The couches were filled with the bags that Joseph and I had purchased yesterday. Mom immediately went to one bag and pulled out a red dress. She straightened it and held it up. " Isn't this beautiful? How did you manage to snag this gorgeous dress?" Mom asked, looking back at me.

" Umm, actually, my friend made me go shopping and selected most of the dresses in the bags," I replied, looking away from her. Her smile dimmed a little as she shook her head. " Hannah dear, even if your friend selected it for you, it would still look gorgeous on you." Mom replied, folding the dress and placing it back into the bag.

" What would look gorgeous on who?" Mother's voice rang across the living room. She walked in hand in hand with Father as Brother walked behind them. I stiffened and took a small step back, trying to get to Daniel. Daniel too stepped towards me and circled his arm around my waist.

" Ah, Bernadette. It's nice of you to join us. You see, Hannah went out to shop and we were talking about a red dress that would look gorgeous on her." Mom replied, Mother's eyes starting to bulge out of her sockets. " Hannah did what?" Her voice strained out as her grip tightened on Father's arm. " Hannah went shopping with her friend." Daniel replied this time, looking directly at Mother.

The look on Mother's face said that she did not want to hold her thoughts back. And that was what she exactly did. " You went shopping?! How dare you?!" She screeched, her perfectly manicured finger pointing at me. " Mother, I-" I did not know how to explain. " The last time I checked, everyone was allowed to shop for whatever things they needed." Daniel replied on my behalf. My head dropped, I did not think this far when Joseph bought those dresses.

" Everyone is, just not her. And why would you think that she would even look nice in a dress, Alicia? Have you even looked at her?" Mother accused Mom, the bright smile was now dimmed by Mother's anger. " Bernadette, I don't understand, what are you trying to say?" Mom's voice sounded very unsure, but she was definitely catching on.

" What I am saying is that she is very privileged to be married to a person like Daniel for her status and she went shopping for slutty clothes!" Mother shrieked, this time removing her grip from Father and taking a huge step towards me. " She is your daughter, Bernadette. How can you accuse her of such things?" Mom asked, taking a step towards Mother.

" She is no daughter to us. She never was, and she will never be." Father replied to Mom, his eyes never wavering from her. Dad walked in that moment very cheerfully with a spring in his step. " Hello ladies and gentlemen! Anything going on?" He asked with a very broad smile on his face.

" I'm going to my room. I'm feeling a little tired." Mom started before turning to the butler. " All of these go straight to Daniel's and Hannah's room. No where else, even if anybody else says so." Mom ordered before walking up the stairs. The butler easily carried ten bags. And since I wanted to escape from the tension, I took the rest of the bags and walked up to Daniel's room. Opening the door, we stepped inside and then walked to my room through the door connecting them.

No words of confirmation was exchanged between us. The butler knew what to do and how to do it. Once the bags were placed on the bed, he left through the door before sending me a nod. I sat down onto the bed, the plastic of the bags crinkling at the same time. I tried not to let Father's words affect me, trying to block out his words from my mind. But they were etched forever, like a broken radio. Repeating on and on and on.

His voice getting louder and louder every second. My head fell to my hands, as I tried to take a few patient breaths. All my tried went in vain. Father's words were booming in my head, air refusing to enter my airway. I did not know what to do. I could not help myself in any way.

A warm palm radiated heat from my shoulder. I looked up slowly to see Daniel standing near me. He took a seat beside me, his hand never leaving my shoulder. " Hannah, please don't dwell in it. His words don't define who you are." Daniel's smooth voice left his mouth.

" I... I am sorry that you had to witness that. I am sorry that I involved you in this mess. I am sorry for not being the perfect wife for you. I'm sorry that I'm such a failure. I'm sorry that I--" A sob left my body as my rant stopped. The tears rolled effortlessly down my cheeks as my body started to shake.

Daniel immediately pulled me into his embrace, my face mushed into his shoulder. He moved closed so that we were entirely into each other's embrace. " I just do not understand why they hate me so much. I did not do anything wrong. I was made by them, Daniel. I did not want to come into this world by choice. It was their choice. Fathers should have had protection of he did not want me. How can I be blamed for being born into this world?!" I asked, clutching his shoulder tighter.

" Hannah, it is not a fault. A baby being born into this world will and should never be a fault. Every being on this world is brought here for a reason. To be cared for, to be caring to someone. To be loved and cherished be someone. Everyone deserves to be on this world. Your parents just refuse to understand that. They are immature in that way." David explained, his palm rubbing my back.

My sobs reduced as his words made more sense. My body stopped shaking but Daniel's grip never faltered. My stomach grumbled at that time, as I heard Daniel stifling his laughter. "Let's go for the kitchen, I will cook something up for you." He informed, slightly pulling away. I moved off him and wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. Daniel pulled me up and the both of us walked back into his room. " Let me change into something comfortable, first?" He asked, for which I nodded back to him.

He walked to his closet and picked up a set of clothes. He walked into his bathroom as I sat down in his bed. My eyes wandered about as I tried to recollect my thoughts. The bathroom door opened and out walked Daniel in a blue t-shirt and a loose pair of sweatpants. " Come!" Daniel called out as he opened the door.

I jumped up from the bed and walked out of the door. Daniel closed the door and held my hand as we walked towards the kitchen. Surprisingly, no one stopped us. The house was pretty quiet. Daniel had pulled out a wooden stool near the island and motioned me to sit. As he opened the fridge, " What do you want to eat?"

He asked, still looking into the fridge. " Anything..." I muttered, crossing my legs on the stool, indian style. He hummed out, taking a tray of eggs. He moved across the kitchen swiftly, carefully picking the needed utensils and certain bowls. " Let me help you," I spoke out, reaching my hand towards a bowl. He swatted my hands away and shot me a stern look.

" Nope, none of that here. It's my treat." He replied as his cracked open a few eggs. " But you paid for the sandwiches earlier too. Let me help you," I once again stretched out my hand to snatch the bowl away from him. This time, he grabbed my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, before placing them on the island. " I did pay for it, but you didn't have much of the sandwiches, did you?" A swirl of guilt hit me as I lowered my head. " I am sorry," A mutter left me as I wringed my fingers together.

Daniel's arms enveloped me as he placed his head on my shoulder. " I'm going to make sure you eat properly everyday, every meal. And your friend is also going to help me. What was his name, huh?" He asked, his breath fanning my ear. Heat creeped up my cheeks, his steady heartbeat pulsed against my back. " Umm, Joseph?" I whispered, not trusting my voice.

" Yeah, him. The both of us are going to make sure that you eat properly. No more skipping of meals, no more dainty bites. It's going to be huge mouthful bites from now on." He replied, his lips dangerously close to my ear. My face warmed further at the close proximity. My stomach grumbled out once again to which Daniel laughed out loud. " Let's settle that hungry stomach of yours," He stated and continued to work on my late dinner.