Chapter 67 - The Eldest Daughter

Meanwhile, in F Country with different time zone

Inside a house, much bigger than any bungalows, located at the heart of a beautiful forest, there was a woman who stood by the window, looking out at the rose garden.

She was wearing a simple white blouse paired with a soft pic colour skirt that reaches below her knees. She had a petite body, shoulder-length black hair and brownish eyes colour. She was a woman in her fifties but she looked like those in their thirties.

Rosella Chester tightened her grips on the phone. Fires ignited in her heart. Her daughter had raised the flag of war after keeping silent for so many years and had actually revealed her hiding place.

So, what Helena told her earlier was indeed true. The phone number is still valid. Jennet would never change her phone number because she knew her daughter still need to contact that man.

Helena, her beloved niece can be trusted as for now.

But, Hue Hedo? Who is he and he's not that man who her daughter fancies for years. A man her daughter hired to act as her boyfriend, perhaps?

But, Helena didn't tell her anything about her daughter having a male companion.

Rosella had never approved of any man to be her son-in-law except for the man that she had chosen for her daughter. She had the absolute say in anything and her daughter had no say in her final decision. She had planned everything for her children to make sure their life prospers throughout the entire generation.

But, Jennet had crossed the boundaries and had smeared humiliation on her. Her daughter's bold action tainted her good name among the nobles.

"Jennet, you will only marry the man I chose for you no matter if you're tainted or not. No matter where you are, I will drag you home." She said and walked away with the phone.

As she walked out of the study, she bumped into her husband, Lloyd Lockhart. His eyes caught the phone that she held by her side.

"I heard you were talking on the phone. Who is it?" He asked in a calm tone. His stare, however, was stern and piercing.

Rosella stared back at him. "Just a wrong number calling. It thought it was from our daughter but it was just a wrong call." She said, telling him a smooth lie.

Lloyd didn't say anything else. He turned around and left her alone. His cold expression couldn't be deciphered whether he was angry or displeased at her answer.

Rosella watched her husband walking away. Her heart wretched and filled with both sadness and anger. If it wasn't because of their daughter running away from her engagement, her husband wouldn't be this cold towards her.

The obedient and pious daughter like Jennet had turned her world upside down when she ran away from home years ago. Her daughter ran away from home on the day of her engagement with the man that she had chosen for her.

Due to her disappearance, her relationship with Lloyd Lockhart became cold. Her husband kept himself away from her and seldom talk with her although they lived together under the same roof.

Rosella inhaled a deep breath and walked towards the living-room. Her second daughter, Elaine was reading a book.

Her sour face immediately turned bright. "Elaine, where is your husband?" She asked with a smiling face.

Elaine raised her head and answered, "He went back to work because he had a meeting at 3 pm today." She smiled at her mother.

Rosella sat down beside her and patted her hand. "Has he eaten?" She asked again.

"Yes. He loves the food you cooked. He even packed some to be eaten at his office." Elaine explained.

Elaine Lockhart, the second daughter is very good and obedient. She had always been Rosella's favourite ever since she was little. Unlike Jennet Lockhart, her eldest daughter, who would rebel at anything.

Elaine eyed the phone in Rosella's hand, "Mama, that phone in your hand, it had been years since I saw it. Had my sister called home?" Asked Elaine and closed her book to pay attention to her mother.

"Nope. She didn't." Rosella replied with a smile along with a shook. "She would never call home no matter what happened to us here." She added and her face turned sad, looking pitiful.

Elaine placed the book on the table. She moved closer to her mother and patted her hand softly. "Mama, if you give me permission, I can go look for her. My sister shouldn't be leaving us just because she disliked the partner you chose for her."

Rosella smiled. Her heart warmed. Why can't Jennet be just like her younger sister who is understandable to what she likes best for them?

Rosella grabbed her hands and said, "Mama knows you're the best but mama couldn't afford to see your tire yourself looking for your sister who is not grateful enough for what mama had done for her own good."

"Mama, maybe she was still harbouring the anger for what you said to her years ago about the man that she loved dearly," Elaine said softly, recalling the story that had happened nearly two decades ago.

Rosella grunted after hearing Elaine's words. She looked away and shook her head.

"She couldn't possibly have that man as long as I am alive. Doesn't your sister know, because of one of their bloodline, my only blood-related sister, your auntie, died miserably? I do not want my daughter to live like a slave in their family if she, one day, marries that man." She said. Her tone was cold and harsh.

