C2 Chapter 1

“Get out of my face!” Edward Sanders bellowed. His voice vibrated in every corner of the tea room where he sat with his wife, his son and his daughter. “Get out of our lives! Consider yourself banished! You cannot expect any form of financial support from this family from now on!”

“Dad!” Julianne heard her twin brother plead. “That is too harsh a punishment! She made a mistake but she’s still my sister, she’s still your daughter! And the baby she is carrying in her tummy is every bit our flesh and blood! Do you really want your grandchild to grow up without a family?”

“What difference does it make? It will grow up without a father, right? Its poor excuse of a father chose for him to become a bastard! And its mother chose to smear this family’s name! Generations of good reputation, wealth and grace… gone because of your sister’s indiscretion!”

“I know she caused you grief. But I guarantee you it would break your heart even more if you choose to banish her from this family, father. Please don’t do this!” Gian tried desperately to defend his sister.

“I have made my decision. Your sister has made her bed, she has to go lie on it!”

Julianne listened in tears as her father and twin brother talked about her like she was not in the same room at all. Her mother cried silently beside her father. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at her.

“Where will she go?” Gian asked.

“I don’t care where she goes, so long as she and her bastard stay away from this family!”

Julianne’s heart broke even more for the baby inside her tummy. Usually, news of pregnancy was celebrated, particularly in their family. Her baby wasn’t even born yet and he was already hated, loathed and cursed by his very own grandfather.

“I am giving you three hours to pack,” her father said to her. “When I come back from my golf game, you better be gone.”

“You’re kicking her out of the house while you continue to have a good time with your golf buddies? What kind of a father are you?” Gian asked his father angrily.

“Don’t use that tone on me, Giancarlo Sanders! Or do you want to be the next to be disinherited?”

“You’re disinheriting her?” Gian echoed.

“After what she did to tarnish our family name? After I had to swallow all my pride to tell the McAllisters that we could no longer honor our agreement? She should be thankful that’s the only thing I’m doing.”

“You are unbelievable,” Gian said, shaking his head. He turned to his sister. “Come on, Ian. We can figure something out.”

Julianne gave her father one pleading look. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to break your heart. I am so sorry.”

Her father turned away from her, without uttering another word. Gian quickly dragged her out of the room and into her bedroom so she could pack her precious belongings.

After she packed a few clothes, her eyes drifted to the cabinet in her room. It was full of her glass bottle collection. She walked towards the cabinet, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You cannot bring that, sis,” Gian told her.

“Gian, I’ve collected these since I was young!”

“I know. I will safeguard them for you, don’t worry. Where you’re going, you cannot bring a cabinet full of fragile glass bottles.”

She nodded, and then took her bag from the bed.

A few hours later, Julianne found herself in the airport. Her cousin, Justin Adams, and his wife, Adrienne, were waiting for them.

“Ian!” Adrienne ran up to her and gave her a hug. “Oh, sweetheart, are you okay?”

Julianne opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. Instead, more tears came rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s going to be okay,” Adrienne whispered. “You are not going to do this alone. I promise, even if it’s against everybody’s will, I don’t care. I will be there for you.”

Justin came up behind his wife.

Tears fell from Julianne’s eyes. “My Dad is going to kill you for going against his will,” she told Justin.

“Well, this isn’t the first time I’m gonna go against their will. I’ve done this before and so far, nobody has banished me from the family,” Justin said confidently.

Julianne knew the risk Justin and Adrienne were taking. Their families were very close, their ties were hard to break. They all belonged to wealthy and prominent families, each one owning large businesses and conglomerates in the country. Reputation was of high importance. And so was respect. When one of the elders in their clan made a huge decision, the others were expected to keep quiet, to obey and concur out of respect. That was how they maintained balance and harmony.

When news of Julianne’s banishment reached the other members of their clan, all of her aunts and uncles were expected to respect her father’s decision, even if some of them did not agree that it was the proper punishment for her mistake. To disagree and do something about it might spark friction and unnecessary fights among the four powerful families.

But somehow, there she was, at the airport, about to board the Adams private jet. She didn’t know where the plane was taking her, but she didn’t care—well, she didn’t have much of a choice. Right then, she had nowhere to go.

“Justin, thank you,” Julianne whispered. “I know the risks you guys are taking.”

“Don’t thank me,” Justin said. “Thank this woman, who twisted my arm.” He put an arm around his wife’s shoulders.

Julianne smiled at Adrienne. “You have always been there for me. How could I ever thank you?”

“It’s okay. I know you’d do the same for me,” Adrienne said, smiling at her encouragingly.

“All set?” Gian asked behind her.

“Yes,” Justin replied. “Mason and Abi are going to pick her up at the airport. Ian will stay with them. And there, Uncle Edward cannot touch her. She will be taken care of.”

“I will take care of every single thing you will need. I will send you money. Make sure you take care of your baby. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will visit every single chance I get,” Gian said, hugging her. “You may have lost our parents, but don’t you ever think that you will lose me, too.”

“Us too,” Adrienne agreed. “Justin and I will check up on you. We’ll visit whenever we can. We’ll bring Jeffrey along so you can see your nephew.”

Julianne heaved a sigh. She realized how much her life was going to change now and how much she was going to leave behind.

She was the princess of their family—the only girl born in their family’s generation. She had a twin brother and three male cousins. Her family owned Sanders Incorporated, which manufactured cranes and heavy equipment. Justin’s family owned the biggest steel and mining company in the country. Her cousin Jordan’s family owned one of the biggest coffee chains. Her cousin Mason’s family owned a chain of hotel apartments.