Feather that you pushed away the Tang young master so you could go on with Hawk Monsanto?" Don Benedicto turned to her. Of course, he can\'t just stay quiet about what happened to the Tangs. They were afterall his long time friends.

"We had a clean break up," Feather acted innocent. "I swear grandfather, his accident was not connected to my relationship with Hawk or anything,"

"That better be the story Feather," Don Benedicto confronted her. "Few years ago Simione and the Tang\'s young master had a good relationship and you came between them. Simione didn\'t come to me and nag about it and here you are trying to play the victim,"

"But Grandfather…"

"Father, please don\'t be like that to Feather. She had done nothing wrong," Madam Fara made a plea for her daughter. The Don had always been like this that most of the time it was hard to know what was running in her mind. Earlier, she felt like his favor was on them when he slapped Simione but now, it seemed like the tables had turned. 

However, for Mauro, he understood what his father was doing. His father had always been strict and hard but he was always reasonable. He is not the type that can be swayed by any words or be fooled by any schemes. So, he knew that none of them at that table could get his favors and so all of them had to suffer his temperament then.

"Nothing wrong? Your daughter stole the Tang\'s young master from Simione because she told me she was so in love with him. I let her. Turns out years later she\'ll trade him for another man,"

"It was Lyndon\'s fault that we broke up with grandfather and Hawk came after him. I swear grandfather, Hawk had nothing to do with this," Feather was crying then. She wanted the Don to take side on her but it seemed that none of it was working. She still wanted to be the Madam of the Monsanto\'s and she can\'t let her grandfather go against her wishes. She had to marry Hawk\'s still whatever it may cost.

"Crying about a cheating man? Oh Feather you are something," Simione was really amused. Seeing how Madam Fara was giving her hard glares but couldn\'t do anything, it was like she had won the jackpot that day. Who would have thought this day would come?

"Grandfather please…" Feather ran to the Don and kneeled at his feet. "Please let me marry Hawk. I really love his grandfather and he loves me very much. I promise he will be the last man I would have my eyes on. Just please, please let me marry him,"

"And make the whole Devon City laugh at us?" The Don was furious at Feather\'s request. "Are you even thinking, Feather?"

Simione chuckled at the sight. She can read the Don very well and she knows how his pride and reputation takes priority over family. This was the reason why she made the scandal, she knew he would not allow Feather to marry Hawk at all cost.

"Dream on Feather. Did you know what Hawk Monsanto told me? He told me he\'s going to break you up for me," She added the words to deepen Feather\'s injury and heartbreak.

"Liar! He loves me, he swore he was going to marry me," Feather was wailing still at her grandfather\'s feet. "Please grandfather,"

"Feather stop it!" Mauro called on her but when her daughter didn\'t heed his call, he himself moved from his seat to drag Feather away. "Get a hold of yourself or you won\'t really have the chance to marry that Monsanto," he whispered to her whilst she dragged her back to her previous chair. He also gave his wife a  look in the eye, warning her to take a grip on Feather.

"Father, things had already gone out of hand," Mauro then started the conversation again after that Feather drama. "Also, the venture that we had with Hawk Monsanto—"

"That venture Mauro had put us all at the edge!" Don Benedicto told him. "Although I don\'t like that Monsanto boy, we all know he is a powerful man. He can shut us down even before we blink. You fool!"

"Then what should we do, Father?" Mauro could do nothing but just accept all of his father\'s insults. He was used to it anyway. "If we were to cut the deal with them, we would have to pay damages. It\'s either we marry off Feather to Hawk to pay billions as damages,"

"Do you really expect me to let Feather marry him?" 

"I can\'t think of any better solution than that," Mauro answered but when he saw the expression that went on the Don\'s face with his words, he lowered his head in fear and shame.

"Simione," The Don then turned to her in  a voice that immediately made Simione aware that he had something in mind and it might either outrageous or dangerous. "Since you are the one who started all this, you had to pay for it,"

"As far I could tell Don Benedicto, I had no wealth to pay for the damages for a contract your son had started. But if you wish for Hawk Monsanto to have me as a payment, well I think I had no other choice but to just go with it. Afterall, my life is nothing to you,"

"You child…."

"What? Don\'t tell me you had forgotten how you let my papa die without seeing me? Even at the verge of his death, you imprisoned me at the ballet theater and let me dance endlessly without knowing my father was dying ....Just for the sake of your ballet dreams….you separated a child from her father!" Simione spoke without control and met Don\'s eyes head on. She had lost everything already and so not that Don, not even Hawk Monsanto can make her crumble in fear then.

The Don looked at his rebel granddaughter with a balled fist. His anger was rising sparingly.  It had been years since he and Simione had a face to face conversation and as always she had no respect for him. 

"You had never changed," He replied in fury.

"You are as evil and selfish as you are," Simione replied back with indignation.

"Well then, let\'s realize your words," The Don stood from his seat and was still looking at Simione, he announced. "As a punishment for what you did and to pay for the damages you caused this family, you, my dearest granddaughter, we\'ll be sent off to get married. Your soon to be husband will pay in behalf of you,"

The words that Simione heard only made her loathe the Don more.