Elaine nodded her head. "Well, mama, if you say so, I will try to look for her and persuade her to accept the marriage proposal from the Hanvel family. It has been years and they are still waiting for her return."

She could only agree to whatever her mother says for now. Her mother is quite a stubborn person and this trait had actually passed down to all of her daughters.

Rosella sighed softly. "If only your sister is an understanding person, my life would have been easy. We would be living happily."

Elaine smiled, "Mama, we are already living happily now. It is my sister that we should be concerned about. We do not know where or how her life is right now."

Rosella grunted in disdain. "Humph, she must have been as useless as usual. She would never be able to find a decent man to be her partner no matter where she lived. All men out there are useless!"

"Mama, please don't say that. She had suffered so much." Elaine said softly.

Rosella's anger flared up in a sudden, "Elaine, I had never raised you to tell me who had suffered most in this house. If she had just agreed to all of my arrangements years ago, I would not have been with cold war with your papa and my names would not be tainted." Rosella rolled her eyes towards her daughter.

Elaine could only shut her mouth shut. She inhaled a deep breath and said softly, "Mama, I am sorry for what I have just said. I will mind what I said from now on."

"Good. Do not anger me more like your ungrateful sister." Said Rosella and rose from her seat while holding the phone tightly in her hand.

She left the living-room, leaving Elaine alone. Elaine inhaled a very deep breath. Mama, can't you just leave my sister alone?

Nothing could please her mama after what had happened over her eldest sister's rebellion. She had to always watch over what she said because even a single wrong word could turn her mama's mood sour.

Sometimes, she wondered why her mama couldn't just let her sister get what she desired furthermore, her sister never demands anything but only the freedom to love the one man that she loved dearly. But, mama had always suppressed her sister and her sister always had to obey her and act like she had no life in the house.

But, she couldn't help her sister and had to stay by the sidelines, watching all the things that happened to her eldest sister. She wanted to help but she was afraid of her mama's fury and also because the children in there cannot break the rules;

First rule, every child in the Lockhart Household in Pencia must never disobey their parents' who had raised them. The second rule never falls in love with the opposite gender without the approval of the parents. The third rule never ever dreams to marry the children from the Baroques bloodline who had a blood feud with Rosella's family, the Chester.

But her eldest sister had actually broken all the rules. She had fallen for a Baroques and even wanted to marry him. She had disobeyed the rules since she had raised her voice towards Rosella and had been considered rude.

Jennet had been on bad terms with her mama and never listened to anything she said. She even stood up against the man she loves.

Elaine still remembered what her sister had said years ago before she ran away from home.

"Mama, I do not understand why would you want to lock me up in your world of regret. I am me and it is I who will live with my future husband. You won't be there for me even if I grieve over my downfall if fate really wants to make me suffer. I have told you before, I will only marry the man that I love and if I cannot have him in this lifetime, I will stay single for the rest of my life and you can push the duty of continuing the bloodlines to my siblings. I admit that I am an ungrateful child because I had enough of you controlling my life. My fate is not in your hands to decide."

After her rebellion that day, Jennet left the house and since then, she had lost contact with the family. She disappeared without a trace and even her friends don't know where she had been.

Also, since that very same day, papa had been very cold with mama as well. He seldom talks with mama and even a small matter will make him ticked with anger.

Well, papa had always been so close to her eldest sister and her sister's confession that day made papa became so mad with mama. That same day, she had witnessed the calm and soft-hearted papa became the cold papa.

Papa was well versed with her sister because she had the same point of view with him and she was even the very first lady in the Lockhart bloodlines before female descendants started to born in the family. Her sister had been regarded to be the first lady in the Lockhart bloodline who would be successful in her life.

But, the reality was so harsh. All that she went through were hidden from the rest of the Lockharts since the matter was regarded as a small family matter.

In front of the rest of the Lockharts which is her father's family members, her sister was treated like how a normal lady would be treated with love and care. However, behind it all, there were strings attached to her, moving around only on commands from her mother.

Jennet actually could just report her mother's harsh treatment to her father but thinking that it will ruin her parents' marriage, she didn't say anything. She kept everything in her heart. She swallowed the bitter truth and lead her life like a normal person though she was agonizing over it since her childhood.