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“I won’t use someone just to further my own career,” I said. “I won’t force Jasmine to marry me just because it will benefit me politically. That’s not love, it’s manipulation.”
My father snorted, his eyes blazing with anger. “You are a fool,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt. “You will never succeed in politics with that kind of attitude. You can’t be a good man, son. Good men are weak.”
“Don’t worry. You did your job as a father teaching me how not to be a good man. I’m here, aren’t I? I’m in the Oleander with a belle in my room just waiting to be broken.” I clapped my hands together. “Bravo, father. You didn’t raise a good or a weak man.”
And with that, I turned and marched out of the room, leaving my father with his fury.
Knowing I should get back to Jasmine, I needed a second first to calm my nerves. I didn’t want to take my pent up anger out on her. Walking the dimly lit corridors of the Oleander, my thoughts raced as I tried to come to terms with the weight of my father’s expectations. The sound of my footsteps echoing off the walls only added to the sense of isolation and despair that I was feeling.
This wasn’t the Oleander I remembered as a child. This was no longer the place where young boys played while their daddies conducted business.
The walls were adorned with dark, heavy tapestries that seemed to be watching me as I passed. I could feel the eyes of the ancestors staring down at me, judging my every move. The floor seemed to suck the warmth out of my body as it threatened to swallow me whole. Shadows danced across every inch of the manor, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
I could hear the sound of faint whispers in my ear, as if the ghosts of the past were trying to communicate with me. I shook my head, trying to clear the grieving thoughts of what I had once thought this place was.
I had dreamed of one day becoming a member of the Order. Now? I had no idea what I truly wanted anymore. How could something that used to feel so right, now all of a sudden feel so incredibly wrong?
Despite the opulence of my surroundings, there was a sense of rot and neglect that hung heavy in the air. This manor may once have been a place of grandeur, but now it felt more like a mausoleum. My coffin, and maybe, if I wasn’t careful… Jasmine’s.
I quickened my pace, eager to leave this gloomy place behind.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I even wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and work in politics. The thought of becoming someone like him, cold and calculating and willing to do whatever it took to get ahead, filled me with disgust.
But at the same time, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was trapped. Trapped by my family’s expectations, trapped by the weight of tradition and duty. The thought of disappointing my father, of letting him down, was almost too much to bear. Regardless of how I felt about him.
I stopped in front of a window at the end of the hallway, staring out at the foreboding landscape beyond. The afternoon sun was lowering toward the horizon, casting a cheery ray of hope over the trees and the distant hills. And as I stood there, lost in thought, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any way out of this. If I could someday feel the sun rather than the darkness.
Was there any way to escape the shadow of my father and forge my own path in the world? Or was I doomed to follow in his footsteps, no matter how much I may loathe the thought?
I didn’t have an answer, and the uncertainty was almost too much to bear. All I knew was I couldn’t keep living like this, trapped in the darkness of my father’s expectations. I had to find a way out, no matter what it did to my future plans.
But how? How did I break free from the chains of tradition and duty that bound me? How could I find the strength to stand up to my father and forge my own path in the world?
As I made my way back down the hall toward our bedroom, I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets this place held. There was a sense of mystery and danger lurking just beneath the surface.
I turned a corner and came face to face with a portrait of a woman with piercing eyes. She seemed to be staring right at me, and I got the feeling that she knew all of the secrets of this manor.
I turned to walk away, but something caught my eye.
