Conform or Suffer: The Darkness of Beauty

Chapter 39 Notions and Potions

"No one leaves until the effects of the truth serum fade." Yoleta latched the door to the dining room.

Zill kicked Yoleta to the floor. "If you believe you're the strongest woman in the room, you're wrong." She fumbled for another laser gun strapped to her ankle, but her father tackled her.

"Ida is not dead. She is a reborn elemental," Quig said.

"You should have kept that nugget of delusion to yourself," Chase said.

Madd-Ox spoke. "I'm the loser, working holidays and weekends. Stanton took my money and gave me a worthless title, gift cards, and a car I couldn't drive. I sleep six hours a night, so I can protect Junior during my time off."

"I'll love you always," Grew-Ella said.

Zill laughed at Madd-Ox. "Everyone knows you're a loser. I lost my money too, and I'm clawing my way back."

He crumpled. "Yoleta pays me well, but I beg her to give me broken elite status or fire me, but she never does. Trent's daughter and Junior are—" Madd-Ox stabbed himself with a pen from his pocket. "I'm not going to humiliate myself anymore." He stabbed himself again and dropped the pen.

Quig and Madd-Ox placed their hands over each other's mouths to help each other not talk about Junior.

"A random woman paid Trent to father her kids, but she abandoned the ugly freaks," Zill said abruptly.

"What?" Paul asked.

Zill laughed. "Dad, you also don't want to know what I did to that stupid girl when I was her stepmother."

Madd-Ox stomped away from her. "Stop talking about her."

Yoleta spoke to change the conversation. "Madd-Ox, I'm sorry, I've been so concerned with saving the kingdom. I ignore how much you have sacrificed."

"You don't care." Madd-Ox trembled.

Yoleta lowered her head. "Madd-Ox, you're not worthless, but I love to tease you. And I regret everything—"

His father, Paul, interrupted. "We planned to adopt you officially much earlier, but Sean-Mack and Yoleta kept stopping it, even after you turned eighteen." He hugged him tightly.

"Zill is genetically my half-sister, but she drugged Grew-Ella, and Yoleta has lied to protect Zill because she is in denial of the monster she's become."

"I was wrong, I didn't lie, not about that, but maybe I lied to myself," Yoleta said. "But I found out about the druggings."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Paul asked.

"My wife isn't a toad. You manipulated naive Grew-Ella into marrying your darling Quig." Chase tore at Paul's shirt and dragged him across the room. "How could you let this happen?"

Karen pried him loose from her husband. "Quig never arranged a forced engagement contract behind my back."

"Zill, the fact that Quig is a broken elite meant Chase couldn't keep abusing the contract against me," Grew-Ella said.

"No, I saved your life. Sean-Mack planned to kill you. I wasn't abusive, was I?" Chase asked Grew-Ella.

Words burst out of Grew-Ella's mouth, as her head tilted toward her brother-in-law. "You and Sean-Mack sent me to a workhouse and threatened the man I love. I hate you! Please give me time to forgive you and leave us alone."

Chase rushed to the table and threw a plate of chicken nuggets against the wall. "We didn't need Quig falling for you. Zill has been my boss in the engagement contract, and we've been married for almost four years. She needs this as much as I do. Nothing I did to make you happy worked because you were too hung up on Quig. You have no right to your choices."